Ballast resistor

[John Hofstetter <hofs@domain.elided>]

>On my 76 traveler, the previous owner switched the distributer to points,
>(I have no idea why) anyway, does this mean I should get the ballast
>resistor with my MSD? As far as I know, it doesn't have one but I've been
>running the MSD on it for over a year with no problem so I'm guessing I'm
>OK. The points don't seem to be burned or anything beyond normal wear.

Mark,
As I understand the setup, you don't need the ballast resistor with the 
MSD unit, because all the points are doing is triggering the MSD which 
draws very very little current through the points. It would be wise to 
carry a ballast resistor with you in case you have to bypass the MSD 
ignition and activate the coil directly. Also, I believe that you don't 
need a condenser with the MSD either, but I'm not positive about this, 
and even if it is true, the condenser wouldn't be a problem if it is 
installed.

John H.