How to Replace the Spark Plug Wires in a 1973 Corvette
- 1). Loosen the lug nuts on the Corvette’s front wheels with a ratchet and socket. Raise the front of the vehicle with a floor jack and position jack stands under its frame rails. Remove the lug nuts and pull the front wheels off the front hubs, giving you access to the spark plug ends of the spark plug wires.
- 2). Grab the rubber boot -- the thick rubber end -- of one spark plug wire and pull it away from the spark plug with a slight twisting motion to remove it. Trace the wire upward toward the distributor, disengaging it from the routing clips as you go; make note of the wire’s routing as you remove it.
- 3). Pull upward on the thick rubber boot connecting the spark plug wire to the distributor with a slight twisting motion to remove the wire.
- 4). Lay the spark plug wire on a flat surface and find a matching wire in the new spark plug wire set.
- 5). Plug the shorter of the two rubber boots into the vacant receptacle on the distributor. Press the boot downward until you feel it click onto the distributor.
- 6). Route the wire toward the spark plug in the exact same manner the old wire was routed, pressing the wire into the routing clips as you go.
- 7). Apply a small amount of dielectric grease into the spark plug wire boot and spread this grease around the inside of the boot with a small flat-head screwdriver. Line up the boot with the top of the spark plug and press it onto the top of the spark plug until it clicks into place.
- 8). Repeat Steps 2 through 7 to replace the remaining seven spark plugs.
- 9). Place the wheels back on the front hubs and hand-tighten the lug nuts. Raise the Corvette off the jack stands with a floor jack, then remove the jack stands. Lower the vehicle to the ground. Tighten the lug nuts, in a crisscross pattern, to 100 foot-pounds with a torque wrench and socket.
- 10
Grab the rubber boot of the spark plug wire plugged into the center of the distributor -- the coil wire -- and pull it upward with a slight twisting motion. Trace the coil wire toward the ignition coil, pulling it from any routing clips as you go. Pull the coil wire from the top of the ignition coil, by its rubber boot, with a slight twisting motion. - 11
Line up the rubber boot on the last remaining wire in the new wire set with the receptacle on the top of the ignition coil. Press the wire onto the coil until it clicks into place. - 12
Route the wire toward the distributor in the same way the old wire was routed, pressing it into any routing clips as you go. Line up the boot on the other end of the wire with the receptacle on the center of the distributor and press it downward until you feel it click into place.