Sunday, November 25, 2012

All kinds of resistance: Restoring the ignition coil resistor

The resistor block located on the backup ignition coil gave us quite a few challenges along the way of what we thought would be a simple task. Of course it was stripped and painted like other parts we have done. Likewise all of the hardware was stripped and re-plated to original finishes. When we thought we were all finished we discovered that the resistor came with a stamping on top. Again artwork needed doing and another painting stencil was made to replicate the marking. In the end it was a massive amount of work for a part that will spend its life behind a cover in the trunk.

The following photos show the process of restoration followed by an incriminating photo of a practice attempt that is likely to end up having me spend a night on the couch. All necessary sacrifices when restoring an old Italian car.







6 comments:

  1. This just gets better and better. I know they are not seen by the casual observer but you will both know its there and will take comfort that there are no shortcuts taken with your resto.
    One question, how did you make the Stencil. That is such a good idea.
    regards

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  2. Thank you for the comment. Regarding the stencil it was made using a sign cutting plotter. The secret is excellent artwork and 'JUST' the correct machine settings. Most vinyl cutters cannot get this right but if you really know how to work the machine it is amazing how small you can cut some things.

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  3. What is the significance of the "9D" portion of the label? In an attempt to return my 71 Euro Dino to an original looking Dinoplex setup (from its current aftermarket MSD setup), I just acquired a Marelli BZR201A coil with resistor block to start that effort. It has "4N" instead of "9D".

    Also, I see BZR201A's in both black body and unpainted (yellow cad?) in the Compendium (pg 179 and 226). The only diff is body color and gold vs silver label. Since we share the same Euro M-series, which is correct (for us)?

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    Replies
    1. I am not sure of the significance of any of the writing on the resistor. I do know that those resistors were used in lots of different cars and that the writing I chose to put on my resistor is correct to a Dino.

      Regarding the coils all of the research I have done points to semi-gloss black for both the primary and backup coils. The primary coil has no resistor and the silver label while the backup coil uses the resistor and the gold label. Note that Matthias has told me that you cannot take his green M-Series as gospel for what is correct as that car was assembled from boxes before he was really into pursuing the exact details. For this reason I research everything twice to backup what is correct.

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  4. Also, what color paint was used on the resistor block body...was it an off the shelf paint or custom blended?

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    Replies
    1. I found Rustoleum iron oxide primer to be an almost dead match to original. Available at any hardware store in a spray can.

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