The ignition coil on my 73 L82 is original to the car. If it were not for the fact that it has a crack in the top by the post that comes from the distributor I would leave it. Im not planning to upgrade to electronic ign or pertronics, I'll stick with the points.
All things considered, would you get a standard replacement from Napa or is there a better (hotter) coil you would use instead?

 

Most people who still use the original points distributors use the old reliable UC-12.

 

Here's an old post about my experience with "better" ignition coils.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ion-coils.html

 

The problem with coils are that there are so many BAD ones being made today. I have been using a name brand ignition system and I have had to replace several coils on my Factory 427. The tech support staff kept telling me that it is the Vibration and Heat from my 427 are killing the coils. If that was true then how come the original T.I. Coil and ignition system still worked like a champ when they were pulled to upgrade the ignition? My ignition coil still sits on the intake with a air gap between them so they have all been exposed to the same heat and vibration.

The solution that was suggested was to buy a $200 coil which is better built they said, the expensive ones handle heat and vibration better they "say". For now I have a known "Good" spare coil in the rear storage bins. I removed the Transistorized Ignition system and stashed it away in the garage. That coil is likely the original as the car came with the T.I. system.

On many cars that I have owned they used a ballast resistor that would reduce the voltage going to the coil. My T.I. system did not have any kind of Ballast and the coil was 25 years old and still working. I have had two types of failure modes with the ignition coils. One is where the car will not start at all and the second is where the coil starts to miss after warming up. It can start to break up after a certain RPM (~4000-6000 rpm) when revving.

Are the ignition coils interchangeable between the ones that use a Ballast resistor and the ones that do not? Getting 12-14 volts versus 6-8 volts thru the resistor could cause the coil to get hot.

 

UC-12 coils are pretty popular with the C2 people, which as you know all C2's use a ballast resistor: https://www.google.com/search?q=UC-1...client=gws-wiz

 

UC 12 it is.
Thank you all

 

One last thing about coil installs in general: make sure you have an air gap (~1/4") between the coil's bottom and the intake manifold. The gap provides some insulation from the intake's heat.