Cutting edge! Actually, it is a 1970's or so replication of a Model T ******** controlled coil, and you can find vintage ones made up from actuial T coils... On a T a timer advanced or retarded the system manually via a lever on the steering column, changing the timing of voltage arriving at 4 separate coils. Points were on the coils and vibrated as long as voltage was applied... On the limp-home device there is only one coil with its point set vibrating away full time, so timing is crudely controlled by the rotor getting close enough to a terminal to light it up!
There was a salvage yard here in town that used one of those to test run their engines. worked great !
The Jalopy Journal
