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But it's brand new in the box!
by Dave Miller       

Some of you may recall my wailing and moaning after my '61 Hawk died the day before I hosted my club's July meeting. Studes came from Tallahassee, Dunwoody, and Savannah, but mine sat in the yard, DEAD, 25 miles away. I ran the battery down trying to start it, and then hooked up the jumper cables, to no avail. I must have left the key switched on while it was connected to the good battery, because it melted the green wire from the solenoid to the coil, burned the points, and melted the points wire inside the distributor. So I pulled the driver's seat, crawled under, and checked everything for shorts or burned wires. From a spare used harness, I replaced the pink resistor wire from the ignition switch to the coil, the green wire, the points wire, the starter solenoid switch on the fender well, installed new points, condenser, coil, even spark plugs! I tried everything to get the car going, and nothing worked. As a last ditch effort, as arrangements were to be made to tow the car to the mechanics shop, I pulled the points, and tested them on a meter. Then I tried the condenser. Should there be continuity from the screw lug to the body of the condenser? NO. But there was! I grabbed the old condenser, connected it to the points, and then reinstalled the whole works. On the first twist of the key, the engine roared to life. I was both ecstatic, and numb simultaneously. All that work and aggravation. Countless phone calls, and posts on the NG. Six weeks' worth of hassle... because of a bad condenser, new in the box. Thanks to Studebaker George, Ray Fitchthorn, and the others who offered advice. All I can do is shake my head... and order that Pertronix Igniter kit! Dave Miller, South Ga. S.D.C.

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