Would it matter if I used a coil from an '87 in my '80. I can see from the specs that the '87 coil has a higher output, but since the '80 is a simple electronic ignition with no computer interface....would it matter?

you should be careful as to which coil is used

the resistence is matched to the ignition amp as well as the impulse transmitter

failing this may put undo heat into the FINE wire windings and cause a failure (short)

bosch coils rarely fail so check for other problems

hope this helps

kgb

Thanks for your response.

Actually there's nothing wrong with the '80. I had previous problem with my '87 and had replaced the coil in an attempt to solve that problem (it turned out not to be the coil). So now I have an extra coil - from the '87. I was reoganizing my spare parts collection and I wasn't sure if I could consider this coil a "spare" for both cars - or even if it could be used as a test coil - (if/when I had any problems in the '80 w/ ignition that I want to troubleshoot). Thus my question.