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Continued from Page 1

If you absolutely must take an educated guess, always err on the side of too long, because once the wire is too short—it's too short for good. The other important maxim to keep in mind is the right tool for the right job. Any good set of custom spark plug wires will come with a mini-crimping tool. If you build a great number of custom spark plug wires, or just like cool tools, purpose built spark plug wire crimping pliers are available as well. Using regular pliers or other tools not designed for the task will result in a weak crimp and poor performance—guaranteed. Follow along with the step-by-step instructions and crimp like a pro.


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Photo Guide

Choose the right boots and terminals for the job.

Work with one wire at a time. Start with the longest stock plug wire out of the vehicle and measure it against the longest wire in the kit. Measure on the vehicle if required. Mark the new wire.

Cut wire to length. Insert the new wire in the mini-crimper strip guide. Place a sharp blade across the top of the mini-crimper and rotate wire 360 degrees. Only the outer skin needs to be sliced.

Rotate cut section counterclockwise and pull away to reveal conductor. There must be enough length of conductor wire to fold back under the terminal base.

Use pliers to bend about 1/8 of an inch of the terminal ends in at 90 degrees for a more secure crimp.

Now may be a good time to pre-install boots and get any numbering taken care of.

Fold conductor wire under terminal, and insert wire and terminal into the "W" section of the mini-crimper. Wire should be about 1/8 ahead of the terminal tabs. Slide the two halves of the mini-crimper together.

Place mini-crimper in a vise with alignment tabs facing up. Slowly apply pressure to the vice until the tabs fold over the wire. Do not overcrimp! Piercing the outer skin of the wire will result in a weak crimp.

The finished crimp: Note how tabs hold onto outer surface of wire. Test crimp for strength before installing boot.

Bend the terminal slightly. A dab of di-electric grease will ease boot assembly, help with conductivity, and keep moisture out of the boot.

Slide boot over the terminal. Make any final bends.

First install spark plug side of wire. Di-electric grease helps here as well.

Next install the distributor side. Move on to the next wire making sure the wires do not cross or run against heat sources as you make the final routing.

If a lot more crimping is in the future, a set of custom crimping pliers may be the answer.



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