Hi,

Well I honestly did not think I was going to have to write a post to try and find a set of spark plug wires, but here I am... I didn't think I was looking for something that specific, but I guess I am.

I have a 1970, small block 350, with the original distributor and coil, except that I installed a BreakerlessSE kit to eliminate the points. It has the female-style distributor cap, therefore the wires on the cap side need to be a "male" connector. Below is an original AC Delco wire kit for a 1970. On the distributor side you can see the connector is a straight male connector. My wires are old, so that's the reason I want to replace them. What I am looking for is rather than have a "straight" connector on the distributor side, I would like to find a 90 degree boot male connector on the distributor side... it will give a little more room when the ignition shielding cover in installed, and it won't "kink" any of the wires.

I had ordered a set of MSD wires which I thought was going to fit, as their fitment guide said it fits a 1970 Corvette, but when I got them, and compared the longest wire, my original wire is 14 inches longer than the longest MSD wire, so obviously the MSD's won't fit. My original #1 wire is about 53 inches long as it goes under the manifold and through all the ignition shielding.

I saw potentially Accel had a kit, but it's a kit where you had to crimp the ends yourself, and I would prefer to find a kit that's already all assembled.
Does anyone know of a set of wires that would fit a 1970 (correct lengths and all) that goes under manifold, etc... but that has a 90 degree boot with a male connector to fit a female distributor cap.

 

Have you considered a set of wires that allows you to cut the wire to the length you want and crimp on an end?

I cheated, and have wires that go over the headers, so I can't suggest the kit I bought, but the idea is the same. You just need a kit that starts at 53", or whatever your longest wire happens to be.

 

Hi,
I did consider this, but wanted to try and avoid having to crimp them myself... do you need a "special" crimping tool to do it properly?

 

I don't know how special it needs to be. I had plenty of generic crimping tools laying around, so I found a combination that worked. I had to finesse them a bit, but I only had to make 8 crimps for my HEI set. If I were doing this all the time, I'd probably buy the tool.

 

The last time I made a set of wires for my 69, I think I bought a roll of 35 feet of 8mm wire with ends. It took the whole thing to get the wires routed correctly. It may sound crazy but a flaring tool tubing clamp, does a neat job of crimping the ends onto the cable.

 

get a set of wires w/minimum length you need and then crimp the other( distributor) ends on. Maybe even buy the tool they are not expensive and is a great learning experience for owning a corvette. And don't forget to put a dab of dialectric grease inside the plug boots. Keeps water out and makes them easier to install/remove. You can do this!

 

I have a '74 stock small block and my wires were all cut longer than what was needed.
1 2 and 3 were 49"
4 was 45"
5 & 6 were 32"
7 was 28"
8 was 26"
I went under and through the boomerangs, since your going over the headers you are well advised to get a do-it-yourself kit.
With headers you might need to replace a wire someday and you'll be happy to know-how and have the tools.

 

Maker your own or take it to a Corvette only shop for answers and help! Call Zip they are a Vendor here and have been in the corvette parts forever. Good Prices and they know there cars.www.zip-corvette.com

 

My past experience with MSD wires had been great but the last two sets were not up to the old standard they used to be made with. The boots that go over the spark plugs started leaking and I saw large sparks going to ground versus firing the spark plug. So I bought a new set of Taylor 8.5 mm wires that were "supposed to fit" perfectly on a Big Block and they too are several inches too long on every wire. Where can you put the extra wire these companies are giving you every time we buy a set? Maybe if I had the right tool and parts I could shorten them as needed and be done with a clean engine again.

I have finally decided that I am going to spend the money and make them myself with a roll and a couple boxes of ends like mentioned above. The tool is helpful but not critical as it is possible to make them without the specific MSD tool for $104. I see that you can buy a Jeg's branded tool for $36 and that will be the right tool to do the job on 99% of the spark plug wires I need. Why the MSD tool has to be $104 versus the cheapest one being $27 I will never know, maybe they are gold plated or something....

The last time I bought a 427 specific set of wires I paid over $150 for the set of MSD "Super-Conductor" wires and within 6 months they were arcing to ground versus firing the spark plug. The cool little numbers for the wires and the installation tool are great but not worth what they charge. Years ago I bought the $170 braided wires made for the 427 that all have ground attachment points but they didn't last long enough to justify the expense.

The only concern I have is that I now have an Electronic Fuel Injection system on top of my 427 and the manufacturer over and over warns you of any EMI or other electrical noise getting into the system's wiring. When you make the wires at home from a spool of wire and ends are you more likely to introduce any EMI into the engine compartment? The MSD wires never gave me any noise issues but this is an area of concern. Are home made wires just as quiet as the factory made ones? I used to make them for my motorcycles as it took two minutes to cut the wire and then screw the connectors onto the ends of the wire. I never worried about noise back then but today things are different.

I do keep my high voltage wires away from the power wires and both those are kept away from the sensor wires in an attempt to keep noise out of the wiring system. There is only so much room to play with and the new long Taylor wires are not helping me keep things neat and orderly in the engine compartment.

Best regards,
Chris

 

It's very quick and easy to cut and crimp plug wires to length, and they look soooo much better! I just did this with the below tool :

 

BAD LINK - Tried to take me to a malicious web site!!!!!

 

It worked for me. Perhaps he fixed it?

Here's the item. Amazon Link to Glarks crimper and bits set.

 

works fine for me

 

Perhaps @nwav8tor's boss tagged Amazon as a malicious website to prevent unauthorized purchases.

 

Thanks everyone for your responses... looks like it's pretty unanimous that I should buy a set, and crimp the distributor ends myself... I did find a kit that has 2-56", 2-50", 2-42", 3-32" wires with socket-style ends to fit my female-style distributor cap... the lengths are certainly long enough...

Project for the weekend I guess.

 

Still can't get that original link to work.
Home computer so no boss involved.
Probably a glitch with Norton which says I'm trying to go to some malicious non-amazon site.
Thanks Bikespace for the other link - that one worked!http://ww44.affinity.net/sssweb?enk=...b?enk=20489c12

 

If you purchase the tool in the link only use the single crimp method.
The tool in link provides some boots and terminals but I would use a good quality boot from either Taylor or MSD.
You will see (I did the white) in the photo the length of wire you strip will be different at each end.
Spark plug end .62" or so.
Dist. end .42" or so.
Wish Moroso still made this simple 8mm wire crimper...
Probably had this tool over 30 years now, crazy how time fly's...