Need Wires, caps, points, plugs for 308 | FerrariChat

Need Wires, caps, points, plugs for 308

Discussion in '308/328' started by mattp, Nov 5, 2015.

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  1. mattp

    mattp Rookie

    Jun 16, 2005
    22
    Hi, I want to replace the ignition wires, and all related parts on my 1979 308, can someone recommend a source that sells the Ignition wars with the correct rubber boots, also need the Distributor Caps, Points, and Plugs. Thanks you
     
  2. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 6, 2002
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    Houston, Texas
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    Bubba
    Algar Ferrari, or TRutlands, would have all of that as a Tune Up kit.

    Plug extenders are not normally replaced, but should be carefully inspected and tested electrically....
    When you see the price, on the cap, you may just inspect and clean it too!
    They are actually rebuildable...

    Good luck!!
     
  3. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 6, 2002
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    Bubba
    NGK BP5ES...gap them down to .022.

    They come out of the box at .035, and that's too much.
    Bang them gently on the pavement, a few times...
     
  4. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 6, 2002
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    Bubba
    Spark plug well seals, is the name of the "boots" in our older cars...

    Not the later red ones that ride on top of the cam cover.
     
  5. mattp

    mattp Rookie

    Jun 16, 2005
    22
    just did a quick pricing from one of the vendors:
    wires, $400, Caps 360, plugs 48,extenders 88, points 64, plugs 48
    wow, is there a way to bring that down.
     
  6. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 6, 2002
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    LOL!

    I warned you.......plugs, points and rotor are the moving parts.

    You certainly don't replace wires with every set of fouled plugs.

    Find the kits to replace all the contact points of the cap, unless it is physically cracked.
     
  7. mattp

    mattp Rookie

    Jun 16, 2005
    22
    owned the car for 10 years and never replaced these parts; think, thought, it was time
    cars is not running as smoothly as it used to.
     
  8. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 6, 2002
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    It's easy enough to check the wires and extenders...

    I blew big bucks on wires in the last tune up, and the next shop to touch it said they were no good....

    Try fresh plugs, clean the extenders, at contacts.......look for obvious problems.

    You can sand the points too, they are not expensive but apparently modern replacements have gone downhill in quality.

    I guess we need to plead our case to MSD for a modern ignition!
    They take great care of the NHRA racers.....
     
  9. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,259
    Black Forest Germany
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    Martin N.
    #9 Martin308GTB, Nov 5, 2015
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2015
    You said it regarding new points. While it's no issue on my 308 with its later electronic ignition, I had a lot of problems on my '72 Alfa with modern points replacements.
    I installed a Pertronix Ignitor I nine years ago and could almost forget my distributor since. Looking into the cap from time to time. A drop of oil for the shaft and checking timing, which never did shift even one tiny bit.
    Is this also a low-cost option for the 308 with early points ignition?

    Best
    Martin
     
  10. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 10, 2003
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    Dave M.
  11. AN-M

    AN-M Formula Junior

    Jun 30, 2012
    367
    Norway
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    André
    If you decide to buy from Superformance avoid the leads they sell. They are plain copper wires and gave me all sorts of headaches.
     
  12. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
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    #12 Martin308GTB, Nov 5, 2015
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2015
    these are plain wrong for the later cars with electronic ignition. Had them too. Installed for five minutes. They not only interfered with the radio. Automotive electrician told me, that those zero resistance ignition wires will probably destroy the ignition amplifiers.
    I sold them afterwards via ebay, mentioning, that they are ONLY suitable for the early points ignition cars.

    The problem today is, that there are too many parts hucksters, who are not interested to go deep into the technical details.
    But as long as some Ferrari folks are happy getting a waterpump at £85,00 or a steering rack at $100,00 from China or India, those hucksters can't be too wrong.

    Best
    Martin
     
  13. don_xvi

    don_xvi F1 Rookie

    Nov 1, 2003
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    Don the 16th
    http://www.awitalian.com/Ferrari_308_GTB_and_GTS.html
    I'm having an affair right now with AW Italian parts out of New Jersey. Call and ask for Scott @ x49.
    The guy I bought my car from 11 years ago got his parts from there.
    Of course, these caps & rotors are the no-name reproduction parts. I've got a bit of a disappointment in the attention to detail on the rotors, but they function just fine.
     
  14. Steve King

    Steve King F1 Rookie

    Feb 15, 2001
    4,367
    NY
    I got my wires and extenders from WSP-4813 Ferrari Spark Plug Extenders Plugs you can get at any auto parts store for maybe $2-$3 each. Rotors fro my 77 I bought 10 pieces ($20) on ebay and they were aftermarket and a correct fit. I still have 3 or 4 laying around. Never needed a cap as they usually last a long time. I got rid of the points and went to pertronix's after one of my points failed and almost blew out my muffler.
    If you want cheaper parts get a honda
     
  15. mattp

    mattp Rookie

    Jun 16, 2005
    22
    thanks, I appreciate the information.
    Just wondering why you made the comment, "If you want cheaper parts get a honda" it really adds nothing to the conversation.
     
  16. AZDoug

    AZDoug Formula 3

    Jun 17, 2009
    1,606
    Along the Verde , AZ
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    Doug
    How correct do you want your car to be?

    I took my dual dizzies off and put them in a box and replaced both with a single programmable* electronic dizzy that uses a $12 Bosch cap. Best improvement i ever made to the car. And it cost just a little bit more than all the parts you are looking for,and included all new wires.

    It was Black Stallion set up, though I don't think they make them anymore, but I recall several older threads about using other distrubutors that were slightly modded to fit the f-car, that do the same thing . You can get programmable MSD boxes that use a hall effect sensor and do the same thing as the BS module dizzy does.

    If i ever want to go back to original, it is a few hours work to put the originals back on.

    *It came reprogrammed with several different advance curves, i used the performance curve, but you can also hook up a laptop and custom make your own curve.

    Doug
     
  17. mattp

    mattp Rookie

    Jun 16, 2005
    22
    I would love to do that, but it may be beyond my technical skills, and I don't want to start and then have to go to a shop with a half apart car.
    The replacement method is just good labeling and doable in an afternoon.

    But thanks for the advise, I will ask the shop I sometimes use as to what they would charge me for the conversion.
     
  18. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Seriously, just put in a fresh set of NGKs I specified, gapped down properly, and make sure you don;t have water around any of the plugs, the well seals are important, but they can let water in, that is then trapped in there!!!

    Don't spray water into the rear hood, and don't leave it in the rain.
     
  19. Mattitude

    Mattitude Rookie

    Jan 21, 2013
    32
    Charleston, SC
    Full Name:
    Matthew
    I agree with Don; I got everything for my 328 from the coil wires all the way to the spark plugs from AW Italian. I really enjoy doing business with them.

    IIRC, it was right around $1,200 for coil wires, distributor caps, rotors, plug wires, extenders and plugs. But that was a couple of years ago, so your mileage may vary.

    All parts fit correctly and have performed flawlessly. Sure, the caps and rotors are knock offs, but in my case they're under the little rubber cover things, so who would even know? :)

    -Matt

    Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk
     
  20. jlc308

    jlc308 Karting

    Jul 11, 2009
    121
    Irvine CA
    Mattp,

    send me a PM and I will show you how to get rid of the useless extenders and build a new set of correct wires at a very low cost.
     
  21. Sean F.

    Sean F. F1 Rookie

    Feb 4, 2003
    3,066
    Kansas
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    Sean F
  22. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Bubba
    Given the quality of the last set of points, they may be forcing my hand to go that way...

    Thanks, Sean!!
     
  23. AndrewE

    AndrewE Karting

    Aug 29, 2008
    123
    Sevenoaks, England
    Sorry for resurrecting an old thread but would like to know why you think zero resistance in ignition wires (and if relevant extenders and plugs) would lead to amplifier issues
     
  24. bitsobrits

    bitsobrits Formula Junior
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    Nov 12, 2011
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    Omaha, NE area, US
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    Steve
    Ohms law, E = I x R, or E/R = I. As resistance goes to zero, current goes to infinity (or whatever the particular system allows).
     
  25. Steve Magnusson

    Steve Magnusson Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Jan 11, 2001
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    Steve Magnusson
    Using zero resistance wires with zero resistance extenders and zero resistance spark plugs on a Digiplex-equipped (or any "electronic" ignition) F model = bad idea.

    If you want to try running zero resistance wires you should at least run resistive spark plugs (and probably resistive extenders). Don't claim that that would be problem-free, but zero+zero+zero = trouble for sure -- JMO.
     

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