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Back in the teens when the plugs I photo were produced, they were not designated as hot or cold, and few had any numbering system like we have seen since the thirties. Plugs were sold in a few different thread sizes and in varying lengths depending on what car they were used in.  We've come a long way, but the basic spark plug really hasn't changed too much.  I think it's the only part of a car that's actually gotten cheaper over time.

Terry

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4 hours ago, Terry Bond said:

More info than you wanted to know or expected I'm sure. 
Terry

Terry,

 

That was the perfect amount of information - and you were correct about the insulators, that is what is in the boxes.  I will get some pictures of the actual contents tomorrow, like half the crew here I got a little side tracked by the snow today but the it's cleaned up now and the sun is supposed to shine tomorrow so all good.  As soon as I looked at your pictures the two terms made perfect sense and are an excellent description of their respective design.

 

Don  

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These are the actual items that were in the boxes.  I'm not sure at this point how many are NOS and how many are used.  The one marked made in Canada also is an 8 but none of the others are similarly marked and only the boxes are marked as Made in Canada.   Interesting to note as well that there were what appears, to me at least, two different styles of Petticoat insulators.  

 

Don  

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/16/2020 at 3:52 PM, Terry Bond said:

Thanks for posting Bob, that's a great plug and a neat story to go along with it.  Eyquem was indeed one of the premier spark plug manufacturers in France and their plugs were widely distributed throughout Europe.  Some were even imported into the US in the early 1900s. Here is a neat piece of Eyquem advertising -

Terry

Eyquen poster.jpg

I came across a little 'Bulbhorn' feature article written years ago by Peter Helck entitled "We keep the bogies in the safe!" He went on to explain such was the practice of one NYC auto parts retailer because French "sparking plugs" (called bogies then) were so highly sought after selling for as much as $5 or $10 a piece in the early days of motoring! 

 

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17 hours ago, md murray said:

I came across a little 'Bulbhorn' feature article written years ago by Peter Helck entitled "We keep the bogies in the safe!" He went on to explain such was the practice of one NYC auto parts retailer because French "sparking plugs" (called bogies then) were so highly sought after selling for as much as $5 or $10 a piece in the early days of motoring! 

 

Bougie is the correct spelling-and they are still referred to as that.  It translates literally to "candle."  Not sure they ever really sold for that much but in many cases a day's pay was what it would take to buy them.  Fascinating history, and if we ever get the AACA Annual Convention rescheduled I hope to actually present a seminar on the history of the spark plug. 

Terry

Gamages 1906 view 2.jpg

Gamages 1906 image 1.jpg

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I've been an AACA member for a few years and have read the forums but did not start an account until tonight, and I have to have 10 posts before I can PM someone (this is my second post), but I'm trying to get some information on AC Spark plugs, I believe Larry Schramm posted that he put together millions of AC plugs so I figure he knows the info I'm seeking. Okay, here goes: I have a 1938 Chevrolet pickup that I have used AC46 plugs in, which the GM Heritage website shows in the 1938 Chevrolet specifications, the plugs I have and have used are NOS from the late 70's and 80's, they have the raised green rings at the top of the porcelain, and I saw a set of 8 AC46 plugs on Ebay that have smooth porcelain and the seller indicates they are from 1958 or so. So I went back to where my '38 sat in a shed since 1950 and I collected all the used spark plugs I could find (country people didn't throw much away back then) and my hope was to find some smooth porcelain AC46 plugs figuring they would have been used in my truck back then; I did find a few smooth porcelain plugs marked AC46-5 in green lettering. I also found some AC46 Commercial plugs, and some AC48 with blue lettering, smooth porcelain. I understand the heat range, so my question to Larry Schramm, or someone else who might know, is what is an AC46-5? I have started cleaning up these 70 year old used plugs with the intent of using them for shows, I think I have lost my mind, again, but what the heck, this stuff keeps me going. And if there is an explanation on the blue lettering I'm curious to know that too.

Thanks,

Glen

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  • 5 weeks later...
On 5/9/2021 at 8:34 PM, Glen Andrews said:

I've been an AACA member for a few years and have read the forums but did not start an account until tonight, and I have to have 10 posts before I can PM someone (this is my second post), but I'm trying to get some information on AC Spark plugs, I believe Larry Schramm posted that he put together millions of AC plugs so I figure he knows the info I'm seeking. Okay, here goes: I have a 1938 Chevrolet pickup that I have used AC46 plugs in, which the GM Heritage website shows in the 1938 Chevrolet specifications, the plugs I have and have used are NOS from the late 70's and 80's, they have the raised green rings at the top of the porcelain, and I saw a set of 8 AC46 plugs on Ebay that have smooth porcelain and the seller indicates they are from 1958 or so. So I went back to where my '38 sat in a shed since 1950 and I collected all the used spark plugs I could find (country people didn't throw much away back then) and my hope was to find some smooth porcelain AC46 plugs figuring they would have been used in my truck back then; I did find a few smooth porcelain plugs marked AC46-5 in green lettering. I also found some AC46 Commercial plugs, and some AC48 with blue lettering, smooth porcelain. I understand the heat range, so my question to Larry Schramm, or someone else who might know, is what is an AC46-5? I have started cleaning up these 70 year old used plugs with the intent of using them for shows, I think I have lost my mind, again, but what the heck, this stuff keeps me going. And if there is an explanation on the blue lettering I'm curious to know that too.

Thanks,

Glen

Like most other collectors, the object is to obtain examples of many different brands and styles of plugs.  I don't have an in-depth knowledge or reference material indicating exactly when the green rings were produced, but I have been through some of my early literature and have two catalogs that show the correct plug for your truck is the C-44, also known as 44-com.  Of course original factory literature would be the most accurate.  I've always been under the impression that straight sided insulators were much earlier than your 1938 though.

Terry

 

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I am no expert by any means, but the AC numbering apparently changed in the mid 30s. My 1936 Pontiac shop manual lists a K-7 as the correct plug. By 1937, Pontiacs were using an AC fortysomething retroactively. I believe 1936 was the last year for the old letter-number system, and anything with a number like "44" or "46" would have to be from 1937 or later no matter what the insulator looked like.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I suppose nothing should surprise me but I would have had no idea that collecting spark plugs was such a thing. Just read through the thread and am amazed at all of the cool stuff here. We had a 1913 motorcycle that was a concours restoration. On judging the one thing that lost points was non original spark plugs. Now I understand a bit better!

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For something as important as the spark plug, not much history has ever been recorded and published. Many collectors like myself are fascinated with automobile history, especiall the spark plugs.  Starting like most collectors by trying to build a big collection of all different names (thousands of them) I've tried to collect the oldest and most interesting. Digging up the stories behind them has been interesting and a challenge though. Will post a few more pics later.

Terry

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What was the motorcycle you had?   A lot of plug manufacturers offered specialty motorcycle plugs.  Most were 18mm thread and needed to be short to fit into tight spaces.  Here is a photo of one of my favorites - the Monarch White Cap Motorcycle plug made by Benfords.   Also very popular among motorcyclists was the Anderson plug.  It featured a glass core so you could actually see it firing.

There are many others in my collection including a variety of Indian and Hedstrom plugs from the early Indian motorcycles, as well as special plugs made for Harley-Davidson and others.

Terry

Monarch White Cap Motorcycle.jpg

Andersons pair.jpg

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Great bike and I'm very familiar with them having lived for several years in Scotland.  Antique motorcycles have long been popular there.  The Rudge is similar to my 1912 Triumph in many ways - single cylinder, 499 CC 3 1/2 Hp.  Even the overall appearance is similar since both were made in Coventry.  My triumph however does not have a transmission.  It's one of the last to run with a simple declutching rear hub.  In theory a nice idea, but in actual use certainly not as usable as the later 3 speed Sturmey Archer, or the variable speed transmission on the Rudge.  

Getting off target here - plugs -

My Triumph used a Bosch magneto with a plug of the same brand.  I am pretty sure your Rudge would have used a mica insulator KLG or Lodge plug.

Terry

KLG ad.jpeg

Lodge mica motorcycle plug.jpg

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  • 5 months later...

Hershey was great this year for my spark plug collection.  It's been a while since I posed anything here about plugs so thought I'd share my best Hershey discoveries as well as one that just arrived from Europe.

First photo left to right - a neat plug marked "Pirate" on the porcelain.  Next to it is an all brass plug made in France in the early 1900s inscribed "Glorious."  I'm a Model T guy and have a nice assortment of aftermarket plugs made for Model T's. This one is marked "Marswells Ford Special."  Next is another early French made plug with a nice finned brass body - "Pognon."  I believe this plug is a type used in early aircraft engines from the WWI era.  Next is a "Surety" brand spark plug. The Ford script plug is interesting.  There was a time when Ford Motor Company attempted to manufacture their own spark plug, however the experiment did not last long.  It proved more expensive to manufacture their own rather than buy from other sources.  Champion was the main supplier beginning in 1911.  I believe this example is from the 1913/14 era.  Few of these plugs exist.  Last in the photo is a plug named "Mcintosh-Heather."  I thought it might have some connection to Scotland, but it's pure American made all the way.   Interesting name though.  There were others but these were what I considered the best of my discoveries.

 

Last up is a photo of an extremely rare plug that I recently acquired from Europe.  It is a French-made plug called DUMO.  It dates from the early 1900s and has two glass windows inserted into the base so you can observe the spark bouncing around.  The center electrode grounds to a small diameter "bar" mounted cross-ways inside the base.  It's an amazing early plug that is in never-used condition.  I've not cleaned it any yet and might not.  There are only a few of these known to exist.  I've included an advertisement for it from an early French accessory catalog.  It's a fantastic addition to my collection.

Terry

 

Plugs from Hershey 2021.jpg

DUMO.jpg

Dumo ad.jpg

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59 minutes ago, Gary in MN said:

Ford plug, not sure the plug came in the tin.

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Yes, the plug was in the tin. The Tungsten Ford Special is well known. It was one of the first Ford accessory plugs i found.

Terry

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Here is a pic of the cabinet the AC plugs were sold from-also a neat cardboard standup advertisement for the 1075 Ford plug.  I found this one in an old garage in Scotland years ago.  It had never been taken from its original envelope.

Terry

AC 1075 for Fords.jpg

AC 1075 for Fords cardboard standup ad.jpg

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On 5/9/2021 at 8:34 PM, Glen Andrews said:

I've been an AACA member for a few years and have read the forums but did not start an account until tonight, and I have to have 10 posts before I can PM someone (this is my second post), but I'm trying to get some information on AC Spark plugs, I believe Larry Schramm posted that he put together millions of AC plugs so I figure he knows the info I'm seeking. Okay, here goes: I have a 1938 Chevrolet pickup that I have used AC46 plugs in, which the GM Heritage website shows in the 1938 Chevrolet specifications, the plugs I have and have used are NOS from the late 70's and 80's, they have the raised green rings at the top of the porcelain, and I saw a set of 8 AC46 plugs on Ebay that have smooth porcelain and the seller indicates they are from 1958 or so. So I went back to where my '38 sat in a shed since 1950 and I collected all the used spark plugs I could find (country people didn't throw much away back then) and my hope was to find some smooth porcelain AC46 plugs figuring they would have been used in my truck back then; I did find a few smooth porcelain plugs marked AC46-5 in green lettering. I also found some AC46 Commercial plugs, and some AC48 with blue lettering, smooth porcelain. I understand the heat range, so my question to Larry Schramm, or someone else who might know, is what is an AC46-5? I have started cleaning up these 70 year old used plugs with the intent of using them for shows, I think I have lost my mind, again, but what the heck, this stuff keeps me going. And if there is an explanation on the blue lettering I'm curious to know that too.

Thanks,

Glen

 

Glen,

 

It has been 40+ years since I worked at AC assembling spark plugs, but this is what I remember.

 

The 44,45, 45 are the heat ranges for the sparkplug.  Lower the number, the colder the plug.  Actually the first number, 4 in these examples are the size of the sparkplug.  The second number is the heat range. 

 

Typically in that era, all of the rings on the insulator were colored.  Green rings were mostly automotive and blue rings would be for other non automotive applications like lawn mowers, snow mobiles, chain saws, etc..

 

Usually Lawn Mower plugs would be identified as a LM-45.  Snowmobile would be like a S-48 for a sport application.  The higher heat range because many snowmobiles in the day were two cycle engines and you would want a hotter plug to burn off the oil/gas mix.

 

Commercial applications like C-45 were were used for delivery trucks, etc. I do not remember any difference between them and a regular automotive application except maybe the way they were packed out for fleet/bulk usages.

 

The green lines were discontinued sometime after I left that job.  I was told that it was discontinued because the number of plugs that did not have good solid lines around the plug.  Nothing wrong with the performance, just appearance.   The colored rings is where the moniker "fire ring sparkplugs" came from I believe.

 

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Edited by Larry Schramm (see edit history)
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Larry, thanks for the reply; I was trying to find out more about the smooth porcelain green lettered AC 46-5 plugs that I found. I used a fine piece of wire to measure the depth of the firing pin and compared it to some AC 44, AC 45, and AC 46 plugs that I have, the 46-5 was slightly deeper (hotter.) My pickup truck was used and abused by a water well drilling outfit, so my guess is that once the engine was beat and tired they used hotter plugs to keep it running due to oil blow by and so on. All the used plugs I found were probably pre-1955. Just curious about the 46-5; and, the smooth porcelain blue letter AC 48's that I found. As a side note relating to spark plugs, in 1941 my Mother(at 16 years old) worked for Bowers Battery and Spark Plug manufacturing in Reading, PA; she put spark plugs together, they made several brands there, she remembered mainly making the Bowers brand and Champion Spark plugs.

Thanks again,

Glen

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24 minutes ago, Glen Andrews said:

Larry, thanks for the reply; I was trying to find out more about the smooth porcelain green lettered AC 46-5 plugs that I found. I used a fine piece of wire to measure the depth of the firing pin and compared it to some AC 44, AC 45, and AC 46 plugs that I have, the 46-5 was slightly deeper (hotter.) My pickup truck was used and abused by a water well drilling outfit, so my guess is that once the engine was beat and tired they used hotter plugs to keep it running due to oil blow by and so on. All the used plugs I found were probably pre-1955. Just curious about the 46-5; and, the smooth porcelain blue letter AC 48's that I found. As a side note relating to spark plugs, in 1941 my Mother(at 16 years old) worked for Bowers Battery and Spark Plug manufacturing in Reading, PA; she put spark plugs together, they made several brands there, she remembered mainly making the Bowers brand and Champion Spark plugs.

Thanks again,

Glen

 

Can you post some pictures?

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16 hours ago, Glen Andrews said:

Larry: I packed the blue AC 48's away, I'll get them out tomorrow, and the 46-5 plugs and take some pictures and get them posted tomorrow (Tuesday.)

Thanks,

Glen

Larry: attached, hopefully, are three pictures; one has the blue lettered 48's with green lettered 46-5; another has blue lettered 44's with an extended screw type top, and an AC46 green stripe that I use in my '38 Chevy pickup. A third picture has a Champion "C-4 s" with a brass top that I suspect might have been from a 1924 Buick, also in the picture are two Firestone plugs, a white one with F-80 on it, and a pink one (I have two of the pink ones) that has F-80-F and the word Polonium. I think they could have been used in a two cylinder air cooled Wisconsin engine. I looked up the word Polonium: a radioactive chemical element formed by the disintegration of radium; don't let the EPA know I have them! I also had a bunch of C44 plugs, some with the word commercial on them. I didn't realize that the old Champion plug had a brass top until this morning when I cleaned it up. Okay, what you think? Later,

Glen

 

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Glenn,

 

I do not remember seeing any in the first picture when I worked at AC.  They might be plugs from the 50's or earlier, but I do not know.

 

The plugs in the second picture, the one with the green rings would be post WW2 in my guess.  The other two would be pre WW2.  Just a guess, but not sure.  Before my time.

 

In the third picture, the far left Champion would probably be a pre '20 plug because it has a removable insulator.  Maybe into the 20's.  I can not help you on the Firestone plugs.

 

Maybe one of the sparkplug collectors might be able to date the plugs better for you.

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All are from the 50s/60s except the Champion which could date from the late 20s-30s era.

Terry

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Okay, well thanks for the replies. The Firestone plugs with the pink tinted porcelain are different for sure, and the large Champion plug was interesting to me when I cleaned it and found the brass top. The green lettered 46-5 plugs must be a slightly hotter range, just wondering if it was ever cataloged by AC; and the blue 48's must be a hotter plug yet. I don't have a collection of spark plugs but I'll hang on to these in the photos just for the heck of it; I do have a collection of the green ringed AC46 plugs since those are the ones I use in my engine, I still have about 45 of them tucked away in a tote. And thanks again for the replies; Glen

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Glen-you have more than three and that is a collection.   Once you get to the magic "3" and reach collector status, you are obligated to learn more about what you have; to grow and expand and refine the collection; to administer and nurture it properly by treating them carefully and appropriately; and to share with others.  Well be eagerly awaiting your posting new additions to your collection, and hope you will share with us what you learn along the way. 

If you are able to attend the AACA Annual Convention this year in Philadelphia PA in February I'm supposed to be giving a seminar on "The History of the Spark Plug." It will be an "electrifying" experience!

Terry

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Well I guess I have a collection! And I was just curious about the AC 46-5 plugs; so now I'll have to start searching old catalogs to see when that plug was listed, that's okay, I needed something else to do. Again I reviewed this thread and all the interesting and unique spark plugs that exist, thanks to you and others that posted the pictures. I would like to hear your seminar on spark plugs, however I don't believe I will be at the National Convention. Take care, Glen.

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I've often advocated for recording some of the seminars and making them available on-line.  Technology makes it possible and perhaps the pending upgrade to our AACA computer systems will help make that happen.

Terry

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  • 1 month later...

Great!  I like it when things you didn't realize you had show up like that.  The bottoms of old tool boxes bought at auction usually contain a few old plugs.

Your Rex Lion is a nice find.  It dates from the late teens/early twenties.  These were made by the Rex Ignition Manufacturing Company.  Eventually they would become part of the Splitdorf/Edison companies.  The "Lion" was one of several types of plugs they produced over the years.  Here are a couple of additional variations from my collection-

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Rex mica and early porcelain.jpg

Rex pair blued steel.jpg

Rex brass plated.jpg

Rex extended reach view 2.jpg

Rex Lion.jpg

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Blue Crown is from the 50's.  The Champion X of course is for the Model T Ford.  It's the earlier style without the ribbed porcelain insulator and the brass "hat" as seen on the later Champion X plugs and the reproductions you can buy today. 

Terry

 

Champion X and other.jpg

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Terry , thanks for starting this, I am not a spark plug collector but have a few - very few. What you see here is probably all total half of my collection of spark plugs and the other half are out in the garage someplace. I like them because they have names on them of cars I own or once owned.

I have a fair amount of printed matter on spark plugs that appeared in the era when they were made in advertisements they paid to have in periodicals, supply catalogs, brochures especially for European makes.

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Walt, three is a collection! 

Nice plugs.  Interesting that the Franklin plug is one of only a very few Champion ever put the name of a vehicle on.  I've always found it strange because once installed, the plug wasn't easily seen.   The Packard plug was made by Rentz in Atlanta, GA.  Bethleham Spark Plug Company also produced a Packard script plug, and AC did one in plain block letters.   Here is an interesting photo of the earliest of the Packard branded plugs.  These were used up until about 1909 or 1910 and were imported from France.  They were manufactured there by the A.V. Magneto Company.  I've seen a few other of these A.C. Magneto plugs branded with automobile names on them  I have Mors, and Peerless in my collection.

Packard script by AV Magneto.jpg

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