I've seen metal spark plug wire holders on many vintage cars, and since I've broken every holder I have at least once, I started thinking about making a set of aluminum ones.

The old holders would be used for the pattern, and they would probably have to be bolted to the brackets on the valve cover. Maybe a dip into Plastikote to make it look a little like the plastic holders?

thx

I grab those whenever I see good ones in the junkyard. I'm pretty much set if I ever break one on either car. Besides, metal might not be the best material to have you wires joined together with.

I grab those whenever I see good ones in the junkyard. I'm pretty much set if I ever break one on either car. Besides, metal might not be the best material to have you wires joined together with.

Can you explain what you mean by that? IMO, the wire holder nees to be stiff enough to hold the wires from slipping or cpoming off once you squeeze it in, and stiff enough not to flex or droop, and so you can attach (bolt) it to a bracket. The plastic ones meet those criteria, and so I think some metal ones can do just as good.

I would still keep the smaller 3-groove holders for the floating parts.

The metal clips invite the spark through the insulation, causing ignition breakdown, resulting in hesitation, skipping, poor fuel economy, and driving that is not as responsive or fun as it should be! Carbon fiber would be a questionable choice as well.

Will

Can you explain what you mean by that?

SNIP!

Electrical Theory 101 - Electricity follows the path of least resistance... metal is a horrible insulator.

that's only if the insulation is cut or the spark gets out on it's own. So you just add a plasticized insulator to the metal holder. I see metal wire holder on just about all the muscle cars & hotods, but I don't think they're just bare metal.

Bonzai sells new ones.

that's only if the insulation is cut or the spark gets out on it's own. So you just add a plasticized insulator to the metal holder. I see metal wire holder on just about all the muscle cars & hotods, but I don't think they're just bare metal.

Tomohawk,

If the wires go bad in the plastic holders that the cars come with, having the metal so close for temptation would only speed that up! One thing about hotrods, and most muscle cars, they are very seldom daily drivers...

If you look at wires that have seen daily driving for even a year, generally they have flats and chafing forming on them with little or no direct metal contact, putting the wire in a metal holder is akin to a metal tower up in a lightning storm! Spending time and energy (and/or money) on an "upgrade" that adds no performance-and infact has the propensity to degrade performance...isn't that what we call Rice? :stupid:

Will

Bonzai sells new ones.

Lots of places sell them. eBay is lousy with them. The idea for the metal ones is to have wire holders that don't break easily.

I've made metal wire holders. If you make the holes large enough to accept heavy duty grommets they work just fine.

I've made metal wire holders. If you make the holes large enough to accept heavy duty grommets they work just fine.

Thanks, man. I knew there was a simple way to do it. Either grommets, or a plastic dip.