It seems like such a small thing—that tiny area approximately 0.040 of an inch wide inside each combustion chamber. That area we're talking about is the gap between the electrode and strap on each ...

When General Motors introduced the High Energy Ignition (HEI) distributor in the mid-1970s, it was revolutionary. So much so that it still has a strong following among today's hot rodders. Like other ...

And there's a lot that you can do with only the simplest of tools (Fig. 1) to see that your distributor is in top condition. Think of your distributor as an infinitely accurate electric switch. It is.

Engines need spark plugs to burn their air/fuel mixture, and the spark plugs need a jolt of electricity to do their work. Older cars with conventional distributor-based ignition systems did it by ...

Q. I've noticed my new car doesn't have a distributor or spark plug wires, unlike every other car or truck I've ever owned. Can you explain how this works? A. This is one of the neatest automotive ...

"It's not a heap, dad. It's a classic." That's harder to justify when your classic muscle car won't start. Nothing like a high-compression V8 combined with a battery that hasn't seen a charge for a ...

A battery in a traditional car cannot directly create engine spark. It’s only rated at 12 volts, after all, so it needs a little help boosting the signal to the spark plugs. To make that happen, a car ...