Ballast Resistors

[Timothy B.]

Re: Ballast Resistors

Rick,

The ballast on my early 67 car is like the one in your picture, I believe it to be original. I also can not find evidence of the blue stripe and no brake away tab. The stripe could have wore off after all these years.

[Jack H.]

Re: Ballast Resistors

Correct style ceramic, mounting band configuration will depend on the knowledge of the judge(s) you pull. This one is of the 'squared' vs. 'rounded' geometry and it lacks the 'tear-away' tab on the outer most edge.

Some are of the opinion that it was 'maybe' in the 1966-67 era that GM tooling changed to eliminate the tear away tab making the part 'correct' for your car. But, that call will rely on what the specific judges you pull believe.

Of course, you should expect condition deduction(s) for the rust on the mounting band and deterioration of the ceramic body + harness wiring mounting components. Also, not a subject of this thread, the nozzle on your WSW motor's washer is of current service replacement configuration (stark raving WHITE nylon vs. original off-white delron)...

[Joe R.]

Re: Ballast Resistors

The picture is of three ballast resistors, picture one is a resistor removed from a 1963 340HP car. Picture two was just removed from a AC tractor that was converted to a 12V system prior to my purchase. Number three is a reproduction. Notice the bracket top on resistor one and two, number one has a short flat spot and number two has a longer flat spot. The reproduction is oval with no flat spot. Resistor one and two have a indent on the sides of the resistor, the reproduction is smooth.

What is difference between resistor one and two? What other areas should one look fore when determining the correct resistors?

Thanks for any information!
Ray

Hi Ray:

Attached is a photo of the ballast resistor from my April 1967 Corvette. I'm 99% certain that it is original to the car.

Note that the so-called "breakoff tab" is not present. Previous discussions on the TDB have suggested that while the tab was present on early C2s, it was no longer present (at least on some cars) by the end of the 1967 production year.

Regarding your question about what else to look for, I believe that the U-shaped opening in the side of the bracket was not present on C1 ballast resistors. I'm not sure when it started to appear, but I think it is typically found on C2s.