MTFCA Forum

Before I reinvent the wheel, does anyone have advice on how to keep coils from popping up?

As the car rids and vibrates, the coils rise just enough to throw the timing off.

I already wedged and re-wedged cardboard between the coils but some still pop up.

I can imagine a fix but my method seems too complicated or it might damage the coil box.

Thank you in advanced!
Bob

That is the job of the lid, so get one if you don't have it. If you have one, maybe the lip that holds the coils down is missing or bent.

I have found by using those inexpensive little wooden shims you can get at hardware stores, from the FRONT of the coil box, one on each coil, works great. Just squish each one down until you're comfortable as to where they're at, without the front of the coil box starting to bulge, strike a line at the top edge of the face of the coil box, pull shim out, trim it off, then re-insert. Works great for me. Must admit, depending on how "bouncy" your roads are, sometimes you still have to pop off the lid and push 'em down in a bit, but I bet I don't have to do that but once a year if that.

No mention of what year coil box.I had this issue on a customers T. The hold down lip in the coil lid didnt engage the coil tops.
I cut a 1/16" plastic strip to lay on the coils that engaged the lid shelf. No more problems with the lid latched.

Yeah, it's a problem with the repro wooden coil boxes for early Ts. The originals had mechanisms to hold the coils down not present in the repro boxes made to accept the later coils. I use a sheet of wood veneer at the front of the box to create a tight fit. In the winter the coils are darn near impossible to remove, however. Such is life.

Glued a strip of plastic tubing along the wooden coil box lid such that it engages the tops of the coils behind the vibrator posts. The tubing flexes enough to give a spring-like effect, holds all in place nicely without attacking the integrity of the coil box itself.

Robert ; On a Tour in France , I saw this SOLUTION .

Antonie, those need to be slot headed screws to be authentic.

Do the earlier coil boxes have the thin sheet metal strip that keeps the coil box from spreading out? It goes between the two center coils. Even if you have the lid on the box that strip helps hold the coils in pretty tight. Over time the strip was removed and forgotten about on lots of coil boxes you find at swap meets.