Farrar, The problem not necessarily has to be caused by the plug gaps. I do did change the coil and wires (coil: Pertronix 40kV, cables MSD 8.5mm) and regapped the plugs according to Bill's suggestions (some .06mm if I recall correctly). Anyway up to the moment of the accident I did over 6000 km (approx 3800 miles) without problems like yours. Must have been a coincidence (Murphy's law?). Perhaps some internal connections in the distributor sparking? Welmoed. --- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Farrar <fhudkins@...> wrote: > > Several months ago, the aux relay was removed to ensure that the > ignition coil was getting 12 volts not only during cranking but during > other vehicle operation. > > A few months ago, I replaced the car's spark plugs, I replaced the > original ignition coil with an MSD "Blaster 2" coil, replaced the spark > plug wires with MSD wires, and bought a new cap and rotor. Apart from > the spark plugs, all of these supplies I got from John Hervey, and they > all performed fine. > > The work done to the car a few weeks ago -- just prior to Gettysburg -- > was installation of a new fuel pump, fuel line, fuel filter, intake > manifold, and carburetor. We also replaced some coolant and vacuum lines > while we were in The Valley. Also, in order to take advantage of the > high voltage setup, the spark plugs were re-gapped: from the stock gap > of .028" up to .050". About 1600 highway miles later, the distributor > cap caught fire. > > I don't think we'll ever know what caused the fire, but the most likely > candidate would seem to be the extra-wide spark plug gap. When I replace > the distributor, cap, rotor, and wires, I'll re-gap the plugs down > closer to .040". The plugs are only a few months old and they're in fine > shape. > > Meanwhile, I have named my car "Sparky." :) > > Farrar Hudkins > #2613 ------------------------------------ To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnewsYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:dmcnews-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx mailto:dmcnews-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/