Re: 1938 Super 8 1605 - adventures with a newbie
Posted by kevinpackard On 2023/9/5 18:00:49
Haven't had much time to mess with things lately. But I did tackle something yesterday in my efforts to improve the running of the car. A good friend of ours who is well-versed in old cars mentioned the plug wires as possible culprits.
To my knowledge the plug wires have not been changed since the car was originally restored (maybe 15-20 years ago?). The black insulation on the outside was cracked in several places and the wires were stiff. My concern was that the current was jumping to other wires and throwing things off.
I made new wires from 7mm metal core wire stock (including the coil wire). New connectors and new boots. I routed the wires away from each other (still need to find a good solution to organize them). I didn't get time to do much testing, but the initial findings are positive. The car seems to be much smoother and I was able to dial in the timing and idle more. I hope to get time to road test this week and see how it does.
So now everything in the ignition system is new, except for the distributor itself.
-Kevin
Attach file:
Cracked insulation.jpg (34.37 KB)
New plug wires.jpg (89.55 KB)
To my knowledge the plug wires have not been changed since the car was originally restored (maybe 15-20 years ago?). The black insulation on the outside was cracked in several places and the wires were stiff. My concern was that the current was jumping to other wires and throwing things off.
I made new wires from 7mm metal core wire stock (including the coil wire). New connectors and new boots. I routed the wires away from each other (still need to find a good solution to organize them). I didn't get time to do much testing, but the initial findings are positive. The car seems to be much smoother and I was able to dial in the timing and idle more. I hope to get time to road test this week and see how it does.
So now everything in the ignition system is new, except for the distributor itself.
-Kevin
Attach file:
Cracked insulation.jpg (34.37 KB) New plug wires.jpg (89.55 KB)
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