those are delco originals. they are "fine wire". supposed to be like that.

personally i prefer the delco iridiums part # 41-101. which ngk makes any way. but theres many guys here that like the ngk resistor plugs better. especially on the L67. to each their own.

and those things on the back wires are to deflect heat from the exhaust manifold. moisture probably got stuck in those and caused the plugs to rust.

did you use di-electric grease on the new wires?

The rust is most likely due to the fact where they are located. Nothing to worry about really.

Those tips are Iridium they do not require the larger electrode a copper or platinum plug would need for the spark. So those tips looked like when they went into the motor originally.

I believe the purpose of those sleeves is to protect the plugs and plug wire boots from the extra heat in that area of the motor. Nothing to worry about if you didn’t reuse them, most decent quality plug wires have boots that can withstand very high heat.


Ed

I greased the ignition coil posts, and plug ends

I'm #2! I used anti-seize when I put in my NGK stock heat range irridium plugs. They're much smoother than the Autolite 104 plugs I had. I guess that'* a strange comparison, but oh well. The plugs are easy to take out, and I don't actually see how properly applied anti-seize can affect conductivity.

even though id prob count as # one,

im #3. can we make it past 5, in defiance.ha ha .

j/k wren

There is no such thing as a "fine wire" plug. Those are factory Iridiums. The NGK Iridiums you mention look identical those that Skippy pulled. As well..the preference of a copper plug vs Iridium comes from cost and benefit of materials. A copper plug will need to be replaced much more often, however when modding that is a normal occurance. Copper has been found to throw a better spark than the Iridium, the only downfall is the softer materials it is made from degrade faster.

So, did I not need to replace them?.. If they were original, they had 120,000+ miles on them.

120K is plenty on any set of plugs. I was merely updating SamJ that the plugs he was calling fine wire and the mention of Iiridiums in the same sentence was interesting. It seemed he didn't understand which plugs were in the picture. Instead of have anyone question which ones they where..I posted it.

#4. Either the generic stuff at the parts store or the suspended copper flake stuff my dad has always used with the understanding it was conductive. O2 sensors frequently come with it already applied and they need to ground in the same fashion.

For posterity'* sake, I thought I'd mention that I've found the easiest way to apply the dielectric grease is with an acid brush. It goes farther and applies easier that way.

For those that don't know, an acid brush is one of these: