Type of spark plugs

[pruyter]

The engine of my Tiger is a standard 289 with a standard Tiger carburettor. The iginition is an electronic one i.e. a Lumenition.
When my Tiger was in the workshop the mechanic changed the spark plugs to Bosch spark plugs without consulting me on forehand.
I don't know what type of spark plugs were in the car and I also don't know what type of Bosch spark plugs he has put in the engine.
The only thing I know is that since the age of 16 years old, when I drove a moped, I have avoided Bosch spark plugs. So I was not happy at all with the choice of Bosch spark plugs!
I am desperately investigating why the engine is not running on idle as it should, so now I am starting to suspect the spark plugs.
My question is: what do you advise as the type of spark plugs I should put in the engine of my Tiger? I have had in the past very good experiences with NGK spark plugs in for example my Sunbeam Rapier Series IV.
Thanks in advance for your help!

Regards,

Peter

 

[junkman]

I always. have used Autolite plugs, your fuel quality will determine the heat range for the Autolites.

 

[Barry]

The engine of my Tiger is a standard 289 with a standard Tiger carburettor.

Your member information indicates that you have a Mk.-I Tiger which would have left Rootes with a 260 SBF engine. Is your current engine a "C code" 289 (the 2-barrel 200 HP version of the 289 as used in Ford Mustangs, etc.)?

The iginition is an electronic one i.e. a Lumenition. When my Tiger was in the workshop the mechanic changed the spark plugs to Bosch spark plugs without consulting me on forehand. I don't know what type of spark plugs were in the car and I also don't know what type of Bosch spark plugs he has put in the engine.

A "C code 289" engine in a '66 or '67 Mustang, etc. would have originally had plain old copper Autolite 45 spark plugs which are still readily available. You should be able to find a Bosch cross reference.

The only thing I know is that since the age of 16 years old, when I drove a moped, I have avoided Bosch spark plugs. So I was not happy at all with the choice of Bosch spark plugs!

Different strokes for different strokes, but I have used Bosch plugs for several applications (none a SBF) without any problems. No matter the brand, using the correct spark plug for the specific application is important.

I am desperately investigating why the engine is not running on idle as it should, so now I am starting to suspect the spark plugs.

I can imagine the wrong spark plug causing an engine to idle badly, but do not see any way for the wrong spark plug to cause an engine to idle faster.

My question is: what do you advise as the type of spark plugs I should put in the engine of my Tiger? I have had in the past very good experiences with NGK spark plugs in for example my Sunbeam Rapier Series IV.

I have had very good experience with NGK spark plugs in a wide variety of engines and expect that the correct NGK plug for your application would perform well. Having said that, Autolite 45 plugs were factory original and have worked well for a looong time in a gazillion Ford 289 engines.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Regards,

Peter

 

[pruyter]

I thank you both Junkman and Barry for your time in order to help me!

Indeed my Tiger is a MK I from 1964 in which was installed a 260 ci engine, but I bought the car in 1995 in England and the owner at the time, Brian Postle who was the secretary of STOC, sold the car to me. He had installed the 289 ci engine. I have no idea what type of 289 ci but I am pretty sure that it is not an uprated version, so standard. I don't know how to figuere if this engine has a so called C-code.
I would apprecite it very much if somebody can tell me the exaxt spark plug code for Autolite, NGK and Bosch for my Tiger
I am used to tank Petrol (gas in the USA) from BP and I use the most expensive sort which has no ethanol at all and which has 98 octane (BP Ultimate 98). Living in The Netherlands I am living a 3 á 4 meters below the sea level.

Regarding the problems with the idle I suspect that there are two different problems being the high idle which can be caused by an air leak and/or carburettor problems and the bad idling which could be caused by the wrong types of spark plugs. I wished the mechanic had not renewed those plugs and certainly not without informing me on forehand. But that does not help me now.

Thanks again for your reactions!

 

[Barry]

I thank you both Junkman and Barry for your time in order to help me!

Indeed my Tiger is a MK I from 1964 in which was installed a 260 ci engine, but I bought the car in 1995 in England and the owner at the time, Brian Postle who was the secretary of STOC, sold the car to me. He had installed the 289 ci engine. I have no idea what type of 289 ci but I am pretty sure that it is not an uprated version, so standard. I don't know how to figuere if this engine has a so called C-code.

In the mid-1960's, Ford offered the 289 cubic inch (aka 4.7L) V8 engine as an "A code", "C code" or "K code" version.

The "C code" version used in Mk-II Tigers had hydraulic valve lifters, a 2-barrel Autolite carburetor, cylinder heads with 9.3:1 compression ratio and smaller valves and produced 200 HP at 4,400 rpm and 282 lb⋅ft of torque at 2,400 rpm.

The "A code" version had hydraulic valve lifters, a 4-barrel carburetor on a better intake manifold, 10.0:1 compression ratio cylinder heads and was rated at 225 hp at 4,800 rpm and 305 lb⋅ft of torque at 3,200 rpm.

The "K code" (aka, HiPo 289) had a hotter camshaft, solid valve lifters, cylinder heads with 10.5:1 compression ratio and bigger valves and was rated at 271 HP at 6,000 RPM and 312 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,400 RPM. The "K code" / HiPo 289 was very different from the A and C code engines. In about 1966, I helped a friend swap a HiPo 289 crate motor into his '64 Mk-I Tiger. The "peaky" HiPo 289, the 2.88:1 rear axle ratio and the close ratio (2.32:1 1st gear) top-loader transmission was not a good combination around town (LOT's of clutch slipping to get going), but was an absolute hoot above about 45 MPH. I saw 6,000 RPM on the tach in 4th gear (about 135 MPH) and I think the front tires were just touching the high spots on the road.

I would apprecite it very much if somebody can tell me the exaxt spark plug code for Autolite, NGK and Bosch for my Tiger
I am used to tank Petrol (gas in the USA) from BP and I use the most expensive sort which has no ethanol at all and which has 98 octane (BP Ultimate 98). Living in The Netherlands I am living a 3 á 4 meters below the sea level.

As previously noted, Autolite 45 plugs were factory original. A WR5 is the NGK equivalent. Not sure about the Bosch equivalent, but maybe a D8BC.

Regarding the problems with the idle I suspect that there are two different problems being the high idle which can be caused by an air leak and/or carburettor problems and the bad idling which could be caused by the wrong types of spark plugs. I wished the mechanic had not renewed those plugs and certainly not without informing me on forehand. But that does not help me now.

I seriously doubt that the new Bosch spark plugs are causing the bad idling. JMO, YMMV.

Thanks again for your reactions!

 

[pruyter]

Thanks a lot Barry!
By the way how do I identify if the engine is a C code, a A code or a K code? Is there some identificationnummber on the block?

 

[Asm109]

The definitive way is whether it has dished pistons vs the flat tops used in the A code. There is a flat pad on the drivers side in front of the cylinder head. There are letters and numbers stamped there. That is the engine assembly date. There are casting codes on the side of the engine block that are visible AFTER you remove the starter motor. That will also help knowing when the engine was made.

All 260 came with 5 bolts to mount the bell housing. At that time the top loaders came with 4 mounting bolts with a "narrow" pattern.
In 1965 Ford changed the blocks to use 6 mounting bolts. They also changed the top loaders to have a wider pattern and they left the narrow pattern on the trans so it has 8 mounting holes. So transmissions retrofit to old cars. Cool huh?
But Ford did not leave the small mounting pattern on the new bell housings so putting a 6 bolt engine in a car with the old trans is ... challenging.
Most likely your PO installed a 5 bolt 289 that was originally in a 64 or earlier car. The codes for those are kinda irrelevant at this point but none of them were a C code.

 

[pruyter]

Thanks again for your comprehensive explination!

 

[spmdr]

Just a Note, At the time of Tiger production,

Autolite BF-42 was the OEM spark plug for the 260

and 289 2v Ford engines

Any interchange should be based on that number!!

The newer Autolite #45 came later.

BTW, just looking at spark plug interchanges,

BEWARE!

I found a web page plug interchange

that didn't even List an Autolite BF-42!!

One interchange suggests an Autolite BF-32 ALSO

is the same as an Autolite #45

The BF-32 is a colder plug and clearly NOT the same

as a BF-42 !

Years ago, my checks suggested an Autolite #124

was the interchange to a BF-32, the std plug for

289 Hipo use.

Spark Plug Heat ranges Matter!!

BTW, the '60s Autolites had a Big range thus:

Coldest to hottest

BF-12
BF-22
BF-32
BF-42
BF-82
BF-92

In the performance world, the rule of

thumb is to run the coldest plug you can,

that won't foul.

YMMV

DW

 

[Mike O'D]

Heat ranges, etc. only effect long term functionality. A clean plug with the right gap of any type will work just fine for the short term. The spark plugs are not causing an idle problem.