That kinda looks like an ignition coil ballast resistor, if its ceramic with a couple of terminals then it is.
Looks like it was a petrol at some time, engines with a ballast used 6v coils, when the engine's running the resistor drops the cars 12v down to 6v, and when cranking the resistor is bypassed giving the coil an extra kick whilst the starter pulls the battery volts down.
Popular in colder climates.