Good morning all,
I need help. I was checking the wires and plug gaps and one of the ends came off the wire, not the kind that can be easily fixed. The car: 72 Supreme, 350, 4 barrel, with some motor work done 25,000 miles and 16 years ago. I am not sure how to proceed. The wires are 8mm Taylor Spiro Pro silicone, the plugs are Bosch Platinum Plus WR9FP, they also say R3 889.
I haven't worked on my own car for several years, never was a mechanic, but I did know how to tune one up basically.
The motor work (as much as I know, and have receipts for from the previous owner): 3711 Edelbrock intake, 268 cam (42-229-4), P518 pistons, moly rings, new exhaust valves, guides, seats, springs, harmonic balance, heads milled .005", deck block '0', bored .030", resize rods, grind crank 010"-010", balance (auto), cam bearings, freeze plugs. As dumb as it is, I'm not sure about the ignition, was told it is electronic, the distributor is very big, but I have not removed the cap or anything else. Basically I'm looking for opinions and/or advice on what plugs and wires to get. I will be taking the car eventually to a mechanic to let him diagnose the overall condition, but I need to learn at least a little about it before I do.
If I can provide any more pertinent info, I will try.


Thank you for any help.

 

I guess the most obvious thing to do is replace all the wires and plugs with the most compatible thing available.
Funny though, I had only checked two plugs when this happened, one was gapped at about .045", the other was closer to .035". I replaced the bad wire with a 7mm wire temporarily and it seems to be ok, but I wouldn't want to keep it that way for very long.

 

We need to know what ignition system you have, a picture would help. Or does it have a large coil in cap or small cap with points inside?

 

I had one of mine pull off, I was able to slide the boot up and recrimp the offending metal clip spark plug part onto the wire. The core of the wire just exits the insulation and was crimped under the clip so I did the same, it's worked fine ever since if it's abig cap and electronic it's probably HEI you can probably run .045 for a plug gap w out any issues

 

 

Ok, that's an Hei. I'd use the same pn for the plugs you have now, gapped to .045 and replace your wire set with a new set of Taylor Spiralpro's in black. Most would set their timing to 18-21 initial, but I would check to see where it is now before you mess with it.

 

Thanks very much. I appreciate the help. I'm just going to do the plugs and wires, if it seems like that's not an issue, I'll just leave the rest for the real mechanic. Got rid of my timing light, remote starter switch, and voltmeter a few years ago. Didn't think I would get back into doing this. After I get it all checked out, compression test, overall eval, etc, I'll see what I'm willing to rebuy tools for and do. Thanks again.

 

Hope it turns out to be in great shape.

 

Thanks Eric, me too!
So, it seems the plugs I have are hard to find locally. I'm not all that into brand names as long as I get quality. Any recommendations on a different plug, and wires?

 

You should be able to get the wires at any auto parts store.

Bosch WR9FP cross to:
AC Delco R45S
Autolite AP86
Autolite AP847
Motorcraft AR52
NGK BPR5S
NGK BP5S

 

You are a veritable fount of information Eric. I have found some 8mm wires at the auto parts place, AC Delco and some others, just wondered if the ones I'm replacing were so special that I should get the same. I guess a wire is a wire for the most part though.
Thank you for the cross reference on the plugs too.

 

A wire is wire and I have used others with minimal issues, but I always try and get the Taylors first.

 

thanks for helping me with what should be a simple task. I went with AC Delco plugs, one of the cross references, gapped them at .040", and Accel wires, had never done the put the ends on yourself kind before. That was a learning experiece for me. Didn't mess with anything else, the car seems to run about the same, in the driveway at least. It's not like there's a big issue, it's just been sitting a lot and I don't think it got much regular maintenance. It has idling issues and just doesn't quite feel right to me. Like I said, I will be taking it to get everything else motor-wise checked out by an actual mechanic, still think the carb is tired. Appreciate the time and patience Eric.

 

If your mechanic can provide a good tune with your new parts, you may be pleasantly surprised. Hopefully he knows how to maximize your timing. Let me know how it turns out.