# Help with spark plug wires



## JamesInNC (Sep 17, 2011)

I want to add spark plug wire w/boots to detail my Batmobile engine a bit. Scale is 1/25, and engine is a V8. Since this is a version from the '60s comic book I have no idea if the engine is a copy of a real design.

Something I've never seen is the style of dist cap. There's no prong in the cap's center for the coil wire. Instead, there are nine prongs around the rim of it. Weird to me.

So where can I get sp wires and boots? Are there standard ones for 1/25 scale, or a gazillion to choose from?

And as long as I'm going the extra mile here, is there a standard firing order for a V8? If so, can you point me to a diagram? Or something at least realistic?

The dist cap, coil, and sp wires are very prominent when the hood is open, so I want to do a good job here.

Thanks,
James


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Detail Master sells complete distributor, magneto and just wiring parts. Mega Hobbies is where I get a lot of my detail stuff like that. They make two types, a stock and a racing wire, I pretty much use the thicker racing wire for everything, for me it's easier to work with.


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

This site has firing orders for a lot of the major engines along with diagrams. I've found it to be very helpful! http://boxwrench.net/specs_index.htm 

As far as spark plug wires. I cheat a little bit by buying prewired distributors. I get mine from this place http://www.madmodeling.com/store/ccp0-catshow/distributors.html (I go there because they have different types of 8 cylinder distributors along with 6 and 4 cylinders and different types of magnetos as well) 

Spark plug boots may be the interesting part. I went on a bit of a quest the last time I restocked my boot material. The latest stuff I use was the smallest gauge wire (can't remember what gauge) at a local ACE. The wire is white, so what I do is cut all the boots I want, glue them to a toothpick, spray paint them the color I want, and then use an exacto to cut them off. I glue the painted boot to the block in the location I want it, then I just cut the wires to size and slide them into the boot with a dab of superglue on the end. 

Hope this helps! :wave:


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## 71 Charger 500 (Jan 27, 2011)

I buy Detail Master pre-wired distributors, they come with boot material. I cut my boots, slide them onto the wire and slide them clear up to the cap. I then cut the wires to length after drilling holes in the heads, glue the wires in with super glue and quickly slide the boots down to the head and the super glue holds them in place. Occasionally I will have to add a small drop of super glue to the head to hold the boot in place but its a pretty easy process.

Put a piece of beige masking tape on a small piece of wood that you can use as a cutting board. Determine how long you want you boots to be and mark that on the masking tape. Lay your boot material on the tape, the cut end at one mark and then cut the material at the other mark so that your boots are uniform in length. To keep from having the small pieces go flying across the room. Put another piece of masking tape right next to the piece with the marks on it for how long you want your boots. The second piece of tape, double it back on itself so that the sticky side is up. Lay your boot material on that and press it down to make it stick and then cut through. With it being stuck to the tape, it won't go flying! Click on the picture to make it larger. Mo


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

71 Charger 500 said:


> I buy Detail Master pre-wired distributors, they come with boot material. I cut my boots, slide them onto the wire and slide them clear up to the cap. I then cut the wires to length after drilling holes in the heads, glue the wires in with super glue and quickly slide the boots down to the head and the super glue holds them in place. Occasionally I will have to add a small drop of super glue to the head to hold the boot in place but its a pretty easy process.
> 
> Put a piece of beige masking tape on a small piece of wood that you can use as a cutting board. Determine how long you want you boots to be and mark that on the masking tape. Lay your boot material on the tape, the cut end at one mark and then cut the material at the other mark so that your boots are uniform in length. To keep from having the small pieces go flying across the room. Put another piece of masking tape right next to the piece with the marks on it for how long you want your boots. The second piece of tape, double it back on itself so that the sticky side is up. Lay your boot material on that and press it down to make it stick and then cut through. With it being stuck to the tape, it won't go flying! Click on the picture to make it larger. Mo


Great idea for getting uniform length boots! I'll have to remember that.


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## Schwinnster (Sep 5, 2011)

Those are _great_ tips, Mike, and Mo! 

Looking forward to seeing some pics of your Batmobile James. That is _really_ weird about the dist cap they made for it.... One of those pre-wired distributors will take care of that tho.


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## JamesInNC (Sep 17, 2011)

Everyone - thanks for all the great tips and ideas! I'll check out Detail Master; sounds like they have what I need.

I'll post some WIP pics in a few days. Got the block/tranny and heads together today. Need to paint it and the other gazillion engine parts before building it up more. So I sanded/puttied everything and primed the parts. Hopefully I can paint them tomorrow.

Cheers,
James


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## s.moe (Jul 18, 2011)

James...When you run into a problem or have a question like this,, Just ask and everyone on here will always try to help out.......Haven't had them steer me wrong yet....Great guy's on here, For Sure...................MOE.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

^ I concur completely. Also, there's such a wealth of knowledge and experience among the members here that you're sure to get a variety of ideas and suggestions on how to solve whatever problem you're having, and you can choose the one that works best for you.


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## JamesInNC (Sep 17, 2011)

Moe & Zombie,
Thanks! I agree 100%. The members here always give great advice. And lots of alternatives to questions, too. So like you said, I can experiment and choose what works best for me.

Plus I've benefited from the wealth of information from previous posts. So much new stuff - tools, paints, materials - from when I last built a kit 25 yrs ago!


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