85lebaront2 Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 Bruce - I think you've hit on a reasonable solution. Machine the dip stick stay's mounting points so that it sits parallel with the ground. That way the coil bracket will hit it squarely. And the dip stick will mount squarely. The question becomes if there is enough meat in the aluminum angle to allow milling it an angle and still have enough strength. I'll have to do some precise drawing to see what I think. As for the tabs, I could bend them up but I don't think I'd like the look as well as what I have now. And the driver's side is on save for needing a bit of adjustment. Oh, and the plan had been to put plug wire holders on the stay. Or, maybe to make the stay into a plug wire holder? Just haven't figured out how I want to do that yet. And I'm open to suggestions. Gary, I just went through new plugs, cap, rotor and wires on Darth. I have 4 small wire or harness clips that push into the holes on the valve covers. Plug wires 1,4,5 and 8 are routed through these, I have two nice latching wire holders (probably GM) that I used further up the wire groups to hold the center wires to the end ones so they don't flop all over. Left side is arranged 5,7,6,8 through the 4 wire holder and #8 goes inboard of the coil/solenoid valve mount brace to the manifold bolt/stud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 9, 2020 Author Share Posted May 9, 2020 I think it's because: A) he has the channel, B) manual mill, and that's a LOT of chips and time just to get there... Jim - You are right. If all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail. But read on... Bill - Thanks, but I'm thinking of something very different..... I'm starting to rethink the "wings" as I'm now calling them rather than "stay" since they have multiple purposes: mounting point for the dip stick; mounting point for the coil bracket; plug wire routing. And what I'm coming to is shown below. That suggests that the wires route through the wing but my thinking was that I'd use a ball-end mill and put grooves in the underside of the wing and run the wires in those grooves, with some sort of retainers. However, that requires the wings to be removed to change plug wires, and while that won't be too hard it would require pulling the coil on the driver's side - assuming the coil's mount is bolted to the wing. But, what about placing the grooves on the top side and laying the wires into them? And then I'd use some sort of retainers or a matching plate that screws down to cover the wires. If I used a piece of 1/2" aluminum I'd have enough room for the grooves as well as space on the edge for the dip stick's tab to bolt into. And, there'd be enough meat I could drill and tap it for the outside end of the coil mount to bolt to. Plus, there won't be any cross-fire as the wires will be separated and laying in aluminum. However, on thinking about it I don't like the idea of making the wings parallel to the ground. I think they'll look better at the angle of the valve covers. But I can trim the legs/ribs of the coil mount to match the angle of the wing, so that's not a problem. Thoughts? Suggestions? Other ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sac79 Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 Jim - You are right. If all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail. But read on... Bill - Thanks, but I'm thinking of something very different..... I'm starting to rethink the "wings" as I'm now calling them rather than "stay" since they have multiple purposes: mounting point for the dip stick; mounting point for the coil bracket; plug wire routing. And what I'm coming to is shown below. That suggests that the wires route through the wing but my thinking was that I'd use a ball-end mill and put grooves in the underside of the wing and run the wires in those grooves, with some sort of retainers. However, that requires the wings to be removed to change plug wires, and while that won't be too hard it would require pulling the coil on the driver's side - assuming the coil's mount is bolted to the wing. But, what about placing the grooves on the top side and laying the wires into them? And then I'd use some sort of retainers or a matching plate that screws down to cover the wires. If I used a piece of 1/2" aluminum I'd have enough room for the grooves as well as space on the edge for the dip stick's tab to bolt into. And, there'd be enough meat I could drill and tap it for the outside end of the coil mount to bolt to. Plus, there won't be any cross-fire as the wires will be separated and laying in aluminum. However, on thinking about it I don't like the idea of making the wings parallel to the ground. I think they'll look better at the angle of the valve covers. But I can trim the legs/ribs of the coil mount to match the angle of the wing, so that's not a problem. Thoughts? Suggestions? Other ideas? So if Dad's theme is 'As Ford could have made it' what's BB's? 'Better, but not as shiny?' I haven't got any helpful suggestions, above my pay grade, but the wings sound like a great idea. I think the wires underneath would look better and how often would you change the wires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 Jim - You are right. If all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail. But read on... Bill - Thanks, but I'm thinking of something very different..... I'm starting to rethink the "wings" as I'm now calling them rather than "stay" since they have multiple purposes: mounting point for the dip stick; mounting point for the coil bracket; plug wire routing. And what I'm coming to is shown below. That suggests that the wires route through the wing but my thinking was that I'd use a ball-end mill and put grooves in the underside of the wing and run the wires in those grooves, with some sort of retainers. However, that requires the wings to be removed to change plug wires, and while that won't be too hard it would require pulling the coil on the driver's side - assuming the coil's mount is bolted to the wing. But, what about placing the grooves on the top side and laying the wires into them? And then I'd use some sort of retainers or a matching plate that screws down to cover the wires. If I used a piece of 1/2" aluminum I'd have enough room for the grooves as well as space on the edge for the dip stick's tab to bolt into. And, there'd be enough meat I could drill and tap it for the outside end of the coil mount to bolt to. Plus, there won't be any cross-fire as the wires will be separated and laying in aluminum. However, on thinking about it I don't like the idea of making the wings parallel to the ground. I think they'll look better at the angle of the valve covers. But I can trim the legs/ribs of the coil mount to match the angle of the wing, so that's not a problem. Thoughts? Suggestions? Other ideas? I think, if you are going there go whole hog and make a keyhole slot in the end of each channel to lock the wire pointing down. It's all far too much fuss for me. I'd be driving it LONG before I fixated on things like hanging a bunch 'stuff' off a couple of ancillary screw holes in my valve covers. This started with "how do I support my dipstick" and now you've got 10# of aluminum plate and a coil cantilevered off a couple of M6 screws tapped into the edge of a casting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sac79 Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 I think, if you are going there go whole hog and make a keyhole slot in the end of each channel to lock the wire pointing down. It's all far too much fuss for me. I'd be driving it LONG before I fixated on things like hanging a bunch 'stuff' off a couple of ancillary screw holes in my valve covers. This started with "how do I support my dipstick" and now you've got 10# of aluminum plate and a coil cantilevered off a couple of M6 screws tapped into the edge of a casting. Oh wait, you're right Jim, we want to see BB on the road. I'm being an enabler, sorry. The 'wings' would look nice though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 Oh wait, you're right Jim, we want to see BB on the road. I'm being an enabler, sorry. The 'wings' would look nice though... No..... we want to see BB OFF road! If you think those 'wings' aren't going to snap out the valve cover castings while bouncing down a trail or overlanding you are delusional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 9, 2020 Author Share Posted May 9, 2020 No..... we want to see BB OFF road! If you think those 'wings' aren't going to snap out the valve cover castings while bouncing down a trail or overlanding you are delusional. I'm sure I'm certifiable, but I'm not so sure about being delusional. However, Jim has a point about those "wings" having too much overhang and working on the valve covers. I'd thought about that, but only briefly, and now that he's brought it up I agree. Also, there's the issue that the new plug wires I have are not long enough to route the way I was talking about doing it. There's just no way they are long enough. And I don't want to buy different wires. So, I'm back to a narrow "stay" rather than wider "wings". But, if I can incorporate simple plug wire retainers on it that would be slick. Given that, can someone post pics of their 460 plug wiring? Bill, your description is good, but I'm having a hard time envisioning those pieces and a pic would nail it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 I'm sure I'm certifiable, but I'm not so sure about being delusional. However, Jim has a point about those "wings" having too much overhang and working on the valve covers. I'd thought about that, but only briefly, and now that he's brought it up I agree. Also, there's the issue that the new plug wires I have are not long enough to route the way I was talking about doing it. There's just no way they are long enough. And I don't want to buy different wires. So, I'm back to a narrow "stay" rather than wider "wings". But, if I can incorporate simple plug wire retainers on it that would be slick. Given that, can someone post pics of their 460 plug wiring? Bill, your description is good, but I'm having a hard time envisioning those pieces and a pic would nail it. Not only germane to the conversation, but some ideas about online car shows too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 9, 2020 Author Share Posted May 9, 2020 Not only germane to the conversation, but some ideas about online car shows too! I'll watch it later. The mill is working on a prototype stay and making too much noise to let me understand what is being said...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 9, 2020 Author Share Posted May 9, 2020 I'll watch it later. The mill is working on a prototype stay and making too much noise to let me understand what is being said...... Ok, I watched the video. Do you think there will be 'nough documentation on Big Blue? And, here's a couple of shots of the prototype stay. Had a piece of that aluminum laying around that was JUST long enough so thought I'd see how it would work. Needs to be longer & obviously needs rounded corners. But it looks like it'll work for the dip stick, although the vice grips may fall off from time to time. So, what changes are needed? I'm headed out to a drive-by graduation celebration but will be back in a bit. So hit me with those thoughts. I'm thinking I'll mock up a coil mount and see how/if that will interface with the stay. Then if I can figure out how to make them work together I'll start making them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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