hayman

I am restoring a 76. I pulled the engine and transmission last week and found something that seems bizarre to me. I have asked several people and no one can give me an explanation to what I found.

I removed all the spark plugs and the #1 cylinder has what looks like the bottom portion of a spark plug with a normal spark plug threaded into that. It appears that the threads are the same on the plug and this insert. The spark plug hole on the combustion side of the head is practically carboned shut. By using this insert thingy meant the spark plug was completely out of the combustion area. For what reason would someone need to do this?

It was very obvious looking at the four plugs before removing them that the #1 was a little longer then all the rest. I will double check on the threads this evening to see if they are the same or if the head was stripped out.


Bill

3joh

Sounds like the threads were messed up at one time and someone put in a helicoil to repair the threads. The longer spark plug would make up for some of the extra length of the helicoil.

carl a

sounds like a heli coil was installed in #1-someone dtripped it out in the head

hayman

All the spark plugs are the same. A heli coil doesn't look like the bottom portion of a spark plug, does it?

Bill

pws69

I remember those things from WAY back (50's and 60's - Yep, I'm really dating myself here!)! I think they called them "Anti Foulers" and IIRC they were used on an engine that had one cylinder that foulded out (bad oil ring or the like). They were used in lieu of rebuilding an "otherwise good" engine. The principle (or belief) was that if you kept the gap out of the oil, it would still fire. They did work until you at least got out of the parking lot...

I'm sure there are a few other "old guys" that will chime in.

Twin_Turbo

That's it, some kinda shade tree mechanic fix

pws69

No kidding!!!

kanka

If it looks like an insert and you can screw it out of the head , It was an insert used to keep your plugs from fouling . I'am going to tell my age here; Years ago we would put inserts in to keep from fouling plugs because of either bad rings or bad valve guides.Bubba's cheap way to sale a car. I bet some oldtimers remember this one. Hope this helps.

rponfick

Hey, pws69, I must be as old as you are because I remember something like that also. I recall they also called it a spark intensifier that made the plug run hotter and would almost fire in oil. I don't know if they worked or not.

COMMANDER370

.My buddy had a van with 3 on it.Still smoked like a forest fire.He could go a coupla months before the plugs fouled and without them the plugs were go for 2-3 days.Used more oil than gas.I still have one in my shop in case you need another one

markdtn

I'm only 36 and I remember them. I remember seeing them on a big card at the autoparts store behind the counter. Think they were made by Champ.

pws69

You're right!! You just woke up a few more brain cells I was sure I killed in the 60's!!

VettePower

Good thing you are restoring the engine anyways......Those anti-foulers spell big trouble............

hayman

I checked to see if the threads were the same size, screwed the insert thingy into the next spark plug hole and it was the same thread size so it wasn't stripped. Looked into the exhaust port and it looked oily, the others just looked carboned up.

Let this be a nice little lesson when looking at used vehicles, make sure all the plugs look the same length.


Thanks again
Bill

stingr69

You guys are making me feel old and I am not THAT old

Anti-fouling adapters were a pretty common counter item sold at the car parts store I worked at in my former life. Those old "Burick duce-n-a-quat-rz" with the "Big One" foe-fitty-five engines used to have anti-foulers as standard equipment in those days. We were in the 'hood so there were lots of "hoopties" to sell parts for.

-Mark.