Spark Plugs

[David P.]

Help!


Living in the Detroit area, there are opportunities to find various NOS, NORS AC Delco spark plugs at swap meets. Some spark plugs have plain white insulators; others have one wide and three narrow green bands; still others have four narrow green bands. Here's the problem. Who knows when each type of plug was made? Also, does it matter and does anyone care?


Any help with date ranges for Delco spark plugs would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks,


David at vetman62@hotmail.com

[Bill W.]

Re: Spark Plugs

the ones with the green stripes are best,but any of them will work.they are hard to find around st. louis. look at the inside flap on the box it will have the date the box was made.

[Wayne M.]

Re: AC Spark Plugs

David --- If you're especially interested in AC plugs for a '62, there's an article in RESTORER Vol 18 # 1 that compares 3 types, with photos. Discusses center and top electrodes, variations in porcelain shape, hex variations and the green bands. Other than checking the dates on the box flap, as Bill suggests, the article concludes that the correct plugs for a '62 have 4 thinner bands with a pale heat range #, a copper compress washer. The wide top ring was from a bubble-pack from Walmart. Heavy rings and print w/aluminum compress ring were circa '69 (in this article, anyway).

[David P.]

Re: Spark Plugs

To Bill Williamson Re: Spark Plugs


Thanks for the information about spark plugs. Here's a story for you. A Corvette guy and myself go to a show. Here's this vendor with a box (12"x 20"x 10") about half full of AC Delco spark plugs. There are lots of numbers from maybe 42 to 46 with lots of R, C, ST, etc. markings. The catch: none of the plugs are in boxes, but are packaged in plastic bags, eight to the bag, each plug with four same sized green stripes. The vendor got them at a garage sale from a man that had worked at a GM dealership. He had no other information about why or how they were packaged the way they were. So my friend and I are wondering if this is the way dealerships or perhaps the Flint engine plant handled the plugs: in bulk packs. Anyway, there aren't any R44 or R45 plugs left in the box now.


Thought you'd like to hear "the rest of the story."


David



Spark Plugs in a bag

[Terry M.]

Re: Not like engine plant

David,


At engine plants spark plugs are in plastic trays that have depression for each plug, kind of like egg containers without the top. I didn't count them, but it was at least a dozen to a side - so maybe 144 to a tray, with trays stacked on top of each other. No real packaging to speak of.


BTW: The different heat ranges have top of plug (they are "standing" in the trays with the electrode down) painted different color. Just the top end, not the sides of the top where the plug wire contacts. This way one can look at the plug and see the color. Chart tells installer - red for these engine codes, white for these and so on.


Terry