Anybody have a favorite 7mm plug wire set they like to use for a 68 400? I tried a Bosch set from AutoZone and they don't fit worth a darn. It always winds up with the long ones being too long and the short ones too short.

In the past, I have usually tried to find a universal set that I could cut to fit if I couldn't find a set with the right lengths.

Could somebody recommend a decent set of either type?

Taylor wires. American made (USA) beleive it or not and considered to be the best plug wire on the market by many engine builders etc.

Yeah, I've used those before. Never had a problem with them.

I've been doing some research and the problem I am having is finding the correct angle plug boots.

I wonder if the date coded ones from Ames or others are any good.

They look nice, but even though they are listed in the catalog as 'firebird', they have 'Camaro' stickers all over them when you get them. I was disappointed. But the relatively fit. Had 90 degree boots at the plugs, and straight boots at the distrib. the 90 degree boots didn't fit real well, but 'OK'.

I like the universal kits myself. That way I can make them the legnth I want. Many good brands.

Thanks for the heads up. I definately won't be getting those. How can Ames describe those wire sets as "excellent" if they aren't even correct for Pontiac?

I suppose I could waste money and use the angled boots off the Bosch set and find some bulk cable. I'll be calling around this morning at NAPA and a few other stores to see what they have in bulk. I can reuse the terminals. I've reuse terminals before with very good results.

The correct angled boots are at such a slight angle I could probably get by with using straight boots.

I use the Moroso Blue Max Spiral Core universal kits. Wires are plenty long and you can get boots in any angle, and they come in several colors.

I had bought a set of date coded from Ames just before the car was hit and they were excellent. And they defiantely did not have Camaro anything on them. I would call ans ask about that, I wonder if they somehow sent you the wrong stuff. My set came in a clear bag with a heavy paper thing stapled accross the top. And you have to tell them the year and the quarter your car was built to get the right plugs etc. Both ends were dead on with an old original set I had been given. The only reason I don't use them now is due to the MSD plug & play ignition and need a heavier wire as the Taylor wires I use now...

I had bought a set of these for my '67, and was somewhat disappointed. They came just like you describe, but had Camaro/Nova stickers on them. Then I (Don't ask me why) bought another set for my '68 a year later and came exactly the same. I sent those back for a refund. I had called and the salesman said they were all the same.

They must have sent you the wrong ones. I have the date coded and they have the correct 45-60 degree angles off the plugs and nothing like Camaro on them.

I plan on buying the Taylor wires also. made in the USA. And the last set I had lasted over ten years. They were still good but could not hold up to the car fire. LOL

Just over the weekend my friend Dave who owns a 67 GTO replaced his off the shelf plug wires with a set of Taylors. We checked the set he had on the car with an ohm meter. On a 3' wire from the off the shelf set there was 1700 ohms. The Taylor wire, 3' length had 140 ohms. Taylor claims 45 ohms per foot and the off the shelf ones were 500 ohms per foot both proved to be true.

To be honest, I don't know exactly how that corrolates, but it was interesting to see first hand. Our friend in MD who owns a somewhat famous speed shop swears by the Taylor brand wires and will use nothing but. He can explain the entire thing in detail and it sounds good so I bought a set from him. LOL

Good thing they didn't cause it.

No, there was not even a battery in the car.

Just bought a set of Taylor "street thunder" wires from Summit.
Don't know if I ordered the wrong number or what but the fit was terrible. I bought set #51004. 8mm for HEI.
Good wires. Maybe just need to order the correct ones. Box says 500 Ohms per ft.

Mine had to be made to legnth, it was a kit type thing. As for the ohms thing, maybe I have it backwards, higher ohms is better?

Exactly. I thought plug wires are supposed to have a good resistance for radio static suppression reasons and should have a few thousand ohms per foot?

Just checked the Summit site and evidently the wires I got were mis-packaged. They were supposed to be 45* boots and they came 90s. They probably would have fit a little better but they still were not a made to fit set by any means. I mean, three of the wires I probably could have plugged into plugs in the trunk they were so long.

And besides, I bought them

Yeap, that's right Vikki.

I was given what appear to be the original wires for our LeMans when we bough the car. Beleive it or not, the original owner of the LeMans did not change the wires on the car until the year 2000 when the car hit 40k original miles, the car only had 54k when we bought it back in Jan of this year.

The only reason I know when he changed the original set of plug wires is due to the fact that our son was looking through the owner's manual and found a page where the original owner wrote down every oil change (date & milage) and the plug wire change etc. Kinda neat to see all that info...

I have most if not all of a set of factory wires off a '67 400. Original Packard stamping...cool to see.

Well, I found some wires!

I got the Carquest #3800. They are a universal set, cut to fit, 7mm, and black in color. The boots are also black and the angle is adjustable.

Since I have HEI, I slipped a 1/2" length of heat shrink tubing on the distributor end of the wires to increase the diameter and used the 90 degree HEI boots and terminals.

I wiped off the lettering too. I figured if the letters were incorrect, I might as well get rid of them completely. I think it's pretty good compromise.

That looks really nice!

A somewhat related question - the first pic shows a 2-wire clip holding the wires going to cylinders #1 and #3. How is that clip mounted? I got that clip in the set for my car, but there isn't any mounting hole near by in the head, and the angle is all wrong to put it under the valve cover bolt.

Thanks,
Pete

Wires

Yes, on both heads, there are bolt holes that go into the sides of the square shaped castings.

If you save the pics to your computer, you should be able enlarge them where you see them clearer. If yours is shaped like mine, would you be able to drill and tap the holes?

69, that does look nice. A very clean look! Removing the white lettering always looks nice IMO on a set of wires that are not date coded. Gives them a more stock look IMO...

Thanks Larry and Jim. My 670 heads don't have that cast boss.