It was the coil!

Should have posted this yesterday, but I finally cured a long standing and frustrating problem the cabriolet was having -- missing badly at higher RPM levels and backfiring when I let off the gas.

After 1st checking the points and plug gap, I began swapping out coupe parts that I knew worked properly. First the plugs; no change. Then the carburetor; no change. Then the distributor (which I thought was the problem); no change. Then the wires; no change.

I emailed Ken about it and he thought it would be the coil. I didn't really think "coil" because I thought they failed suddenly, usually when hot. And this one was a brand new (and expensive) old style coil with less than 2 hours of running time. But sure enough, when I put in a new 6v coil, the problem disappeared. It now runs at highway speeds just like it ought to. I knew it had to be something fairly simple. Apparently this is a rare kind of coil failure, but it happens.

I sent the coil back to Atwater Kent in Worcester, MA and assume they will honor the problem, though my receipt says they have a 12-month warrenty policy. I bought this one in June of 05, so we'll see.

I've experienced this problem several times. Buy something I know I need well ahead of time, then find it doesn't work or fit as it is supposed to. I needed to install this coil when we put the engine in to get it running, but it has taken this long to get it road worthy. I'm not going to be happy if they don't get me a new one. We'll see.