Ballast

Mopar Tim said

You are a smart guy, no question, BUT if I am using a coil not needing a ballast, then the coil will have the full voltage avalible at all times, even when cold. And of course an ignition system not needing reduced voltage, like I am using, needs to be used as well. No ballast works fine in my setup.

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That isn't the thing. When the car is cranking, battery voltage is low. So coil voltage (and current) is reduced. Part of the reason the system was designed as it was, originally, is so you have higher voltage to the coil during cranking THAT YOU WOULD HAVE if there was no ballast there to bypass.

I'm sure using a no ballast setup works fine "most of the time." But, "on that day," when it's -20F, the oil is molasses, and the battery is down from the cold, you want all you can get. Bear in mind, "originally" these girls were not meant to be "fair weather friends."

This scenereo also holds true when you discover, upon returning to the car, that you left the radio or dome light on, and once again, to get the thing to fire, you need "all you can get."