HEI ignition conversion

Personnel experience is a powerful and generally an excellent gage of what works and what doesn't. I can understand the reluctance to believe all you read on the web. I am the same way. Everything I read I filter through my education (degrees in electronics, aero-space and computer science) and 33 years as an engineer. I also do a lot of research and reading on all things automotive (been a gear head since I was 12 and got my first car to drive in the fields behind the house). I have a friend that has made a career out of designing transformers (coil is just a transformer) and noway pretend to know or understand all the subtleties in how a transformer perfroms but I do understand the basics.

I have no explanation as to why your 55 would burn up points without a ballast resistor. The points I have had experience have enough metal in there construction that to get enough current flow to burn them would over heat and melt the insulation of the wiring feeding the ignition.

As for the gold box it would likely work just fine in a street application with a stock coil and the ballast to go with it. When used in conjunction with the recommended coil and ballast it's not supposed to be run for long periods of time below 3000 rpm. The reason being the coil will over heat and fail. Being race only the design compromises I talked about before were biased to high rpm operation at the expense of being able to site and idle in track or cruise around at rpm's less than 3000.

I try to contribute in a positive way and if some one will consider what I have tried to convey or I can save some one from being stuck at the side of the road I am happy.