Ques.for the Gurues or a real old timer

ken ct

ken ct

BANNED
Anybody definently know what yrs the brown coil and caps were used on late 30's early 40's What yrs used them????? ken ct. It seems to be all over the lot 38 to 41. Was a brown cap ever used on a 42 crab cap?? Im talking from the factory.. .:)
 
Ken, I don't know about the brown distributor cap, but I have a 42-48 coil with a black body and a brown top! I have also seen the same combination on the 37-41 coils.
 
jerry grayson said:
Ken, I don't know about the brown distributor cap, but I have a 42-48 coil with a black body and a brown top! I have also seen the same combination on the 37-41 coils.
Click to expand...
Thanks Jerry,ive seen the same thing but more 42-48 coils with the comb you mentioned.Dosn't really ans. my ques. thanks anyway. ken ct.:) Supposed to have something with the war effort?? :)
 
Ken...I remember buying new caps in the mid/late '50's in ford part box's....some were black, some brown..i think it might depend the supplier of /or material colours around at the time...My guess is you'd have to be on the assemble line at the time to check each individual engine at the time..... I was way to young to do that.! lol....
 
Thanks for trying to help Rooboy,but like jerry it still dosen't ans.my original ques.There are a few theriories around but nothing in stone. Thanks again. ken ct USA.
 
I have just spent some time researching your specific question of whether a brown crab cap was used in 1942. All evidence I found was that 42-48 caps were all black. I found no evidence that 1942 ever used a brown cap.

Here's some interesting information from StreetRodderWeb.com that explains the difference in color of caps. Don't know if this color scheme applied back then but it's interesting:
"While all Ford crab caps look similar, they're not the same. The secret to identifying them is in their color, as it indicates how good the insulation factor is. Black caps should only be used with 6-volt ignitions or 12-volt points conversions with a moderate coil; red caps are made of better material and are appropriate for 6 or 12 points or electronic with a high output coil; brown caps are the best and will withstand the highest voltage, but are generally not necessary, tan caps are for marine use and lack a vent, they should not be used on the street."
You can read more here: http://www.streetrodderweb.com/tech/0302_ford_flathead_reintroduced/index.html
 
If you have any experiance in rubber compounding,the diff in red rubber and black rubber which is same as plastic compounding all we use to do is leave out the carbon black in the mix and you got red rubber instead of black. No diff in plastic mixing.Carbon black was needed for the war effort in making militery tires and was not availible to state side use in auto parts. thank you. worked in rubber industry for 17 yrs at E.I. Dupont co. ken ct.
 
I see that I gotta find something better to do this time of night.

BTW gurues is actually spelled gurus.
 
Last edited:
Old Henry, The red or brown material is not as strong as the black. Brown coils are subject to crack very easy. If a brown coil gets good and hot there is a very good chance it will crack. When Skip rebuilds brown ones he puts a little foam in the potting material to help with the expansion problem. I have seen all combination of colors of the 40, 46 and bus coils. In production when they ran out of black tops they used brown ones. G.M.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top