Ignition coil resistance wire bad? Reading 11.75 volts running

[borlax]

My ignition coil is reading 11.75 volts with the truck running, which makes me think the resistance wire is bad. Then again, if that was the case it should be reading closer to 14 volts because of the alternator right? I'm using a TFI coil because I don't want to get stranded if a stock canister coil gets burned. It was leftover from a previous HEI setup, but the modules kept getting too hot and burning up so I switched back to the Duraspark. The TFI coil has 45,000 volts and is giving me flash-over in the distributor cap. I'd like to use an MSD Blaster 2 canister coil, which is 45,000 volts as well. Would the blaster 2 canister coil still give me flash-over due to the voltage? I've located the resistance wire on the steering column as per a Hayne's manual, which specifies it as 1.0 Ohm resistance. I can't find any stock resistance wires at the general auto parts stores. How can I fix the voltage problem with that resistance wire so that I can run a stock style coil without burning it up? I've heard maybe a resistor from radio shack, but the wire they're made out of seems so thin compared to the resistance wire on the steering column. Any help is appreciated

 

[tomw]

If you get flashover with one @45Kv, you'll get the same with any other coil that produces 45Kv.
If you get a 'wire wound' resistor, whether in a ceramic cube, or bare & coated with 'dope' of some kind, it will pass the amps you need, given that you get the proper size in watts.
If you are concerned, get a ChryCo ballast resistor that mounts to the firewall, or did in the mid-late '60s. I think the coil wires are the gauge they are to provide strength, to a degree in that very skinny wires would tend to get separated and broken.
I would inspect the distributor rotor, cap, and wires for excessive resistance or poor or damaged insulation as the E-coil factory installed was rated for use with the wires...
tom