When the box containing four 1914 Heinze coils arrived at my place I couldn’t wait to open it and see what I got. It was a word of mouth purchase. This style of coil units were made to conform to Ford’s specifications to fit their new steel coil box dimensions and contact post placement. These boxes were introduced during the 1913 model year. The same dimensions continued to apply to all coil units from then through 1927. These late 1913 Heinze coils are commonly referred to as 1914 coils. The production of the Heinze coils did not last very long as K-W Ignition, Kokomo Electric, and Ford Motor Company stepped in to satisfy the production needs. Whether the contract with Heinze expired or the superior design of the K-W points used on the other three suppliers meant the end of Heinze supplied coils, I don’t know.
Now back to my newly acquired 1914 Heinze coils. A quick look confirmed they were of the late 1913-1927 size and contact placements. They didn’t have the points with them, but they had the thin black top plate typical of Heinze coils. However, when I placed my one genuine 1914 Heinze coil unit next the new ones, I saw they were different. Firstly the tongue and groove construction details didn’t match, as pictured below. The real Heinze unit is on the left.
Secondly, the top plate on my new coils did not have as many screws attaching it to the box. The mounting holes for the points were also spaced differently such that Heinze points would not fit them. New K-W points wouldn’t fit either, however, even if they did the slightly taller construction of the box meant the higher profile of the K-W points would have rendered the overall height of the coil unit too high.
Soooo, what do I have? Who made them and have any of you seen or have one? RV Anderson (RIP) mentioned having rebuilt a set of what he thought were K-W coils built to fit Heinze boxes. They were only listed in the April 1914 part book and the only set he had ever seen. I am assuming the “Heinze” box referred to in the parts book is the new steel coil box of late 1913 through 1914, although I'm not sure. Any thoughts of what I have?
Thanks,
Rich C.
P.S. I'd still like to have at least three more genuine 1914 Heinze coil units.
