change spark plug wires?

[MDSHARK81]

Hi guys new to the forum, but not to 81's I 1st bought her in 1990, owned her till 2004, then recently bought my same car back! She is a black/black auto. All original St. Louis car built in Dec 1980, she is still all stock (65,000 miles) including CCC, engine, exhaust, mufflers, ETR radio, etc. I'm loving have her back. What a blast, not the fastest, but a GREAT cruzer!!!

Well, you get it, but I'm looking to change the plug wires. I know it's a pain. Do any of you have pics? and do they route through the motor mounts? to get the # 1,3 & 2,4 plug wires in?

 

[Tom Bryant]

Welcome to the CAC

Yes they do run through the mounts. I did mine 2 years ago and it was a real pain. I ended up buying a Taylor Spiral Pro Suppression set and installed the distributor end terminals myself. That made it easy to run the wire through the motor mounts and up to the distributor without fighting with the boot. I ran them one at a time and labeled the top end. Then when I had them all ran I installed the distributor terminals cutting each wire to the perfect length. That made for a very tidy and clean installation. I bought the MSD plug wire crimping tool from Summit. It's a little pricey at a little over $70. but well worth it if you do this sort of thing occasionally. It's easy to use and makes a perfect crimp every time.

It hasn't ran this smoothly since it was new so I guess it was worth the time and effort. I can find the number of the wire set I used if you're interested.

Tom

 

[bill81vette]

Welcome to CAC!!!!
Enjoy!!!

 

[MDSHARK81]

Thx Tom, but I have already purchased a stock looking replacement set of wires from Corvette Central to work with the original retainer.

 

[Tom Bryant]

You might have to loosen the mounts to the block and lift the engine a little to get the boots through. I agree that it's best to put them back where they belong. I did mine during the winter so I could work on them when I felt like it.

Tom