Recommendations for a good spark plug wire set

[Dan LeBlanc]

Now that the Fleetwood has awaken from her slumber, she is not happy. Idle is a little rough. Isolated the problem to the spark plug wires. Was checking things out and could faintly hear arcing when the air cleaner was reinstalled. Car ran smoother without it.

Long story short, I did the mist test and she lit up like a Christmas tree. The coil wire occasionally arcs against the air cleaner and there is lots of leakage between wires. They were new reproductions in August 2013.  Also got a few good jolts in the process.  Guess they'll go in a box somewhere, with the originals, for show.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good quality wire set that will last more than 2 years and 3000mi?  I was hoping for Delco, but can't find a listing.

[35-709]

Hello Dan,
I like these from Rock Auto, but they they might cost you judging points, I dunno.

STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS Part # 7842    {Click Info Link for Alternate/OEM Part Numbers} OE Performance Plus; Premium 7mm Wire Set; Custom Fit; Silicone Jacket; Conductive Silicone Core   $20.79

[Tom Boehm]

Hello Dan, What is the mist test ? I guess it is to find where it is jumping spark. Thanks, Tom Boehm

[TJ Hopland]

Napa carries Belden brand.  I have installed a few sets and they seem to be high quality.  Not sure if they make a set for your app but if they do I would consider them. 

[Dan LeBlanc]

Hi Geoff

I got looking at those last night also.  Standard Motor seemed to make good stuff, and I'm sure they still do.  After paying good money for reproductions that seem to be of not so good quality (they're only 2 years old and have seen about 3,000mi of service), the $21 seems cheap and a relatively low risk.  I'm not overly concerned with points in judging right now as I can carry the repops in the trunk and swap them before judging day.  My next judged event will be the 2017 GN, so that's a bit far off.  Planning on taking the car to Hershey this year, but, like headlight bulbs, as long as they all match and are of the same brand, I think I'm ok.  Plus, this year may be display only now that the first junior is out of the way, I really don't think the car will score enough for a senior.

Tom - the mist test is quite simple but very effective.  Fill a spray bottle with water, turn out all the lights in the garage, and spray away.  You'll see arcing where you have breaks in the wiring.  Had a real bad one at where the coil wire passes near the air cleaner.  I also should've known when I tuned it up last fall and set the timing and got a few jolts doing so that the wires were likely failing.  The spark noise in the radio should've been another giveaway.

TJ - I've heard good things about Belden also.  I'll look them up too to see if they have something to fit.  Even a BB Chevrolet application should fit.

[76eldo]

Dan,

Maybe buy a spool of black wire and do the ends yourself?

For $21.00 it's not worth the agg, but all of the NAPA / Benden sets I see are blue, not black.  The blue wires look out of place in my opinion.

Brian

[Dan LeBlanc]

I looked up the Standard ones.  They are black with brown boots.  Beldens are indeed blue.  Standard may be the way to go.

[Jay Friedman]

I bought a set for my '49 from www.brillman.com which look authentic and work well.

[Dan LeBlanc]

I ended up calling my local Carquest.  They had a set in stock for as cheap as I could buy a set online with shipping and exchange.  They're black.  The boots are not factory correct but close enough and seem to be a good quality wire from Prestolite.  I Googled them, and they actually are an OE supplier to Ford and others.  I still have the factory originals and the repops for judged competition.

For everyday use, I'm more concerned with reliability than form.

For judged show days, I'll just swap with either the factory originals or the repops and swap back after.  In the next two years, that will only be twice anyway, so what's 5 minutes of swapping per show if it makes the engine happy?

[n2caddies]

For what it's worth I bought a set for the 59 nearly 20 years ago from mcVeys and they still look and perform like new. Pricey at first but the fit and finish are correct and I certainly believe I got my money's worth. Be sure to use the dielectric grease to keep the boots from sticking.
Randy