okfoz

I was reading about the effort being put into the battery stickers, has there been any effort into making the numbered spark plug wires?

I have a friend that works on old Alpha Romeos and he has done amazing things like put stripes on wires to make them look original, but nothing to the extent of putting numbers on them, I could ask, and maybe, just maybe there would be a way to manually do it, and make it look kind of close.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

It's something I hope to attempt on mine in the not too distant future. I figure my 28+ year old Packards are overdue for replacement.

Just need to find grey "blanks" to start with.

Polo Z03

iTrader: (1)

Can't imagine what it would take to do, after all I did to make decals! . . . But man would it be cool!

I really want to figure out how to replicate the stamps on the car, as well as the lettering on the hoses too!

okfoz

I am not sure, but I think the new Declo wires are still Gray, it has been a long long time since I did wires on any car... What I was thinking is make some sort of a roller and roll the numbers on. That is how the guy rebuilding Alphas did it.

Decals are pretty easy, you can order the decal material from many different places, and then just run them through a printer... Making a stamp to put the numbers on a set of wires is another thing altogether.

You can make your own Rubber Stamps, it all costs money, but you can do it. Even if you were really really clever with an XACTO Knife you could make them yourself. The INK on the other hand might be a little more tricky as you could not use the normal ink from a pad you got at Staples, you would need something that is permanent, the Office stuff is water soluble, so when you washed your engine bay it would... well wash off.

John

86blackiroc

iTrader: (12)

When did the gray wires start? I think the original Packard wires from my '86 were a charcoal color, I still have them in a box somewhere.

And the ACdelco replacement wires have been a charcoal color in recent years, usually with brown boots on the spark plug end, iirc.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Piece o cake.

Price would depend on the number of IDENTICAL sets you'd want numbered.

Tell me how many you want, I'll get quotes. It'd be good if you sent me a pic of EXACTLY what you want em to look like; about the LAST thing I feel like dealing with ATM is abuncha "these don't look like [fill in the blank what I thought they should]" crap. Keep in mind that EVERY ONE, NO EXCEPTIONS, ould need to look the same. No "I want mine just like that except [fuhgeddaboudit crap]". IOW, prolly needs to be a photo of an ORIGINAL.

Yes my memory of my own car is a bit rusty. I think I bought a set of those from the Delco distributor in about 85 or 86, then by 87 or so, when the set I bought failed too, gave up on the weeeeeeeenie stock crap in favor of something a bit less ... fragile.

I'd expect the first quantity break to come somewhere between 25 and 100 sets. If I get 25 COMMITMENTS (valid credit card #s for example) I'll pursue the matter.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

There's quite a bit of variety involved. Prior to 87, the plug wires were 8mm and the distributor end boots had the provisions for the plug wire keeper on the large cap distributor. Off the top of my head I'm not sure when GM switched, but the later cars used 7mm plug wires. IIRC two wires in each set had straight boots, the rest were 90*. I would expect it'd be hard to find enough people interested in exactly the same set to make it viable, but I'd like to be proven wrong.

I kind of wonder if we're taking it too far, or not far enough. I went through my 87 Iroc last spring, sorting out the brakes and stuff under the hood. Currently I'm wrapping up new top end gaskets and a brake job on my 91 Formula. On both cars I frequently find myself in a position where I have to ask myself if I should continue to use an original date coded part, or replace it with a service replacement. Both cars the date coded 5/32" vacuum line to the Evap can were so decayed they'd leave dark black marks if touched, they got replaced with new hose. Other things like heater hoses and radiator hoses, look fine, but I question the wisdom of trusting 30 year old hoses. Then there's brake calipers, the hoses are a no brainer, they get replaced with new, but the calipers on my cars that have been stored indoors and not driven on gravel or in snow for 17 years are probably in better condition than those that have been turned in as cores and rebuilt God knows how many times. Maybe it's a topic for it's own thread, but I wonder about Original, Reproduction, and replacement with a sensible service replacement. Maybe if correct reproduction plug wires are popular enough, date coded hoses can follow...

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

I'm afraid you are right. I wish all the SBC wires were the same from year to year, and model to model. But I'm guessing they are not. That makes the challenge greater, but not insurmountable.

That's where I'm at. Thrilled to still have most of my original date coded hoses and parts, but how far can I realistically trust them? What I DO intend to do is to find the most accurate looking replacement that I can, and using those original parts as a guide, reproduce the original markings if I can.

okfoz

Here is what I was able to dig up:

This is for Firebird, I would think Camaro would be the same. It appears that 89-92 are the same...

I know at one time you could more or less make your own wires, and trim to length and connect your end or ends. I wonder if that would be a viable solution to simply send 8 wires all the same length, include the ends and then you make your own due to variations of angled or straight plugs. It would be a Pain but it might solve some logistics issues of what is right for what year etc...

John

okfoz

For the V8 it appears to be the following:

1) 82-86 - 5.0S, 7, G, H
2) 85-86 - LB9 (wires 1 & 2 are unique, but otherwise the same as the other 82-86)
3) 87-88 - all engines except 87 LG4 exported Canada is different (sorry Canada)
4) 89-91 (I would think 92 is the same but it is not listed for some reason)

Not insurmountable by any means...

gt4373

The 1982-1986 Wires Were 8MM,I Think The Later Years Were 7MM.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Assuming I ever wrap up this brake rebuild, I'll pull the Camaro P&I off the shelf and I can post those pages if you want.

okfoz

I have a copy of the Camaro P&I on microfiche. I have a reader, I just figured it should be the same.

Personally I would not care if they were 7mm or 8mm, honestly as long as they were numbered, and the correct color.

For all honesty, it seems that the vast majority of people reviving these cars or interested in putting them back to original are the 85+ cars. Unfortunately the 82-84 seem to have a smaller following...

86blackiroc

iTrader: (12)

One thing to consider is the quality of the new wires and what they would be based off of. I'd like to have original looking wires that are numbered, but not if it means hard starts and misfires in humid weather because they are based off of cheapo 20 dollar parts store wires. People can knock the original wires all they want, they were still far better than a good portion of the replacements now.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

My experience has been that the factory Packard wires are second to none for noise suppression and durability / long life.

86blackiroc

iTrader: (12)

And I agree 100%. Just didn't want to possibly cause a slightly off topic discussion about whether or not the original wires trumped all.

M3638

iTrader: (1)

.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Only thought is the wires really need to match the looms. 8mm wires might fit in the 7mm wire keepers, but they won't be happy. Likewise 7mm in 8mm looms will probably come unclipped. #1 thing I dislike about my aftermarket wires on my Formula is a 8.8mm wire won't come close to fitting the factory keepers, and with manifolds they really need to follow the OE routing.

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

I have a few sets of original wires from 89-92 cars.

okfoz

Tony, stop bragging.

I would think using Packard wires would be the way to go.

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

Not bragging, I just collect to much stuff.