Detailing engines Part ll

A coil is basically a transformer. It takes a small voltage pulse from the breaker points of the ignition and boosts the voltage to the 25,000 or whatever the spark plug needs. Modern electronic ignitions don't have them, its function is included in the ignition module.

Coils look like a cylinder, about 8 inches long and maybe 2 or 3 in diameter with one end flat and the other cone shaped with one spark plug wire sized wire at the tip of cone and two smaller wires on either side of it. The big wire in the middle connects to the center terminal of the distributor. Thats the wire the high voltage pulse goes through. It goes from the coil to the distributor which then "distributes" it to the proper terminal to be send to a spark plug. Those are the 4, 6 or 8 wires around the circumference of the distributor. The pulse goes from there, down to the spark plug to ignite the air/fuel mixture.

The coil can be mounted almost anywhere on the engine or in the engine compartment. Often, they are on the intake manifold somewhere near the distributor.

You really need to use a picture of the particular engine you're dealing with to know where the coil is located and for the arrangement of the spark plug wires. I don't see anything wrong with taking a guess myself, but I'm not too anal about stuff like that. If it looks good, it is good!

Ignition coil.

Hope this helps!

Dave DeLang

nice build!!

If it's of interest I found some useful material in my local hobby shop for ribbed hosing.  They have a big RC section and have a large stock of steel rods of various diameters which are threaded.  It's fairly flexible (although will snap beyond a certain angle) and dry-brushing brings out the detail.

Here's a pic of it in use on my first engine build, for the Revell Lancia 037 Rally car:

Hobbyguy wrote:

I am a beginner at painiting and detailing 1:24 scale plastic model car engines and I am at the point where I am ready to wire the spark plugs. Can you tell me exactly what a coil is?

WOW 2:29am... do I really have to get that technical? Or would this do? A coil feeds the high electrical energy to the distributor on the center terminal.

And can someone point me to where I can find a picture of an actual engine either 1:1 scale or a model engine that would identify each of the basic components.

Your model directions should give you an idea what the distributor and coil will look like in the kit. Humm... after I found these pics, maybe they really won't help. Let me know and I can work something better out for you. Chevy 350 example, Old Simple Basic Coil, Possible Ford Style Coil, Newer GM HEI Ignition system (no external coil). It would be easier if we knew what year and make.

I recently purchased a Detail Master Ignition wire (DM-1051) and it states use a # 80 drill bit and a pin vice to drill holes in the distributor, coil, and spark plug locators. I'm not sure where to get a # 80 drill bit and whether it would fit in a stardard drill. Do I need a special drill for this or would a dremel tool work?  Also I don't know what a pin vice is either. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Howard

I don't think a #80 bit will fit in a dremel tool, but don't take my word for it, I don't own a dremel tool. I know it definitely won't fit in a regular drill, the chuck won't close tight enough, plus the drill would be to big for such intricate work. But a Pin Vise is a cheap investment, I think I paid around $7.00 for mine with a case and drill bits. Here's some links...

Mine looks like this one: small, cheap and easy to handle - small swivel head.
But my end switches to use both sets (sizes) of bits like this one, X-ACTO. Humm... that doesn't sound right does it...? but I hope you get the idea. LOL
I've found Pin Vise's at my local hobby shop, arts & crafts store, Wal Mart, Home Depot, hardware store and I "think" at one time Radio Shack. Do a search on the web, they are easy to find and even sold for Jewelers, but they are cheap.