You know what the coil looks like?
A can shape with the distributor wire on top.
It has two wiring posts on it. One goes to the distributor points, and the other goes to the ballast resistor. The ballast resistor is usually a rectangular block with tabs for the wires to hook to. You want 12 volts from the battery to go to the ballast resistor on the ignition side (the wire is often pink). This is where the ignition switch supplies power to. Current goes through the ballast resistor, and then through the coil, then to the distributor. It's not a good idea to hook the 12 volts to the coil directly as it's hard on the coil and points.
Perhaps you should pick up a book on the car, with pictures.
