Search the Community

Here are jpegs of a tutorial I did about four years ago. It's a subject that comes up frequently, so it bears a re-post, this time with tags. Everybody has their favorite way of accomplishing this task. There are some very nice aftermarket items out there, to be sure. I think that, back in the early-mid '70's, I built a couple of pieces with nine wires stuffed into a single hole drilled in the cap, before I decided that just wasn't acceptable, for me. Next, I began drilling nine holes (or five, or seven...) that's what's called a "painus in the anus"! Some time around 1985, Don Fahrni obtained some dental casting resin. We sought out a supply house from which to buy Dow RTV silicone rubber to make molds, and began making parts, mostly for fuel cars. One day Don noticed that he could fit "Bell wire" insulation into the nubs of a distributor cap mold. He added the dental resin, and, for us, at least, the rest was history. Neither of us ever used anything else for distributor/mag caps, again. These materials are relatively inexpensive, and once you've acquired them, you'll find many uses for them. Just the other day, I made a two-piece mold from it, so that I could make a set of knock-offs for my supermodified. I only had a single copy. Within an hour and a half, I had a set of four that simply need to be cleaned up. These are the kind of supplies it's always helpful to have around! I think everything is pretty clearly explained. If you have any questions, ask away!

Hey, all, I'm preparing to build a late-40s era mild hot rod 36 Ford 5-window, and would like replicate the thread-wrapped plug wires that were common for that period. Any ideas as to if such a thing exists in scale, or how one might replicate (simulate) the look? Thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions.