Correct spark plug type?
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- Minor Fan
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Correct spark plug type?
Hi folks - looked at 300+ posts so far, but cannot find a clue to which spark plugs I should get for our car. Morris minor 1000, 1960.
Nope, I don´t have a manual or a Haynes - yet. On their way...
Recommended brands, and type?
Anyone?
Cheers /Richard, Sweden
Nope, I don´t have a manual or a Haynes - yet. On their way...
Recommended brands, and type?
Anyone?
Cheers /Richard, Sweden
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- Minor Addict
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- Minor Addict
- Posts: 743
- Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2004 12:02 pm
- Location: Leicester
- MMOC Member: Yes
Certainly not mine after recent experience with mates MGB. Almost new NGK plugs had us searching all over his engine for serious poor running - eventually I decided I had exhausted all hope - and stuck in some spare Champs I had in my car - sorted!! Two full late nights wasted - NGKs are now somewhere in the field behind his house!
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- Minor Legend
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NGK make sparkplugs. Champion make good fishing weights (IMHO, but have never tried anything other than NGK in my own cars)
If using copper leads instead of carbon cored leads then you need a 5000 ohm resistance in the line between dissy cap and plug tip. Either use an in-line resistor, a 5k ohm plug cap or an NGK BPR6ES which has 5k ohm built in. The R means resistive. If you have carbon leads then you normally get between 4 and 7k oms on a normal length of moggy lead (number 4 is the shortest lead and has lowest resistance).
Not doing this gives a crappy spark. On a very oily cylinder you can up the ohms quickly by making an extra gap to jump by cutting the lead and placing the bared ends of the plug lead through the sewing holes of a shirt button. Worth about 4k ohms (IIRC) Good for burning off a bit of oil.
Higher performance engines would need plug of BP7 or BP8 (serious 1275!) series.
Hope this helps get someone out of trouble some dark winter night!
If using copper leads instead of carbon cored leads then you need a 5000 ohm resistance in the line between dissy cap and plug tip. Either use an in-line resistor, a 5k ohm plug cap or an NGK BPR6ES which has 5k ohm built in. The R means resistive. If you have carbon leads then you normally get between 4 and 7k oms on a normal length of moggy lead (number 4 is the shortest lead and has lowest resistance).
Not doing this gives a crappy spark. On a very oily cylinder you can up the ohms quickly by making an extra gap to jump by cutting the lead and placing the bared ends of the plug lead through the sewing holes of a shirt button. Worth about 4k ohms (IIRC) Good for burning off a bit of oil.
Higher performance engines would need plug of BP7 or BP8 (serious 1275!) series.
Hope this helps get someone out of trouble some dark winter night!
Cardiff, UK
We tried the 'gap' to get the NGKs to fire - useless. But he does have funny electronic ignition on the car - and the NGKs had hadca good soaking with flooded fuel from overflowing float bowl - since sorted by fitting Grose valves. Never had any issues with Champions on any of my cars - including full race Minis!
Bit of a spark plug story here strays into off topic but its relevant.
Theres a lot you can do ignition wise to improve things. A mate used to have a motorsprts parts shop dealing with boy racers to pro's.
had a couple of demo machines in the shop.
One was for splitfire plugs other for some dual core silicone leads.
Well compared to an ordinary plug or lead the results were astounding - the improved spark from the plugs or leads over standard was well incredible to be honest - did what they said.
So at the time was building a rally metro norm asp. top end of the viz scale. Got to dyno with and without the plugs and leads (also a performance coil but thats not particularly relevant) dont recall the figures but there was a marked inrease of IIRC about 7% BHP on the bench with the go faster goodies. Also noticeable was the far better starting not to mention overall running just because the ignition was running as well as it could be.
Think i'm the first person to have ever melted splitfire plug and they never found out why (duff metal in manufacture was my guess) but they are good, twin core leads are so worth having - just those and you'll notice a difference in starting so essential for cold winter mornings.
Have also tried bosh platinums in my time - but thats really one race and renew stuff, oh do they work but theres not much there to get eroded.
Suppose the moral of the story is that all the small things can make a difference, but unless doing them on a new build engine they may be likely to mask any shortfallings unless you know it inside out.
Theres a lot you can do ignition wise to improve things. A mate used to have a motorsprts parts shop dealing with boy racers to pro's.
had a couple of demo machines in the shop.
One was for splitfire plugs other for some dual core silicone leads.
Well compared to an ordinary plug or lead the results were astounding - the improved spark from the plugs or leads over standard was well incredible to be honest - did what they said.
So at the time was building a rally metro norm asp. top end of the viz scale. Got to dyno with and without the plugs and leads (also a performance coil but thats not particularly relevant) dont recall the figures but there was a marked inrease of IIRC about 7% BHP on the bench with the go faster goodies. Also noticeable was the far better starting not to mention overall running just because the ignition was running as well as it could be.
Think i'm the first person to have ever melted splitfire plug and they never found out why (duff metal in manufacture was my guess) but they are good, twin core leads are so worth having - just those and you'll notice a difference in starting so essential for cold winter mornings.
Have also tried bosh platinums in my time - but thats really one race and renew stuff, oh do they work but theres not much there to get eroded.
Suppose the moral of the story is that all the small things can make a difference, but unless doing them on a new build engine they may be likely to mask any shortfallings unless you know it inside out.