77 Scout 345 Coil Upgrade to Pertronix?

[B&GScout]

Have 77 SS w/ 345....but was not original install, PO added many moons ago replacing original 4 cylinder.
3 spd. 4x4. Now has Edlebrock 1406 4 bbl (replaced Holley 4160 — don’t shoot!).
In process of changing plug wires. Also will replace coil. My question is about proper coil. Can I use a Pertronix 40011 Flamethrower, 1.5 ohm?
I have IH gold box ignition control. IH # 451565C2. See photo. Dist is a Duralast, maybe?? Or just the cap was replaced. Dunno for sure. Has no markings on it except Made in Mexico. See photos.
Existing coil has no markings. Ohms ok at 1.5.
Need to confirm if the P-tronix is a straight install given the Gold Box and Dist. Specifically, is resistor something I need to sort? I measured Key On ~10 volts at coil while using a jumper to ground. Battery has normal 12.3 V.
When I remove jumper voltage goes to 6V.
Does the 10 volts denote existence of resisitor? If so where, I don’t see anything. Is that internal to gold box?
Or am I overthinking this? Open to other options.....

 

[B&GScout]

Update: It’s a Holley dist.

 

[int77345]

do you want to keep the gold box ignition and use a pertronix coil ? yes i think you can i did it for years.

or
do you want to replace your gold box with the pertronix ignition module inside the distributor ? --- this is what i would do i found it to be more reliable then the gold box. and its very simple to do.

 

[B&GScout]

do you want to keep the gold box ignition and use a pertronix coil ? yes i think you can i did it for years.

or
do you want to replace your gold box with the pertronix ignition module inside the distributor ? --- this is what i would do i found it to be more reliable then the gold box. and its very simple to do.

For now I just want to replace the really old coil, keep same dist set and gold box.
The 10 volt thing has me wondering tho if new Ptron coil will be ok. If Flamethrower (with its built-in resistor) wants full 12v, is 10v enough to satisfy Pertronix’s spec for “approx 12v”? Does that 10v indicate/confirm existence of a resistor somewhere? I cannot find it if so.

 

[B&GScout]

Thanks guys. Question answered. Pertronix said ok to plug & play. Confirming same info from int77345.

I think the 10v I saw was via measuring across the coil while all leads connected. I pulled + wires from coil, checked voltage again, and see I have the full (and required) >12v direct TO the coil. My existing coil has internal resistor. My hunch is the responding Pertronix Tech knew that and simply confirmed I can plug/play the new base Flamethrower coil into my Holley electronics. Guess that would be aka Flamethrower I.

** In the meantime I also read thru a number of Ignition forums and rediscovered the history of the old 72” resistor wire once used in early versions of Circuit 16. I can’t find any evidence this wire is in place. If it is, it’s not terminated and is out of service.
I was determined to understand why I was seeing the 10v. I feel better now. All good.

 

[Scoutboy74]

The resistor wire should have been long gone by 1977 model year. The Holley gold box setup is period correct for approximately '75 through '77 Scouts. If the stock coil is still producing a spark, then there's nothing wrong with it. It could at least be retained as an emergency spare if nothing else.

 

[int77345]

for peace of mind i did run that coil and gold box for about 15 years. why did i do it ? i was younger and thought the flame on the coil looked cool.

as scout boy74 said, do carry spare coil, and gold box or what ever ignition you run. they never seem to fail in town, but 40 miles in to the Utah desert seems to cause them to fail.

 

[B&GScout]

Scoutboy and int77345, thank you both. I like peace of mind Big 10-4 on spare coil. Will do.
Gold box seems fine, so will run with it for a while. I don’t do any remote driving, just fair weather stuff. I can see a Pertronix Ignitor in my future.

Long shot..... my Scout has what feels/sounds like a low idle miss, stutter in neutral. Notice also when gearing up (3 spd manual), particularly in 2nd gear. Higher rpm then drowns it out. Has been that way a while. I was hoping the new wires might solve that, but still there. (Recall I had a little electro bleeding visible at night). Timing is at 10-12* BTDC. (yep #8 cyl). Otherwise it runs ok. Just that stutter.....

 

[int77345]

long shot to, but you had your distributor cap off. did you get it back on perfectly ? and is it tight ? when i dont get mine on just perfect i get a little miss to. some times a big one.

 

[B&GScout]

Ummm.....pretty sure. I’ll double check cap. Am also keeping eye on the new dist wire boots (all 90*), tite fit and watching to assure one doesn’t slip its way loose. Gonna replace a few with 180* terms to address that. Stutter was there before new wires. Think I got a virus
This little stutter has been there a while with both new and old coil (never suspected coil, just opted to replace since I was replacing wires). Just enough to nag at ya and enough to get on a mission to fix. Or get a vaccine.
Plugs are good, .040. Carb is well tuned. New wires now. No vac leaks. Solid 18” vac at curb idle (750 rpm).
I don’t know symptoms of Gold Box when they get sick. You?

 

[int77345]

my gold box symptoms were it wither worked or didnt. one minute it would run fine the next die. it might re start it might not, it might die 20 times in an hour and it might run fine for 2 months. on the interstate in denver it died and i could not get it to restart for about 45 min, almost being run over for 45 min was my last straw. i changed it out for a Prestolite distributor. the ignition is in the distributor, no more gold box on the fire wall.
with your holley distrubutor, have you thought about the pertronix III ignition ? if i still had my holley thats the way i would go.

 

[B&GScout]

All better now, purring like kitten. Dist cap was ok. I re-seated new plug wires on cap, must have been one not clipped-in well. Happy.
Yes, have considered a Pertronix— in the midst of electronic ignition options. I lean towards keeping it as original as possible. As long as it is reliable. Pertronix is wayyy more attractive cost point and closer to oem.