Well, I THOUGHT I had the plan for the trek to Florida for the winter (see my "Snowbird Impala" post), but plans seem to change with the weather. Which here in Kalamazoo, is fantastic right now, BTW. I have new wheels and tires coming for it, a new wiper motor, tomorrow I'm having the rear gear swapped from the current 4.11 posi to a more more reasonable 3.36's in an open carrier. A couple days ago my buddy here, who also winters in Sarasota, called to ask if we would be interested in sharing the expense of transport, as he's having his C8 shipped down when they go down in the middle of October. Not only that, but he said they'd be happy to store the car in their garage until we get down the first of November. If we do this we'll leave the car there, and store it during the long hot summer. This seems like a no-brainer, mostly related to the fact that I'm not really excited about the 1,200 mile drive. Anyway, that means I have some things that need to be done with the roadster in order to take it. The '52 DeSoto Hemi in the car was simply plucked from the wagon when I swapped a new, off topic, 5.7 in it. I did nothing to it aside from cleaning and painting, plopping a Pertronix ignition module in the distributor and driving the snot out of it for 3 years. It has run beautifully, until a month ago when when it sat out in pouring rain at the Relix Riot. Since, it starts instantly as it always has, but stumbles, has an occasional "pop" or cough, and feels like it's firing on just 7 cylinders. I suspected moisture in the distributor cap, but it looks dry and clean, no moisture in the distributor body. So, I'm going to try to sort this out. Seems like the first step would be new plugs, wires, and a cap. My (long winded) question concerns the spark plug boots. The wires and distributor cap looked, and still look, new. When I first tried firing the engine while it was still in the wagon, I pulled a plug to check to see if it was firing, and I had a VERY difficult time getting the boot off the plug with the long insulator. Is there a trick to getting these plugs out without damaging the long, rather delicate looking insulators? They look like ceramic, but as I said, I've only had one out, and I had a hard time getting it back on the plug I pulled when I put it back in. Just yanking on them with long nosed pliers seems pretty brutal. I'd appreciate any tips about how not to damage things from some of you guys who know more than I do about these things. Brian
I use generic straight boot Accel/Mallory type wires on my 331 Hemi. Usually don't have a problem just pulling them off. I opened up a plug wire puller a bit to help push them on. I ran a 331 Hemi for years w/o a hood on a '48 Plym I used to have and never had a problem.
If you're anywhere near the ocean, I'd think long and hard about your decision to "store it during the long hot summer". I lived in Ft Myers for a while and lost a car to rust after just two summers down there. Some friends that wintered in Cape Coral also had extensive rust problems after a year of inside storage. I was only 1/4 mile from the Caloosahatchee and the other party was about a half a mile from it, and it's a river estuary, not nearly as salty as the ocean. You will probably need inside air-conditioned storage for sure.
I looked at Hot Heads, they have plug wire sets with long rubber boots which would eliminate the ceramic ones I have. Seems like the way to go. A little pricey but better than a sour running engine. The more I ponder it, the more it seems like plug wires breaking down. Maybe the moisture brought it front and center.
You're right, climate control is a must. We're on Sarasota Bay near the airport, a neighbor stores his exotic car at a storage facility near the airport and has had no issues.
I know nothing other than I wanted to look at your pics of the beauty and give you a bump back to page 1 giid luck
Check them plug leads B. Did you use new wires when you installed it? The steel wire covers that look so cool on a Desoto are also a great spot for a miss fire. I used the wire set from Hot Heads, they are 8mm so it is a tight fit in the covers but no issues yet.
I've done nothing but pull the #1 plug to see if I had spark. Same plug wires an unknown PO installed, decades ago. My lead suspect is plug wire insulation breakdown and misfire from that, or a faulty distributor cap. I wondered if man-handling that one wire may have been the issue, as the 302 HO in my T'bird suffered from TERRIBLE misfire after I pulled the plug wires to put new plugs in it, after driving it probably 500 miles with no issues. No evidence of arcing inside the cap of the DeSoto Hemi, but they're cheap, so I don't mind throwing $25 at it...
I always run one with a misfire after dark to see if I see anything happening...I know your plugs are in the hole out of sight...but you still might see something....sparkie spark good luck
Since your problem started after getting cought in the rain, I would pull all your plugs and wires and check them out. On Dads Hemi, we have found water in the plug tubes, even with rubber boots on them. Just one terminal with corrosion could cause a misfire. If you have the original ceramic plug insolators, don't pitch them. they usualy sell for at least $100, and all the new stuff is plastic. the insolators shouldn't make the plug wires hard to remove. Its most likely the wire terminal that fits to tight.
I also am using the plug wires from hot heads on my Red Ram and the plug boots fit well. Also, I had a spark problem with the flathead in my roadster. I checked the plugs, wires, cap, rotor didn't see a problem. Finally, I pulled the coil wire out of the coil and the inside of the coil tower and wire end were corroded so bad I threw them away and replaced them. Just suggesting another place to check.
I use wires with the spark plug covers on my Desoto Hemi. Being here in the Phoenix area moisture is not a problem.
Be sure to use silicone electric lube when putting them back. I got rid of my ceramic ones and use these ACCEL wires.
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