1968 Sears Elgin 45HP need coil replacements will others work?

[travrn]

Hi folks and thanks in advance!
I acquired a 1968 Sears (McCullough / Elgin) 45HP with controls from an older friend. It was last run about 30 years ago by his grandfather. It looks good..except, both coils (externally mounted) are shot. They are slightly smaller than an automotive standard coil. I was thinking...there is room under the cowl...could I replace the coils with standard automotive coils? The only other thing it needs is an impeller and I have a source for that. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1968 Sears Elgin 45HP need coil replacements will others work?

Is your motor electric start? If so, I believe it has automotive-type battery ignition and auto coils should work. However, if manual start, it should be magneto ignition, and I'm not so sure what they used. Probably under-the-flywheel ones (????).

EDIT: Note the McCulloch motor uses 12 volts with a ballast resistor in series with the coils. Some cars have such a resistor, some do not. If using car coils, you will have to match kind-for-kind. (You can always remove the resistor, if not required)