Help with Spark Plug Wires

[Christopher K.]

Need some help with these wires. They are on my '72 July build Lt-1 car. The TIM says repro wires are only made in odd quarters and these are even. But the boots at the spark plugs are that pale red/orange, not the black which is correct for a small block. Someone has also commented that there should not be a dash between the 4 and Q.


Thanks for any insight,

[Terry M.]

Re: Help with Spark Plug Wires

Need some help with these wires. They are on my '72 July build Lt-1 car. The TIM says repro wires are only made in odd quarters and these are even. But the boots at the spark plugs are that pale red/orange, not the black which is correct for a small block. Someone has also commented that there should not be a dash between the 4 and Q.


Thanks for any insight,

The original wires on my 1970 are dated:
Spark Plug wire codes

wire # code
1 4Q-69
2 4Q-69

wire # code
3 4Q-69
4 1Q-70

wire # code
5 4Q-69
6 4Q-69

wire # code
7 3-Q-69
8 1Q-70

coil 4Q-69

As you can see some have dashes after the quarter and some not. This is a sample of one, but I would conclude that with or without the dash is just fine. I would put this story in the same category as the big block hood on a small block car.

I seem to recall a time when wires with red spark plug boots were available over the counter or from FLAPS.

[Christopher K.]

Re: Help with Spark Plug Wires

Thanks Terry, your sampling of wires is a great example.
Now that I think of it, 4th quarter wires are probably not correct for my July build car?
Very strange though that someone would have changed the wires a few months after getting a brand new car. I guess I'll take my chances and buy the correct repros.

[Alan S.]

Re: Help with Spark Plug Wires

Hi Chris,
The original wires on my mid-January 1971 built car display 3 dates.
The earliest seems quite early for a January built car.
Perhaps the 4th quarter date you're seeing among your wires isn't too unusual.
Terry's list comprises a 3 quarter span too.
Regards,
Alan

[William C.]

Re: Help with Spark Plug Wires

Yes, there was a service package available with the red boots.

[Christopher K.]

Re: Help with Spark Plug Wires

Thanks for the additional comments.
All of them were very helpful.

[Terry M.]

Re: Help with Spark Plug Wires

I forgot to mention My car is January 29 on the trim tag (A29), so the 3rd & 4th quarter of 1969 is not too bad and 1 quarter of 1970 is right there. I was focusing on the dash/no dash story.

BTW: Bill Clupper would know for sure, but I bet there was more than one machine that dated all the spark plug wires, and that could account for the dash/no dash. There might aloso have even been several locations, although I guess the Corvette lengths were unique given all the shielding.

[Christopher K.]

Re: Help with Spark Plug Wires

Thanks Terry
I'm thinking that the 4th quarter of '72 (oct-dec) for a July 72 car, and the red boots, pretty much eliminates these as viable original wires.

[William C.]

Re: Help with Spark Plug Wires

I hate to blow a hole into another MYTH, but the wiring was printed with the logo's and dated as it came of the cable extrusion equipment, NOT as being cut/assembled. First one of our plants I ever worked in, back in '63 the final rubber jacket was extruded in a process that required a special "Continuous Vulcanizer" to achieve the time and temperature to cure the rubber jacket. These were 100-150 feet in length, and to make the process something that could be run by one person, the wire exited the steam tube, and onto a pulley that carried it back to the operator end of the machine, and along the way it passed thru the printer that dated it with the Packard Electric logos and the date of the CABLE manufacture. It was wound on reels (36 in diameter) and stored until needed in the open space under the steam tubes. The assembly area for the SP wires was in another part of the same plant, so when they needed more wire (fairly continuously thru the day) a fork truck driver would be dispatched up the aisle to fetch a new reel of cable. Generally he picked the first one he came to with the result that some reels set for a MUCH longer time than others. Remember this wire was used not only on Corvette, but nearly EVERY GM car and truck being built plus a fairly good service business. That is why in judging the manuals were written to be fairly lenient in the date window on the plug wires. Once a year a physical inventory was made of all inventory and there may have been an effoert at that time to focus on some old stragglers to get them used up, but this was a HIGH VOLUME production operation, and no-one involved ever thought that anybody would think about it 50 years or so later...As I recall we had about 4-6 extruders (Continuous vulcanizer) lines in the plant.

[Terry M.]

Re: Help with Spark Plug Wires

Bill,
How many extrusion machines were there and were there extrusion machines in more than one location?

[Terry M.]

Re: Help with Spark Plug Wires

Thanks Terry
I'm thinking that the 4th quarter of '72 (oct-dec) for a July 72 car, and the red boots, pretty much eliminates these as viable original wires.

That would be my call if I were the judge.

[William C.]

Re: Help with Spark Plug Wires

All one location, I think about 5, BTW, the smallblock wire routing was the same for the C-1 and C-2 pass and Corvette. Can't really comment on the sharks.

[Roy V.]

Re: Help with Spark Plug Wires

Christopher what day in July is yours?
My LT-1 coupe s/n 526154 has L13 on the trim tag and certification label
Sorry my original ignition wires are long gone

[Christopher K.]

Re: Help with Spark Plug Wires

Hi Roy

It's 525669, L06