57 T-Bird sparkplugs

A

Alan O'Connell

Well-known member
I want to change the plugs on my 57 T Bird. The original plugs came from Concours parts but I want to buy the replacement plugs from Pep Boys, Autozone, etc. What is the best plug for the car. It's got a 312 c.i.d. with a four barrel carb. It's also got a Fordomatic ******.
 
Motorcraft, or NGK seems to run best. Years ago, we bought Champion. That would be an expensive mistake these days.
 
Ole Don said:
Motorcraft, or NGK seems to run best. Years ago, we bought Champion. That would be an expensive mistake these days.
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I think I still have Champion UF14YC plugs in my '55 Courier. I did use Champion plugs for many decades, but nobody carries them anymore. So now I just get the Motorcraft BSF82 plugs. They are available at all the chain stores like AutoZone and Advance.

Why would the Champion plugs be an expensive mistake ???
 
Today, I own only a Y block powered 55. In the past, I also ran a hopped up flathead powered car. Champion plugs may start, and run, but as soon as your right foot goes down, the motor misses. I backed the flathead on a chassis dyno, it would not exceed 3200 RPMs with Champions. With NGK, it went to 4800 easy. They may be fine for idle, on and off the trailer. For those of us who drive, in a spirited fashion, Champion spark plugs are a total waste of money and effort. It is possible that in other parts of the US, Champion plugs come from other manufacturing facilities. I live near the Mississippi River.
 
Back in my parts mgr daze (70s-early 80s) I worked in a smalltown dealership. We serviced all makes & models. I stocked full Motorcraft line and their plugs went in everything unless customers requested otherwise, and usually that was only for GM cars - they got ACs.

I remember the service dept replacing many Champion plugs out after customer complaints of rough/poor running. There was a KMart in town that would run tune-up specials and they put Champions in everything, we got a lot of their 'come-backs'; sometimes due to wrong application but also due to poor performance of the right ones.

I don't remember using anyhting but Motorcraft plugs in most of my stuff , even when I had snowmobiles. Never had any problems with them.

My '56 Fairlane with a '55 Merc 292 engine has BSF82Cs.
 
Standard Champion plugs are made in three pieces if you notice when you open them you will have a white powder on your fingers that is because they are extruded into the base shell with talcum powder which when exposed to higher voltages and temperatures they deteriorate,Autolite and Motorcraft plugs are epoxy sealed.Another interesting test we did at a parts store I worked at was testing resistance by touching an ohm meter from the top to the tip the Champions were high resistance with erratic readings the Motorcraft and AC plugs were much lower and consistent.
 
JeffB2 said:
Standard Champion plugs are made in three pieces if you notice when you open them you will have a white powder on your fingers that is because they are extruded into the base shell with talcum powder which when exposed to higher voltages and temperatures they deteriorate,Autolite and Motorcraft plugs are epoxy sealed.Another interesting test we did at a parts store I worked at was testing resistance by touching an ohm meter from the top to the tip the Champions were high resistance with erratic readings the Motorcraft and AC plugs were much lower and consistent.
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Thank You! For confirming my opinions with a common sense test.

Every set of Champions I ever installed I had to replace with Motorcraft to get the engine to run correctly. I had to replace a 2 week old set of Champions [100% correct application by the oem manufacturer} with Motorcraft in a supermarket parking lot on a cold winter night. I have nothing good to say about Chanpion plugs.

Every set of Motorcraft plugs I replaced at the recommended schedule [old days not 100,000 milers] looked like they had less then 1000 miles on them.

I saw too many Bosch Platinium advertisements. In the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles that I put them in, none ran better. I don't know why, but to me the engine felt like it had less torque with the Bosch Platinium. Maybe its just me, but with new Motorcrafts back in the engine would wake up again. Bosch plugs charts have kinda just one or two plugs application for Ford engines. So their heat ranges are maybe not what is right in a Ford.

I got a lot of new Bosch Platinium plugs I would love to get my money back for. 18MM and 14MM If they work for you, call Rudy 908 213 9030
 
This is a little OT, but is plug related. Is cleaning a set of carboned plugs by blasting with glass bead OK, or not? I have done a number of sets this way without problem, but would like other's opinions.

On the subject at hand, I tried out a NOS set of Prestolyte plugs on a 292 and was running it on a test stand. Two of the plugs were visibly arching to the block! They all went into the trash quickly.
 
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Back in the 50s most service stations had spark plug cleaners. From memory they had emery or carborundum grit which was blasted on the plugs to clean them. glass may be a bit hard and crack or damage the electrode shield which is ceramic. If you reduced the pressure it might be OK.
Regards
 
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