Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

well fart....no original solid Packard type wires then huh...well fart, just fart!

can you use the solid wires with the ignitor and a stock coil?

fart, if i had known this i wouldn't have bought this stuff.

Hank

Not sure what the reasoning is with the non solid wire since it uses an ordinary coil but so be it. If they want resistance wire, several companies sell black HEI use wire either in bulk or universal sets which, while slightly larger diameter, are for the most part made to look like original old types at a glance. Possibly you could use your boots to complete the picture. Jegs is one.

from what i am reading on my google searches, it has to do with the leaking from the solid core wire after it has aged etc....it can mess up the ignitor part in the dizzy itself. the HEI wire can still do that, but it is less prone.

so the moral is have really good not broken or fraying solid core wire and check it often and you wont have issues, or just go to HEI wires which i guess last longer, idk.

there is a guy in this thread running Packard solid core wire for many years with no problems. so i may give it a try. i bought the stuff now i might as well try it. if it goes bad i have several other points setups i can pick from in my parts bin. i'll just carry the parts in the trunk.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=391152

I didn't see an issue with trying it, and again it was working for a bit, but i just had this rough idle i couldn't chase down, and hard starting, it was driving me crazy. Before that, with regular napa v8 generic wire set, it ran for a few years like a fine watch, perfect and smooth. It wasn't til my whole motor transplant and rebuild that i got into the rough idle and issues. I didn't think it was the pertronix, but new points, etc solved it.

I've read that many electronic ignition brands do not recommend solid core wires either. I liked the wires more than the hidden pertronix, so i left it.

There is an alternative for electronic ignition using a points distributor. That is, use your points distributor to trigger a Ford thick film module. You will get a VERY hot spark and almost no points wear, as the points act only as a switch at very low amperage. Put a set of new points on and check the point gap once a year or every 15000 miles in case of wear on the rubbing block. Other than that the points last forever. No condenser required.

I did this mod on a 1975 Porsche 911 and went from one of the weakest ignitions I have ever seen, to one of the most powerful. I used a junkyard module and matching coil. While I was at it I got the OEM wiring and used it to make an OEM style wiring for the Porsche.

The gory details are in an old thread in the Modification discussion group from last year.

I remember reading an interview with a NASCAR mechanic many years ago, when our Packard V-8s were contemporary, and stock car racing was stock car racing. He said that they do many modifications to the engines to get more power, but the stock ignition systems were not modified or replaced. He said the stock systems were more than adequate for the racing situations to which they were subject. He was talking about the then conventional coil-points-condenser type systems. If it was me I think I would leave well enough alone.

(o[]o)