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Are W-18 Champion satisfactory for a 1926 Series 80. Also where can points and caps be obtained. I tried searching the part numbers listed on the PA suggested vendor list with no luck. I presume a standard external mounted condenser will work as a replacement to the original
Thank You
Art
Hello Art, yes Champion W-18s will work, as well as Autolite 3076.
The points are available on Ebay. They are three pieces, usually only the point arm and the fixed /adjustable point are for sale. The spring is a separate part, and rarely seen for sale.
Yes, an external condenser will work.
((% of the time the points are fine, they have a very thick layer of coating on the point surfaces, so unless they are really pitted, I’d leave them, Check to see if the pivot pin for the point arm is an insulated pin, has no continuity to the point plate, or if it is a conducting pin. The conducting pin type must have points with a bakelite pivot bearing.. Most points have a brass bearing.
The usual problem with the S80/s81 is the cap having cracks, and the original Delco coil not working well above idling speeds, And of course the spark plug wires.
Hope this helps..
Greg Long
My Spark Plug wires are melted. Does anyone have suggestions on what may have caused the melting? I am wondering why they would have gotten so hot. Where can I buy new ones?
Thank you,
Ken
Ken,
Rhode Island wiring (RIWire.com) will have what you need.
however, why your wires got hot and melted is another question.
Are you the guy with the 12v system in your Series 80?
Maybe that is it?
DK here.
Peter
Art,
Regarding cracked caps, I was told that over the course of a few days, or longer, successive coats, if you paint the cracks with Ladies nail polish (clear), you can virtually eliminate the cracks from being a problem.
Of course, with the variety of nail polish colors available, you might find a color to match (HA!).
Finding the points and such is an exercise in patience on eBy, but they are expensive, relatively speaking.
If you have a set that works, use it until you find replacements.
Peter
Peter,
No I don’t have a 12 volt system but I have a negative ground. I was thinking the
wires may have been melted before I picked up my car. The place that it was on
consignment may have tried jumping it with a 12 volt but then I would think I would see other wires melted besides the Spark Plug Wires.
On another not my car has Champion Plugs. What kind of Plugs do you run?
Ken
A six volt coil will make more secondary voltage if run on 12v, but a spark only lasts a fraction of a second. Not long enough to heat up and melt wiring. If the coil’s output secondary voltage was extremely high, the spark would just jump through the wire’s insulation. The large diameter silicone spark plug wires on cars from the ’70’s and later were made to handle the much higher spark voltage of modern high energy ignition systems.
Ken, can you post a photo or two of the melted wires? Is it possible that they were melted from a careless job of soldering the copper wire to the clip for the spark plug ??
Greg Long
Greg,
Here is the first picture of the burnt wires. the strange part is they are
burnt in the middle above the head about 4 inches or so from the Spark Plugs.
Ken
Here is the second Picture.
Here is a picture of the Distributor. It looks new for 1925.
Hi Ken, I can’t figure out how that damage to the wires happened.
Did the wires look like this when you bought the car? or did this occur since you have owned it?
To me, it looks like either a very, very hot trouble light was laid on the top of the engine, and the wires were next to the bulb and were damaged, That is just about the only think I can think of that would be hot enough to do that damage, and not burn the paint on the cylinder head..
Greg Long
Greg,
I did not notice the burnt wires when I was buying the car. I noticed the burnt wires after I parked it in my garage. I was so excited about the car that I wasn’t studying the wires. I was looking at other things. We unloaded it and parked it in a storage garage for a couple for nearly a month before bringing it home. It started fine and drove a couple of times before bringing it home. We stopped and filled the tank and when driving into the driveway it stalled but we were able to restart it and park it in my garage at home. We have not been able to start it sense.
The 2nd and 4th Plug wires have the burn marks on them but the others look fine.
I agree with you that the wires look like someone laid a hot light against the wires.
Ken
Ken,
I have the Champion plugs in the Series 80 at this time, but also have the Auto-Lite plugs sitting around.
I likes the taller look of the Champion plugs and I used gun barrel bluing and blued-out the tops to get rid of the silver color.
They look pretty good blue / black.
Peter
Peter and Greg,
I also have Champions. I like the idea of having the bluing put on. Mine are painted Black.
I now have good spark to the Spark Plugs.
Ken
Ken,
Lacquer thinner will take off the paint and will likely not cause the plugs any problems.
The bluing is easy to apply and with a few coats, it is permanent (save for multiple applications of a socket wrench) and heat resistant.
It comes in blue and black (I did not know about the black until today), but the blue comes out pretty black and it costs about $20.
Peter
Peter,
Thank you for letting me know about the Bluing.
I will give it a shot.
Ken
The Champion W-18 spark plugs I have are cadmium plated. I buff the plating off prior to bluing using a wire wheel on the bench grinder. Cadmium is toxic. Wear a breathing mask when buffing.
Paul,
Thank you for the heads up.
Ken