Yes, Rob; The bypassing of the ballast resistor trick was one of those elegant ideas that cost almost nothing, and improved the starting of all cars that used it. One by one, the manufacturers woke up to it, and started using it at various times in the 50s. It does require an additional contact and wire, either on the ignition switch or on the starter solenoid, so it isn't easily adapted to an earlier car. Dick Benjamin -----Original Message----- From: mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Rob P Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 10:02 AM To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: RE: IML: 56 Ballast Resistor Doesn't this make these cars more susceptible to starting woes from weak ignition/coils? I thought they bypassed the resistor to let full voltage through during starting because reduction can make the car harder to start. > >Not until 1960 was the ballast resistor bypassed for starting. That means, >for 1956,7,8,9 a failed ballast resistor won't even allow the car to start. > >Best regards, >Bob Merritt --- [This E-mail scanned for viruses by Declude Virus] ----------------- http://www.imperialclub.com ----------------- This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the Administrators should be sent to webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm