DIZZY WIRE

[80spit]

Inside my distributor is a small cloth covered wire I think it is ground wire.
It's several strands inside a cloth covering that moves with the vacuum advance.
This wire is hard to get.
Has anyone used a different wire that works, its not the lead from the coil, points or condenser.

 

[DougF]

I once had a distributor that the wire looked dangerous, it was so frayed. It still worked.
I've never found that wire available. Keep your eyes open, maybe you will find a good distributor at a good price. At worst, you will have a backup.

 

[Brosky]

You can make one out of a braided copper wire or just a 12 gauge insulated wire. The trick is getting the matching connectors for the ends and soldering everything carefully.

Not difficult by any means, if you've done it before.

If you haven't get some extra wire and practice before doing the real thing.

 

[hondo402000]

I did the same thing, use an acetelin/oxy setup if you have or can get one, I know the spelling is wrong, and silver solder it

 

[Geo Hahn]

That wire is made to be very flexible and not break from 'work hardening' after it has flexed thousands of times.

Why would it flex? Happens everytime the vacuum advance moves the plate. Ordinary copper wire will work fine... for quite awhile perhaps. Have a plan for when it breaks some dark & rainy night.

The wire (with end connectors) is available from Moss, et al.

 

[TR3driver]

Ordinary copper wire will work fine... for quite awhile perhaps.

Mine lasted probably 5 years that way.

Have a plan for when it breaks some dark & rainy night.

I now carry a complete dizzy, including points, rotor, cap & wires; in the center of the spare tire.

 

[Keoke]

Hi 80 Spit, That wire must be very flexible. Usually it can be obtained as a sundries kit from your parts supplier. Failing this you can go to an electronics supply house and purchase solder wick. It looks like a copper braid and is used in solid state circuit repair to remove soldered in components. Cut a piece off an simply solder it to the existing conectors inside the DIZZY. Works a treat.--Fwiw---Keoke

 

[Bob_Burt]

Way back in 1965, I bought a sad, rusted out 1960 TR-3 in Boston and drove it as a daily driver for 2 years. It developed a habit of quitting on the road - which I attributed to water in the gas. After several applications of an gas tank water absorbent, I discovered that the wire in the distributor had fractured inside the insulation and was making intremenet contact. Replaced and viola! ran fine until I had to replace broken rings and burned valves.

Experience is the best teacher! I'm on my 3rd TR-3 now.

 

[dklawson]

Go to a motor rebuilding/repair/rewinding company in your city and show them the wire. Ask them for some used motor brushes that have a similar wire size. Cut the wires off the motor brush(es). Remove the sleeve from your old wire, put the sleeve over the motor brush leads and solder on the old terminals. To prevent the new wires from filling up with solder, pe-tin the old terminals first.

The solder-wick that Keoke mentioned will work if you can find some fine enough. However, the motor brush leads were made for frequent flexing. The solder-wick, as its name implies, was designed to wick solder from electrical components during disassembly.

 

[RonMacPherson]

Another option is find a Blue Streak/Standard ignition dealer. One of the big chains carries them.

They have listed in their parts books the little primary ground lead, different lengths, etc. But when mine broke two decades ago, I went down to my nearby CarQuest store, looked through their catalog and they pulled one off the shelf for me. Installed it, no problem since.