Factory Big Block Plug Wire Routing

[MoparGuy68]

This will be the first time I've ever had factory style plug wires on a classic Mopar. I was a bit surprised when I received my repro wires to find that the distributor end boots are a mixture of 90 degree and straight.

I've been trying to determine which wires go to which cylinders. Looks like cylinders 1,3,5,7 use 90 degree boots at the distributor for three wires and one straight boot. Cylinder 2,4,6,8, use straight boots for 3 wires and one 90 degree for cylinder 8.

I assume this photo of a 440 Six Pack has the correct routing.. Don't have the firing order on the cap memorized, will have to look that up in the service manual.

 

[hammond472]

1 8 4 3 6 5 7 2 counter clockwise! Fixed.

 

[ChryslerKid]

Smallblock clockwise
Bigblock counter clockwise

 

[hammond472]

Something has been going on with my spell check for the last few days. I go back to correct or ad things and it drops or adds partial words. I'm not sure if it's on my end or the site. Thanks ChryslerKid for having my back!

 

[ChryslerKid]

The spellcheck on my phone drives me up the wall man. It changes correctly spelled words for more commonly used ones.

 

[turbine68rt]

Not sure why some sets differ but my 68 repro set came with three 90° boots. I just used a '68 sales brochure engine shot as a guide. Driver's bank were 90' s and one straight. Pass side all straight for the 2-4-6 double ended loom.

 

[66Satellite47]

The spellcheck on my phone drives me up the wall man. It changes correctly spelled words for more commonly used ones.

My phone too. And it changes after I've gone on to other words, sometimes takes 3-4 attempts to get it to take my word selection. Think I'll change the damn texting app.

 

[Nacho-RT74]

Don't have the firing order on the cap memorized, will have to look that up in the service manual.

Intakes use to have it casted, with rotation direction, althought dunno on sixpacks

 

[Nacho-RT74]

well Edelbrock ones also have that at least too

 

[MoparGuy68]

I'm going to be duplicating the 440 Six Pack photo I showed in my first post. Using the non-Six Pack coil wire because my engine is a 383 Magnum. This is the best reference photo I have found for a factory wire set with four 90 degree cap boots and four straight cap boots. The set in the photo is 1Q-70 (for 1970 model). My set is 3Q-70 (for 1971 model).

 

[turbine68rt]

The photo in your first post is definitely a single quad engine. The coil mount is right for your 383.
Six packs are a bit different.

 

[MoparGuy68]

The photo in your first post is definitely a single quad engine. The coil mount is right for your engine.

The set of photos that came from apparently were not all taken of the same engine. One photo was a Six Pack. So, I think you are correct about the one I posted. I have a Mopar Performance M1 dual plane intake, so my coil is mounted further away (towards middle of engine) from the distributor cap, than shown in the posted photo.

My wire set came with two coil wires, the long wire is supposed to be for a Six Pack. The short wire for 4-barrel. Hopefully the short wire will reach my coil.

 

[MoparGuy68]

I've got a strange looking water neck on my engine.. The neck leans toward the passenger side. The factory wire retainer will NOT mount under the passenger side bolt on the water neck like it is supposed to.. Another thing on the list of a thousand things wrong with this car. Which each passing day I find something else that is wrong with it..

According to my research, the neck should be straight up and down. Looks like I need to obtain a replacement water neck.

I've posted photos of my weird water neck. Anyone know what engine that neck belongs on, because it doesn't belong on mine? I've also posted a factory Chrysler 383 engine image showing what looks like a straight up and down neck, with flat area under the bolt heads for the wire retainer to properly fit on. Plus a couple photos of big blocks that look to have the correct neck on them.

 

[turbine68rt]

I've got a strange looking water neck on my engine.. The neck leans toward the passenger side. The factory wire retainer will NOT mount under the passenger side bolt on the water neck like it is supposed to.. Another thing on the list of a thousand things wrong with this car. Which each passing day I find something else that is wrong with it..

According to my research, the neck should be straight up and down. Looks like I need to obtain a replacement water neck.

I've posted photos of my weird water neck. Anyone know what engine that neck belongs on, because it doesn't belong on mine? I've also posted a factory Chrysler 383 engine image showing what looks like a straight up and down neck, with flat area under the bolt heads for the wire retainer to properly fit on. Plus a couple photos of big blocks that look to have the correct neck on them.

View attachment 969418 View attachment 969419 View attachment 969420 View attachment 969421 View attachment 969422 View attachment 969423 View attachment 969424

Could you possibly turn the housing 180°? If that doesn't work I would get a good used housing that's straight.

 

[MoparGuy68]

Could you possibly turn the housing 180°? If that doesn't work I would get a good used housing that's straight.

No, the wire retainer won't seat on either side of the housing. There was an old rusty retainer under the driver side bolt. The retainer had been bent to try to make it seat on the water neck. I'm not going to bend up my new retainer to make it fit this weird neck.

All that I've been through with this car over the past 7 months, makes me think of a quote my high school friend told me back in 1985. He said, "When you buy a used car, you are buying someone else's miseries". He was a senior then, and had a 69 Dart 340 with headers. It was metallic blue, with subdued green flames on the front fenders. 69 Six Pack scoop on the hood with a roll bar and Cragar S/S wheels. That was the first muscle Mopar I ever rode in. And it was that car that got me into Mopars.. He sold the car in late 85 and replaced it with a 1980 Corvette. Then bought another 69 Dart about a year later haha. Still kept the Corvette though.

 

[turbine68rt]

Ok took another good look at it. So the raised step is too far outboard to allow the bracket to sit flat. I wonder if that housing was for something like an RV or van application. I would definitely source a different housing.

 

[ChryslerKid]

Its for an a.c. factory car. Its bent to fit under the ac compressor.

 

[MoparGuy68]

Its for an a.c. factory car. Its bent to fit under the ac compressor.

Was there a different wire retainer part to mount on the A/C water neck? The raised step extends out too far, which prevents my wire retainer from sitting flush over the bolt hole.

 

[ChryslerKid]

Woah i just skimmed over this. Didnt look at your pics. This is the style i was talking about. That is funky as hell. Ive never seen a bracket for the ac version, maybe they just didnt use one or it was bolted to something else. Those straight ones are plentiful though.

 

[MoparGuy68]

So, I guess my water neck came off the Ball Stud Hemi prototype engine, like the funky dipstick that used to be on it too..