Mallory "old style" cap, wires?

Ok, so I'm to young to have been around when these were popular. What do I need to hook the spark plug wires into this cap?

 

It's a 2 piece cap,take the 2 top screws off and there should be a rubber "boot" in there with 9 holes. Eight plug wires and the coil wire. stick the ends of the wires thru the cap, then the boot and push them onto the "nail" points in the lower half of the cap. then carefully slide the boot down the wires to seat into the lower cap, then do the same thing with the upper cap half. slide it down until it "seats" into the lowercap and then put the screws back in. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN THOSE TWO SCREWS

 

Nothing. Cut the wire ends square and lubricate the ends. Soap works for the lube. Loosen the two screws that hold the top cap about 1/4" Push each wire through the rubber piece and all the way down on the pin in the bottom cap. When all the wires are fully seated snug the two screws. Do not over tighten or you will break the top cap.

The two piece Mallory cap is not longer made. You may want to use the Echlin replacement. It is a conventional style. Cap # MA5 for 8 cyl, MA10 for 6 cyl, and MA7 for the rotor.

 

what mallory says:

 

Here is a shot of a YC for a Ford 6 with the Echlin cap. NAPA can get these.

 

Luckily my cap (and entire dist.) looks to be in superb condition, other than the dust on the outside. I love the looks of this, and would hate to run a modern looking cap.

 

Thanks for the lesson everyone!

"Everyday is a school day"
-Gene Winfield

 

you need a 7mm wire also Ibelieve.. the top cap hold it down.

 

Just got done reading about the new (or young) guys not being interested in learning, etc. and here's an example of the HAMB working just like it's supposed to - new guy asks a perfectly good question and several HAMBers jump in with great answers. There is hope! Gotta love this place.

 

Boones is right, they take 7mm wires. I just bought a nos cap and correct condenser on e-bay. They show up there occasionally but thay aint cheap.

Mick

 

An old weathered cap can be restored fairly easily by bead blasting the cap. I use old bead blast material that is almost a powder. It cleans the terminals inside eliminating the corrosion bringing back the shiny terminals. The bake-i-lite material of the cap will come back with a light dusting of rattle can clear. A couple of light coats will make it look brand new again. Like clear over the dull base coat. I was raised during the thin plastic window points cap era. They needed to be replaced when they got old and corroded. These old Mallory caps are bullet proof by comparison. The one thing that can wear out over the years is the carbon pick up for the coil wire but all of mine seem fine.I never throw one away.

I have a few NOS caps that I have collected over the years. I just noticed yesterday that the box is marked 4001 but the cap inside with the tag still on it has 4004 cast inside. That can cause some confusion for the new guys. The part # is 4001 but the cap has 4004 cast inside.

A modern billet electronic distributor may perform better and save gas but I love my old electronically converted Mallory's




The plug ends may be easy to remove but they look like ****. besides they don't make Rajah clips for 8MM wire.

I think it's a plus that the cap won't take those 8MM plug wires that look so ugly in their florescent colors. Plug wires are supposed to be black. (sorry for the editorial comment)

 

Thanks Tommy. I gotta ask, after seeing the fuel tank resting on that engine, are you running that on the stand???

 

thats the expansion tank
for the cooling system
on FE pre 65

 

No as was said above it is an expansion tank for the FE engine. Problem is It won't work on my 56.

 

Do they make a 2-piece like this for a 4-banger? I just bought a Mallory unit for my A and this cap would look better than the "new" one!

 

You can still get the cl***ic Packard 440 solid copper core plug wire and cut it to length. Old time parts stores sold the wire by the foot and the plug boots and connectors separately. If not near you then on the net.

One thing, PLEASE use a carbon core coil wire for radio suppression or put a condenser in the coil wire. If you don't you will louse up radio and TV and electronics everywhere you go.

 

well......I did just that. Apparently I didn't kno when to stop. It didn't break in half, but it did crack on one side. Is the cap junk now? Could it still work?

 

Lookout your gonna find Points Inside !!! >>>>.

 

I ran this Mallory dual point dizzy in my '55 Chevy's 283 back in the 80's. Set the point gaps with a match book cover. It still has the ever so popular orange 7 mm high performance static suppression spark plug wires in the cap. It has the provision for a tach drive.

 

Brett,

I apologize for not getting back to you earlier- I have an early Mallory unit for the Model A, if you're interested.

 

You may be able to CAREFULLY "V" the crack on the inside of it and use a strong 2 part epoxy or JB Weld to bond it back together. Just a suggestion though. It is at this point broken, so your not out anything trying to fix it. If the crack is small, it is probably still useable. Good luck, Ken

 

How do these mallory distributors perform in an open engine highboy rod. In other words is rain a problem getting down plug leads through the cap?

 

There is a rubber gasket that the wires p*** through between the two pieces. As you tighten up the screws that hold them together the rubber gasket squeezes and forms a tight water proof seal.

 

You shouldnt use carbon wires as the contact point busts the carbon apart and they will start ( after some time) burning thru and cause problems.
I would suggest using wd40 for the lube on the rubber gasket between the cap halfs. Its non conductive and makes the cap water proof..

 

I have a NOS in the box cap for one of these dist. 8 cyl. Whats it worth?

 

Theres one on DaBay right now the guy is asking over $300 for it "buy it now"

If this turns out to be junk now I'd much rather spend the $10 at NAPA on the Echlin, its not worth $300 just for the look.

 

I have never tried using one in the rain, but the way it is made, I think if the gasket is in decent shape it should be waterproof.

 

I ask as we have zb 264AX style mallory cap looks serviceable, it seems to have a vacuum port ,is this an issue? but it measures up very close to a flathead 8ba style, though would require an alloy front cover. Are the distributors suitable for a warm flathead?

 

I may need to check with Bubba , as no hits as yet.

 

Not always!