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Plug wires

Last post 04-02-2009, 3:26 PM by Ed Holland. 3 replies.
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  •  04-01-2009, 9:52 AM 18653

    Plug wires

    OK. This will sound so incompetent to you guys, but I am not a British car guy. I inherited this 1961 3000 MKII when I married my wife. It has the DM6 distributor. Yeah, the triple carbs too. How do you change the plug wires? I am used to my firebird where they just pull off the cap. What holds these wires in the cap and how do you change them?
  •  04-01-2009, 10:29 AM 18655 in reply to 18653

    Re: Plug wires

    Hi,

    Look at the cap - does it have knurled/ribbed tops where the wires exit? If so these unscrew to release the wire. The end of the wire is stripped of insulation, a small brass washer slipped over the end of the HT wire and the strands splayed to retain it - some also recommend soldering the wire to the washer. The knurled nut clamps against this washer to retain the wire in the cap.

    Hope that helps,

    Ed


    I want my MGB
  •  04-01-2009, 10:43 AM 18657 in reply to 18655

    Re: Plug wires

    You should have the side entry cap on that model. If so I believe the wires are retained by needle screws from the interior of the cap. Remove the cap and look up underneath, you should see 7 screws, one for each plug wire and one for the coil lead. If you back each of the screws out several turns you should be able to remove that wire and replace, tighten the screw and move on to the next one. These don't have to be extremely tight, don't want to damage the cap, just snug enough so the needle will pierce the wire to the core to establish a good connection.

    "Disclaimer, this is a bit of a guess, haven't worked on the big Healey cap, but my Vertex magneto had a similar setup."


    '73 Midget (V6)
    '59 MGA (I6) under construction
    '73 Lotus Europa

    "There is a fine line between a hobby and mental illness"
  •  04-02-2009, 3:26 PM 18683 in reply to 18657

    Re: Plug wires

    Sorry for any confusion caused....

    I did find this useful reference for Healey ignition parts here

    http://www.vintagemotorspares.com/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/hodge?opendocument&part=2

     There are several distributor cap designs, and I might have got mixed up!

    Cheers,

    Ed


    I want my MGB