Are the caps of Don Smith primary polarized ones or not ?

The exact wire length ratio of the turns in the "L1" and "L2" coils gives them an almost automatic synchronous tuning with each other, and the exact resonance between them can be achieved by the positioning of the "L1" coil along the length of the "L2" coil. While this is a perfectly good way of adjusting the circuit, in the 1994 build shown in the photograph, Don has opted to get the exact tuning by connecting a capacitor across "L1" as marked as "C" in the circuit diagram. Don found that the appropriate capacitor value for his particular coil build, was about 0.1 microfarad (100 nF) and so he connected two 47 nF highvoltage capacitors in parallel to get the value which he wanted. It must be remembered that the voltage across "L1" is very high, so if a capacitor is used in that position it will need a voltage rating of at least 9,000 volts. Don remarks that the actual capacitors seen in the photograph of this prototype are rated at fifteen thousand volts, and were custom made for him using a "self-healing" style of construction. As has already been remarked, this capacitor is an optional component.
Don also opted to connect a small capacitor across the "L2" coil, also for fine-tuning of the circuit, and that optional component is marked as "C2" in the circuit diagram and the value used by Don happened to be a single 47nF, 8,000 volt capacitor. As the two halves of the "L2" coil are effectively connected across each other, it is only necessary to have one fine-tuning capacitor for "L2"

 
But I think if I get AC at 400 Hz on the car ignition coil HV out and feed it in a copper bar/thick coil, I would not get any 'shockwave' or static field out of it, since that thick thing is a short circuit for the ignition coil secondary at that frequency and it doesn't pump enough power.