[AZKen]

The idea of the ballast resistor, or later, the resistance wire, was to save the points. Make them last longer. Full 12V will burn them out PDQ. The resistance wire reduces the voltage to around 8-9 volts to the coil so that points last way longer. The starter takes a HUGE amount of amps and a lot of the 12V while cranking the motor. So much voltage; that you can't have it going thru a ballast or resistance wire to the coil during that time or there would not be enough voltage to fire the points/plugs.

So enter: the "bypass"
The original GMC wiring to power the coil was a pink wire from the ignition switch "on" terminal to the 6 pin connector mounted on the passenger firewall. As it came out of the connector on the engine side, it came out as a weird looking whitish, yellowish, oddly insulated nickel copper wire. The famous resistance wire. Which went to the "R" terminal on the starter solenoid. Also on the "R" terminal was a normal yellow wire. It went to the coil positive terminal. The operation of that "R" terminal is that it is dead most of the time. Dead meaning it does not provide any voltage. It's just a termination point for two wires. The resistance wire and the yellow wire. When the ignition switch is held at max clockwise for starting, The violet wire from the ignition "start" terminal sends 12V to the solenoid "S" terminal which energizes the solenoid, which causes the starter to spin. Voltage also flows from the ignition switch thru the pink, then resistance wire to the "R" terminal. But AH HA the solenoid has also given the "R" terminal 12V. This solenoid supplied voltage over rides or bypasses the lower resisted voltage from the ignition and sends full 12V thru the yellow wire to the coil. Motor starts, you let go, "R" becomes dead, now a termination point and coil only gets 8-9 V from ignition switch.

You don't have points so you don't need all that magic. You just need the ignition switch "on" terminal to supply 12V to coil positive for Pertronix. So two wires on coil pos, one on coil neg.
You don't need any wires to go to, or come from, the solenoid "R" terminal.

The reason I was asking where the wires went is:
1. I was looking for a wire to use for the coil and to see which needed taped off and/or coiled up to abandon resistance wire. If no switched power wire is found, you will run a new wire.
2. Trying to figure out why there was 3 wires on the coil positive. It's possible it was OK that way.
3. Wanted to confirm what Pertronix wiring instructions A. 2. says about following wire to fuse box and jumping is not applicable here.
4. Make sure I don't screw up.

One more aspect to this TMI saga. Back in 55-56, when GM went to 12V, which needed a resistance circuit, the starters did not have an "R" terminal. The situation was handled by the ignition switch alone. That's where you see "Ign-1" and "Ign-2" terminals on the ignition switch. You had a wire from each of those to coil positive. In start position, Ign-2 sent 12V direct to coil. Spring back to "ON" and Ign-2 was dead and Ign-1 sent 12V to ballast resistor. When folks reuse parts, they end up sometimes with an "R" starter and a Ign-1/Ign-2 switch. Then all h-ell breaks loose.

Keep notching that cap. I'm with you til the end.