Fouled Plugs!!

drolston said:
To wrap up this thread, - Is there anything I can do to restore the fouled plugs to useful life? Like maybe burn off the black stuff with a propane torch?
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Spray 'em with cheap oven cleaner, let it sit for a few minutes, scrub with a toothbrush, rinse with hot water. Then use the torch to dry.
 
Tim Ayers said:
https://www.amazon.com/Pneumatic-Spark-Plug-Cleaner/dp/B004SBBNX0?tag=atomicindus08-20

These type of spark plug cleaners were very common. They blast the plug with a fine abrasive.

Since the NGK plugs I use are relatively inexpensive, I just replace them.

I'm curious if others had luck cleaning them with a brass tooth brush and sometime of solvent.
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Thanks. The reason I want to clean them is because they have been discontinued by NGK in the non-resistor version.
 
My Model T friends clean plugs all the time. Depending on the plug they have good results bead blasting them in a regular blast cabinet, then spraying them out with carburetor or brake cleaner and high pressure air to make sure there is no grit left in the plug. Success rate on newer plugs is much lower than on older plugs, the theory is the glaze on the ceramic insulator has changed since electronic fuel injection made fuel flooding from carburetors irrelevant to the vast majority of engines.
 
drolston said:
I found a source for the discontinued NGK B-5HS, which is only a little over one thread from reaching flush with the chamber. Hopefully the hotter range will avoid recurrence of fouling problem.

If I wanted to go with the spacer approach, what plugs might I try?
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The seller on Ebay listed 16 of these as NOS. Probably should have been listed as rejects. All but one of them have resistance from the top to the tip, several were over 5,000 Ohms. Listed as not returnable. I contacted seller to see if he will give me a refund. If not, my review will be a warning to others.
 
Go back and read "Bored & Stroked"'s response #13 on this thread. The part about 3/4" reach plugs and the copper bar stock. Since there seem to be no plugs that fit Offenhauser heads correctly, it's time to measure and fabricate.

Perhaps you could take a preliminary run at it with some extra plug washers from an old set of plugs.
 
My choice of media for blasting plugs is crushed walnut shells, as anything that comes loose after cleaning will not cause any damage to the engine components.
 
From my snowmobiling days, I know that some plugs just can't be cleaned. They may look good, but there seems to be something that gets into the center insulator that just can't be removed.

These days, I believe that cleaning plugs is a "fool's errand". What worked on a Model "T" with 60 lbs of compression is totally inadequate on anything close to modern. Buy the proper plugs and make them fit properly, even when the head manufacturers don't seem to care anymore. I spent a lot of time determining what were the correct plugs for the Edmunds heads I like so much and have been well rewarded for the effort.
 
I found another source for the NGK B-5HS plugs, which have 1/2" reach needed. And the "5" is a hotter plug than the "6's" that fouled.



I do love my three hot rod air cleaners and hope that at half throttle the one on the center carb is adequate; after which the secondaries open, and no single air cleaner gets restrictive. But I will never be running in s dusty environment; maybe I should replace the helmets with scoops. Why do they put the scoops on facing the rear? Maybe to keep rain water out when driving in a storm.
 
"Why do they put the scoops on facing the rear? Maybe to keep rain water out when driving in a storm."


I understand that carbs were designed to draw air from the relatively calm interior of a factory type air cleaner. Using the scoops facing to the rear is believed to be more conducive to smoother air intake.


So why did cars years later feature Ram Air intake,.....I don't know, maybe because they were designed for it?
 
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