jb78L-82

I was thinking the same reading the comments…my 78 L-82 plug changes are easy…compared to other cars and late model ones…piece of cake..either from on top for some or underneath for others. SBC's in C3's are easy..

Paul L

They seem sensitive to changes/damage in gap: don't touch the tiny tips. The YR5IX are pre-set to 0.040 not 0.035 for a points/condensor coil. I'm wondering if 0.040 will work. This is probably much ado about nothing but I am just curious. I can't see bending things down a bit is much of a problem but I am so used to R45TS I do not know. That iridium tip does look fragile but I am willing to give them a try in the spring. But at $9.00 each they are not inexpensive.

DUB

From what I gather...if following the same principle....the new Corvettes are now having their spark plug gap reduced from .060" to .045"...in order to keep the coil packs from failing...so I have been told from a guy I know who tunes them on a chassis dyno.

Cost is what it is. If the plugs are really that good...then why worry about cost. Much like the oil filters that never get thrown away and take something like 17 years to pay off....and some people worry about that....but forget the filter is BETTER and you can see what teh filter is stopping and what the magnets collect in it.

DUB

Paul L

I am not concerned about cost. I'll give the NGK iridium a try this spring. And I'll leave them at the pre-set 0.040" gap. I don't mind experiments. I think the stock 1974 coil can handle that.

*Edit* - I ordered a set this evening. And yes to the O/P I know how to change spark plugs without losing too much blood. Just kidding....But the two under the A/C compressor can be a pain. I have extensions with u-joints to do the job through the mud flaps with the wheel off.

7T1vette

Exactly!

If you have a C3 with A/C, you need to remove the right-front wheel to gain access to those plugs. The trade-off in 'time spent' is well worth it.

mikem350

The hi tek plugs, platinum or iridium, have smaller center electrodes, or little points on them. The spark has an easier time forming and can jump a larger gap.

DUB

i second that!

Dub

Paul L

The fuel pump is a cute job as well. Loved that one. You can't get at the mount bolts from the top with the A/C compressor.

BTW, Dub. You have a lift. I am crawling around under jack stands with a 60+-year-old back. It really is a treat.

Paul L

If they come pre-gapped at 0.040" (as NGK site says) I will leave them alone.

DUB

Yes I have a lift....but I do plugs often times like the way you are showing when doing the fuel pump area.. I only put it on a lift if I need to do more work under the car that requires me to get it high off the ground.

Heck..I think I have a ratchet just like what you have there.

DUB

Paul L

Dub,

My Father - God Rest his Soul - was a mechanic (not technician) by training many decades ago. He wound up in the military and moved on to other duties but passed away in 1969. I still have many of his tools. Unlike Chinese versions today they are bullet-proof. You can't break them. This is the extension I used for the fuel pump along with a 7/16" socket I believe. That extension is ~50-years-old.

Love your contributions to the Forum!