MTFCA Forum

I am restoring a 26 Fordor with the coil box mounted on the engine. I have rebuilt the coil box and find sliding wooden coils in and out to be difficult. Would plastic coils be easier? Any advice on making wood coils slide in and out easier?

I know the topic of wood vs. plastic has been bantered at length on this forum in the past but are there any fresh opinions? Would the closer proximity to the engine be a factor?

Advice is much appreciated.

I personally prefer that the coils fit tight in the box. If they are loose, they may not make good contact. Some coils are so loose that shims are needed to insure good electrical contact.

What did you use to rebuild the box? The plywood based kit, or the plastic "Fun Projects" kit?

Wipe a coat of Johnson’s paste wax, the type for furniture over the broad contact surfaces of your wood coil , let dry, then rub to slickness.

Have done this for years and coils are easier to remove from the box

I’ve gone to the grocery store and bought a 79 cent candle and rubbed it over the 4 wooden sides being careful not to cover the 2 contact points. Works for me ...

furniture wax is working very well too.

Andre
Belgium

You might not want to do this as the box is assembled but when I did mine I had seen a post on the Forum that I used, Before bending the separator bar tabs I used 2 credit card type plastic bits as spacers bridging all the coils then bent the tabs over removing the spacers after of course. Nice tight fit with no binding.

Thanks all!!!

I thought of using wax or paraffin. Now confirmed.

I guess plastic coils are out.

I guess plastic coils are out.

I expect there's a reason for their bad reputation.

Actually the coils under the hood are easier to remove than the ones on the 23-25 with the coils behind the dash panel. I just pull up on the two bolts which hold the top point in place (do not pull on the points themselves). Wiggle a bit as you pull. Once you get one coil out, the others come out much easier. If you do use any type wax, be sure it is not an electrical conductor and don't put any on the sides with electrical contacts.
Norm

Be aware that plastic case coils are generally junk.