hi all-
i have been looking for a lancer for awhile and finally bagged a pretty good one last fall. haven't had a project car really, only a '74 dart swinger many years ago that i didn't give enough love to. maybe i'm trying to make amends now...either way, i have some work ahead of me, just not an overwhelming amount, which is probably best for my mechanical skills. so don't be surprised if i ask some ridiculously basic questions! i'm newbier than newb.....



believe it or not this car has 6K original miles on it. as the story goes, it was owned by a retired guy who bought it in '61 in st. louis. he drove it to the grocery and other short trips for 13 years, then passed away. it went into storage until around 2009 and was sold to the guy i bought it from who isn't a "mopar guy" but found a gem. that's the story anyway....but when it arrived, included was a binder that had the original bill of sale, grocery market flyers (presumably put under the wipers or whatever and were just left in the car) and a dodge coupon booklet! this car is still under warranty . there are hood and trunk issues, but other than that everything is here (except the whitewalls, which i guess were stolen at some point), and it's been running pretty well until recently.

anyway, now i'm excited to try get into this myself and went to change the plugs over the weekend because it's been idling rough. after getting some parts advice from slantsixdan (thank you, sir), i jumped in.... wish i could say it went smoothly....
first, my lancer STILL HAS IT'S ORIGINAL PLUGS IN IT, which is freaky in itself. i only pulled two plugs just to see how they were holding up. they didn't look too bad, but i ran into a weird thing; one of the two had this rubber nipple on it that was preventing the socket from seating. i somehow got it near the end (see photo) bit it was pretty tough to get off with needle-nose pliers and i was afraid i'd compromise it if it had to go back on. what the hell is that? i did get it off though....does this need to be there? it seems like an odd fit with the new plugs (read on....)





then i pulled the tube and slid the tube seal over it, which i wasn't even sure of where that went until i actually started working on it. seemed intuitive.

when i put the new NGK plug in though, i tightened it very snug and the tube seal was bulging out a little at the edge and the wire cap wouldn't "snap" on. it was kind of loose, i could push it concave but it wasn't reaching really. so i took the plug back out and removed the tube seal to see if that made a difference- same problem. the wire cap fits pretty well on a "dry run" when the plug was not threaded in place, but once threaded, it feels too deep to connect.
what am i missing?

secondly, the plugs have different socket sizes, but seem like they are about the same length. check it out..... where do i go from here? any help is appreciated.....

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-proud new owner of a '61 lancer 170
-previous owner of a '74 dart swinger (R.I.P.)
-coming here for some schoolin'

The rubber boot is out of a spark plug socket. Someone lost it when changing plugs.

If that Autolite came out of the motor it definitely does not have the original plugs in it.

The NGK's appear to be the wrong plug for sure. Those look like the plugs that go in a late model Magnum motor to me.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

What's the part number of the NGK?

I do believe the overall length of the long-tip plugs are slightly shorter.

The threaded portion looks to be the same length.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

If those are ZFR5N plugs, they will work just fine in a stock engine.

Ditto on the rubber thing. Throw it in the rubbish bin.

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Incorrect. Autolite plugs were original equipment in early slant-6s built in at least one plant.
Incorrect. Do a search for ZFR5N.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Why are you trying to put a 9/16 plug in a 5/8 plug head.(Drool tube head right???)

TF

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Even in moderation i am excessive!

Wicked/six- do as Dan said and search the site for ZFR5N. You will find that the NGK plug is a superior plug to the stock plug, even though the NGK plug uses the smaller size socket.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

In the first place, plug hex size affects nothing but the size of wrench needed to remove and install the plug. In the second place, the hex on the original plugs is 11/16" and on the ZFR5N is 5/8". In the third place, why are you giving this guy random guesses? He said he's new. He needs help and he needs sound advice. Guesses and assumptions don't help.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I did, and realize i maybe off base but in the photo the thread pitch looks way off. And i was wrong with the drive size yes.

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Even in moderation i am excessive!

The thread is the same.

The optical effect of the black thread surface next to the silver makes it look different.

Up until I bumped the compression up significantly, the ZFR5N was my plug of choice. Once compression gets much over 9.5:1 a cooler plug is needed. Up in the 11:1 and boosted/NO2 applications, a further bump down in plug heat range may be appropriate.
High compression applications should not use the extended reach plugs. With a stock build, extended reach places the electrode in a more advantageous area in the combustion chamber.

CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Twentyshots, with all the sparkplug talk I realized nobody had given you a proper welcome. So WELCOME to the forum. As you can see there are lots of helpful people. You car looks great! Please consider attending a slant race next season - Clay City, KY is close to ya. Good luck with your Lancer!

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66 Lil' Red Piggie Valiant (Mater Crusher) - Thanks Zilla!!!!! 72 Demon (Number 1 Son's)

thanks!
they are the ZFR5N (from napa, stock #3459), but i did have to wonder after the fit seemed awkward. the wire cap loosely hangs on and that wasn't a confidence booster.

even a guy down the street suggested champion plugs but after reading around this site it seemed their quality has dipped.

the other thing that makes me think those autolite plugs are the originals is that if you look close the terminal has the same orange/red paint as the engine (overspray?).

_________________
-proud new owner of a '61 lancer 170
-previous owner of a '74 dart swinger (R.I.P.)
-coming here for some schoolin'

I believe that Autolite AG-52s were original equipment in 60-61 until Ford bought Autolite and Chrysler switched to Champions. Eventually Ford had to divest itself of the Autolite name but Ford kept the graphics on the boxes and the part numbers and just called them Motorcraft. Nice Lancer you found, hope springs eternal.

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If you didn't drive it there, it's not a street car.

Just asking, but why is an extended reach plug the "correct" plug?

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

You've got a very cool awesome new ride indeed. Assuming those 6K miles are original, you've found a very nice cherry. I love my 60 valiant wagon. The style on the 60-62 Valiants and Lancers are unique and all their own. Good luck working on it: you'll get a lot of help from this forum, I have.