Stu:
I doubt if you had "steel" ignition wires. Most likely the wires were tinned
copper. The only reason for the use of carbon core ignition wires is to reduce
interference on radios and TV's. The familiar "tick, tick, tick" on your TV or
radio was the radio or TV picking up the magnetic waves created by the firing
of the ignition system. However alot has changed.
1) Most TV's and radios are better designed and aren't as susceptible to
ignition noise.
2) Most homes have cable TV which very seldom picks up this static.
If your TD doesn't have a radio, then I would definately go back to the copper
wires and plain spark plugs. Even if the TD puts out some static, you probably
drive the TD so little that it won't bother radios enough to worry about it. If
this kind of ignition system was on a car driven to work every day and you went
past the same homes all the time, then some people might get agitated. This
would be especially true if every vehicle on the road was that way.
You can check how bad the static is by turning on a portable radio next to the
running car. You can also see how far away the static carries. If you think
its pretty bad, then go to resistor plugs. They will help some. However, the
generator and regulator are also sources of radio static and would require
modification also.
Blake
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