Model Tech

When it comes to model builders, one of the greats would be David Anthony Garcia of Santa Fe Springs, California. LRB had the great honor of being invited to his shop, Drag-N Shop, which is known for producing top-notch customized vehicles, as well as full-custom model cars and trucks. David shared with us the simple, yet tedious, process of adding a distributor cap and sparkplug wires to the engine block. Even down to the firing order of the distributor cap, David made sure that accurate detail was handled correctly based on the full-size car that it's modeled after. David was nice enough to go over what was needed and the steps of installing the kit.

Tools Needed 1. Dremel tool 2. Bob Smith glue (two-part) 3. Testors clear part cement 4. Tweezers 5. X-acto knife 6. Sandpaper or file 7. Small and really, really small drill bits!		Detail Master Precision products or kits needed 1. DM 3204 Wire distributor kit 2. DM 3052 Ignition coils and straps (MacGowan's Signature Series) 3. DM 2420 Carburetor linkage and hardware (optional)		Step 1. David drilled a hole where the distributor stem would be positioned, and then drilled holes on the engine block where the spark plugs would be inserted. Make sure that you go all of the way through the plastic into the engine block, as this will allow you to position your distributor stem and plug wires at the right length. Take out the stem and the distributor casing from the DM 3204 wire distributor kit, and with the tip of the X-acto knife, clean out and open the hole slightly for the stem by spinning the knife around the hole.
Step 2. Use sandpaper or a file to rough up the tip of the stem and check to see if it fits into the hole at the bottom of the distributor case. Sanding and scraping these two parts helps to make a rough surface that allows the glue to hold better.		Step 3. Glue the parts together and put them a side.		Step 4. Check your engine block for excess plastic from the drill. Take your distributor case and stem, and place against the engine block. Check to see how high you want the distributor to be and mark it. Remember that the wires will make it even higher.
Step 5. Take your distributor stem and lay it on a flat surface (the end of your work bench is fine), then lay the knife on the marked area on the stem and roll back and forth applying pressure on the knife until it cuts through. Do not trash the unused stem as you will need it later.		Step 6. Put a dab of glue in the hole where your distributor will go and then slide in the stem and hold it at the selected height. (Remember to always check for fit when inserting any parts into custom-made holes before gluing)		Step 7. In this kit, you will find colored wires for the sparkplugs and a wire covered with black insulation. Take the colored wire and cut seven equal lengths about 2 inches each (depending on the amount of sparkplugs plus one extra for the coil).
Step 8. Take the insulated wire and strip it about 1/4-inch. Use pliers to pull out the bare wires and set them aside.		Step 9. Then cut 14 pieces 1/8-inch in length.		Step 10. These pieces will be put on each end of the sparkplug wires to make them look like sparkplug boots when glued into position.
Step 11. Here is what the wires will look like when finished.		Step 12. Slip the colored wires into the holes of the distributor cap and glue them to the casing.		Step 13. When dry, carefully push the black insulation pieces down to the cap, making sure that they all sit on the cap. After you make them flat with the cap, add a dab of glue to the boots and spread evenly to hold the boots together. Do not let the glue get on the wires. If it does, you will not be able to separate the plugs and it will be a mess! Glue the distributor stem to the already drilled hole on the engine block. At this point, you should have a cool engine block with a polished distributor and colored wires with black boots on the ends sticking out like an alien having a bad hair day.
Step 14. Now you have to look for a real car with its hood up and note the firing sequence. Here we made Frank Epstein drive all of the way over from Montebello, California, with his '51 Chevy just so we could use his car engine as an example. Frank pulled up and opened his hood, David did a quick draw and that was that.				Step 15. After David drew the firing order, he went back to his work station to replicate it on the model engine. He then opened the DM 3052 Ignition coils and straps (MacGowan's Signature Series) and removed the coil and coil strap. Remember that we told you not to throw away the left-over distributor stem? Well, here's why. You need it to mold the strap to fit around the coil. Wrap the strap around the stem, adjust and cut the excess strap and cement it to the coil. David then drilled a hole in the center of the coil and glued the coil to the engine block from the strap. Now you are ready to wire the spark plugs. Before cementing each wire, David checked to see if the wire fit the hole and cut the wires to length one at a time. When he had the right size, a dab of glue was put into each hole and the colored wire inserted into the sparkplug holes before the black insulation piece was pushed down to make the sparkplug boot. Do these in the firing order per the diagram for authenticity and so you don't get confused.
Step 16. After all of the spark plug wires are done, take the center wire from the distributor and connect it to the top of the coil. You should have a beautiful "spider" clinging to your engine block.		Step 17. At this point, you should look over your detailed engine and do any necessary touch-ups that you feel are needed. Remember, judges are looking for as much detail work as possible so take your time and do it right the first time!