'63 Nailhead Wire Separators

I need to tune up the nail in the '63 Electra. I have no wire separators on the engine. On the driver's side I have the sheet metal stantion but the plastic wire holder on top is missing. These can be had on eBay. On the passenger side there is no stantion. On each of the valve cover bolts there's a loop bracket that holds the heater hoses on the inside of the valve cover. What I don't know is if on a '63 there is also supposed to be a stantion there as well? A few pictures are below showing the area I'm talking about. If there supposed to be a wire separator on this side, is there a year range specific bracket? Also, where can I find one?

Thanks!

 

Ken, I run the plug wires behind the heads for a cleaner look. I feel they look SO much better withut the wiring hanging over the covers. In that case NAPA has all the parts you need. Only plastic holders.


Tom T.

 

Thanks, Tom, I agree that would be a much cleaner look. The wires that are on there now are the ones that came with the car when I bought it. God knows how old and it's a real mess as the wire lengths are all long. And red, yuck on a stock motor.

A Pertronix 1181 with the magnetic ring came in the trunk, brand new in the box. Thoughts on that setup? From what I read here it's an ok unit, but like all the conversions- keep a spare set of points and a condenser in the glove box.

 

Any way you can , get rid of the points and condenser..... the Pertronix is a good unit....
the best E units are the ones that use a magnet to trigger... dont use one that uses a light bulb to trigger... the bulb will burn out and you are stuck....
Tom and I agree on the plug wire routing.... running them behind the heads and then on down each side of the engine gives a much cleaner look... be sure to get the kind with 90 deg. boots at the spark plug end....
you can spend unnecessary amounts of money on spark plug wires on a street driven car..... the average, set that you get at Advance or the zone will do just as well and look good and have a life time warranty for a whole bunch less money than the high dollar competition types that are out there.....spark plug wires have made a lot of advancements over the years and the ones made now are light years ahead of the ones we had when I started out.... :eek2: heck,, the silicone outer sheath ones had just come out then,, and almost no one had them except NASCAR.... and then came the Packard 440 wires with solid wire cores... my favorite,,,, but they turned the neighbors tv wrong side out when I was tuning up the car....:laugh: and the rahjah clips,,, still got some of those....
just be carefull and dont get rooky doo ed.......

 

I don't disagree with either Doc or Tom, but you need to ask: What are you looking for? If you are concerned with looks, do as they say. If what you care about is that it runs well, keep the wires seperated. Theoretically, if the wires run together (or even cross) through induction you can get crossfiring. As a practical matter, I have never seen this unless the insulation on the wires is so bad that the car probably will not start if the weather is very humid. I think the book on this was written when plug wires were copper-cored. My Dodge Magnum Hemi has the wires run side-by-side for many inches. Modern wires are excellent and I would not worry about the way they run other then to keep them away from anything really hot. JMO.

 

yep,,, my experience exactly,,, if you are getting cross firing ,,, you need a new set of wires.... i have taped them together many times including on my old ford truck using a msd multi-strike... and have never , ever had cross fire problems....:Brow:

 

Oh, I do need wires and have a new set to put on. I'm thinking the tip from Tom and Doc is to use separators so they don't cross. Thanks for the help!

 

I usually make my own so they are the correct length. I normally get the Taylor Spiro core wires with the 90* plug boots on spark pug end. They are the universal ones. Then I make up my own ends for the distributor, which I also use 90* ends on. I feel the "Taylor" wires are an excellent wire & last for many years. I've had a set on my Riv. now for almost 20 yrs. with NO problems.


Tom T.