For some time now I've been wanting to re-route my spark plug wires around the front of the engine area so it cleaned up the top of the valve cover and provided an overall cleaner look in my engine bay.  However, all of the installations that I have seen essentially use tie wraps to hold the wire bundle together as it is routed along the passenger side of the block and around the front to the distributor.  Typically there is also some sort of clamp in the front part of the engine that holds the bundle to either the valve cover or the front cover plate.  The notion of using tie wraps for this application just didn't sit well with me mainly from an aesthetics standpoint, but I also did not like the idea of the wires being held tightly together and the possibility of crosstalk between wires (although I suspect this is pretty rare these days given the quality and size of the plug wire used in modern applications).

So I did a ton of research to look for aftermarket solutions that would provide a clean look and keep the wires separated to some level.  I even purchased a couple of options to try them out on my car, but they were just not delivering the look I was searching for.  Unfortunately most of these solutions are designed for V type engines and they just don't lend themselves very well to our straight line sixes.

So I spent some time with my son Alex (a mechanical engineer) discussing the problem and he devised what looked to be a pretty interesting solution.  So I purchased some aluminum stock and set about machining the pieces he designed.  I also made a couple of small brackets for the front part of the engine so that I can ensure that the bundle stays tight and close to the block.  Given that the bundle runs under the top radiator hose I also needed to make sure that there was ample clearance between the wire bundle and the hose itself. 

I just finished this today and thought I would share it with the forum so you can see what we did and also get any feedback on our implementation.  All in all I am very happy with how it came out and it met all of my criteria both from an aesthetics and performance viewpoint.

Here's a few pictures so you can see how we implemented this.

Look forward to your feedback.

Mike.

 

Sweet installation - big ATTABOY's to you and Alex.  I hear the calls for extra sets coming in now!

Which wire set is that? or did you make them too?

either way, shipping to T8L 4P9 please...

I custom made the wire set myself from bulk MSD 8.5mm wire as well as their boots and terminals. It was the best I could find and reviews on it online were excellent.

If there is sufficient interest in this I might be interested in making it available to others on the forum as well.

Mike.

I love this nice tidy and clean. Any chance you could show us the bracket parts. I could be a buyer


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So this is the best picture I have of just the brackets and wire holders but does not include the ones on the front of the engine as well as the "3" wire holder.  The ones on front hold all six wires but have a larger piece of material between two of the holes to allow space for the L bracket.  The center is drilled and tapped so it can attach to the L brackets, which are pictured.

Mike.

Ow! My Eyes!   That shiny engine does it to me every time.... Mike you need to post warnings! 

I'm bringing my welder's mask to Austin!

A mechanical engineer for a son, I gotta get me one of those.

Brilliant idea, simple and they don't draw attention to themselves, very clean.  You could make those on a 3d printer for pennys. Sell as many as you can before someone steals your idea.

That's awesome man! Looks way clean. If you decide to sell those shoot me over a note, I could be a potential buyer.

I really like those. Machined from aluminum, did you anodize after wards?

Yes they are machined from aluminum but have been painted using Eastwood rust encapsulator.  They are not anodized.

Mike.

I'll buy a pair. That's the best looking layout i've ever seen on a Z


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Bundle the wire and retainers as a kit. I'm sure you will sell quite a few! I'm in...