MTFCA Forum

How bad is this?
Wood is cracked and deteriorated. Car runs good for 5 seconds then skips and does not recover.
Asking for a friend.....

It's bad.

I have repaired worse.

Best though is to replace the wood with a good (used to be?) Fun Projects kit (if they are still available?).

No Brainer! Coil box is shot and needs rebuilding. No kidding.

This all you should need. You want to reuse the the metal contacts top & bottom (the Top have left & rights). The porcelain insulators clean up well in a rust dissolver. Whenn you take the bottom off not how its wired and to which post. The bottom contact needs its rivets drilled out and riveted back in place using the pop rivets included in the set. 4 screws hold the back & just one on the bottom

I don't think the plastic replacement kits are currently available. Nonetheless, the wood in that box is shot and needs replacement.

I've converted mine to plastic and that's fantastic!

I made my own out of a 1/2 inch thick cutting board, it was blue! All you need is a table saw and drill. You have a pattern.

Snyder's is selling a copy of the Fun Projects kit - it will do the job !

I like the cutting board idea. Its a "slice above the rest!"
Did you use a router for the grooves for the coil contacts?

Professor Fate wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 22, 2022 12:26 am

I like the cutting board idea. Its a "slice above the rest!"
Did you use a router for the grooves for the coil contacts?

I would use good Beech plywood. The more layers it has, the better. Instead of milling out grooves, you may also consider buying plywood in two thicknesses, One piece in overall size, and then glue thin stripes on it with water-resistant glue to thicken it up "between grooves". This way you also get the grooves without requiring a mill/router.

After finishing the new boards, I would soak them in oil. This gives a beautiful look and makes them water-resistant.

In my Lizzy, I oiled the boards when I had to pull the engine and the entire coilbox was unmounted. Was a quick job with surprising good results.

That one sure was yucky!
If those kits are like/the Fun Projects kits, they are very, very nice.

In any coil box rebuild it should be mentioned as it was to reuse the original contacts inside the coil box.
The original contacts are much better than what’s being made now and will retain their tension almost forever. That tension is important for good contact.

Aww....comeon...

My '15 had a box like that and started fine for the longest time. It was a bit of a mule starting, but it started and ran...

Unless...

You washed the car....

Or...

You managed to get past the washed the car thing, and let the car sit in a really hot sun, and then it was a 6 legged push start.

Funny, went with a fun projects rebuild kit just for the heck of it and now the mule seems to have retired or gone out to permanent pasture...

With a T you just never know....

Moisture will aggravate problems with deteriorated ignition systems. Add a little salt and you're really not good to go.

Professor Fate wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 22, 2022 12:26 am

I like the cutting board idea. Its a "slice above the rest!"
Did you use a router for the grooves for the coil contacts?

Nothing so fancy as a router, just multiple passes on the table saw. I didn't have a dado blade setup at the time, but would have worked better.

Note this requirement

My good friend says plastic coil box upgrade improved nothing except aesthetics. Still skipping like a little girl....

You can have multiple problems.
Did your friend look @ the condition of the timer & brush?
It appears the coils have been reworked already.

Professor Fate wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 22, 2022 6:28 pm

My good friend says plastic coil box upgrade improved nothing except aesthetics. Still skipping like a little girl....

Maybe your friend just didn't want to spend the extra and used that as an excuse. With the cover on, you can't see it and have to look real close around the terminals to even notice.

Yes. New Ron Patterson coils. But it has a very crusty and very vintage wiring harness. He's going thru it now step by step. Timer is next target to eval i guess.

The ignition system consists of a number of parts and assemblies. All of the parts and assemblies must be in good working order for the system to work properly and consistently deliver a good spark to each cylinder at the proper time, every time. The ignition system is somewhat like a chain. It will only function as well as the weakest link.