<VV>Primary voltage

[Padgett]

>A buddy's 64 'brier runs like poo the higher the rpm rises.  It's a LM 110
>with a high output internally regulated alternator.  I measured the voltage
>at the coil tonight, and it's showing 16volts consistently throughout the
>rev range.

That sounds quite high to me, proper range for an alternator is 13.5-14.5 
V, higher will dramatically shorten the battery life. I would be surprised 
if the coil wasn't getting quite hot at that level.

The primary ignition in most points/coil cars is designed to work properly 
at 9V so that the car will have a hot spark when cranking cold. This is why 
the resistance wire/block is in place in normal operation and bypassed 
during cranking to lower the voltage when running..

Transistor ignitions provide this step-down internally (and is why the 
tachometer has a 9.1v zener diode in the circuit). So 16v at the coil 
indicates both a coil wiring issue and an alternator/regulator problem. 
Both need to be attended to.

Padgett