Champion Spark Plug's

[Mike Bretsch]

Im pretty sure you could send the used plugs back to Champion and have them reconditioned and they would come back each plug in its own plain white box with just the number of the plug stamped on the end of it and said Champion reconditioned. I had some L58R's like that after they stoped making that number.

I don't remember of them reconditioning plug's, but when plugs were sent back they would look at them and aslo cut them apart to see what was happening in side. Then sent the person new plugs in return. But in your case when the plug was no longer built and it worked good for you the engineer would clean them and test them and then return them. Champion wanted to make sure the racer was taken care of in the old day's . Take care, Mike

[Mike Bretsch]

We ran L87's in all our motors except the 350cc VB Konig. L87's were too hot. Sounds kind of strange doesn't it. I never heard of an L85 or L86 so I always figured L87 was only a little bit different from the L84. Maybe Mike can fill us in.

Anyway... we were holding the 2nd half of the 1968 NOA World Championships which was blown in Minnesota out at my Dad's house. When we raced there a lot of my high school classmates showed up, and some of my best friends wanted to pit. We always had a team that traveled all over with us, but against our best judgement we let one guy help. Basically, we let him hand us tools, carry fuel cans, etc. It was our stupid mistake to ask him to give us some new plugs to put in the B. A couple of new packages of L84's were opened and set on a box in the trailer. Unfortunately, an L87 was next to them and was one of the four he picked up. No one checked. That plug ended up in the top rear cylinder.

I pulled out of the pits to test and just barely broke over on a plane when the power dropped off and the motor made a sound like I never heard before. Back in the pits we took out the plugs and the L87was ashen white/grey with metal splatters all over it and we found a 5mm hole all the way through the piston. The races weren't until the next day, so I was up until midnight overhauling the motor. Because of that I missed the famous shootout when Jack Chance fired off a chamber full of blanks at the "ferocious little wood creature" that Jerry Simison's crew brought down from Minnesota.

There was an L86 plug, but it was of a hotter heat range. The #'s ran close to each other, but the heat range could be a big difference in racing plug's. I have seen on the dyno's at Champion running a 2 cycle engine with a different heat range plug in each cyl. (a 2 cyl eng) (like a 63 and 64) the hotter plug would pre very fast and burn that unforgiven hole in the piston. When we did preignition testing in a 2 cyl engine we would put the test plug in one cyl and the coldest plug we could find in the other. If it preignited it only burnt one pistion. Later, Mike

[Mike Bretsch]

I think the President's name was Earl Twining. I rubbed elbows with a lot of those Dudes at the Indy races. I drove by the 11th Street shop in Long Beach yesterday, as a result of reading this post. It's still there in a pretty decrepid state. If it weren't for the huge tank in the back that stored the water used for the dyno, I wouldn't have been sure I was there. Booby thought a swimming pool would have been a better means of cooling water.

The last time I saw Bobby Strallman was in Key West at an offshore race. He and his wife were going to Miami the next day to watch the Dolphins play. That was the year that Miami won all 17 games. I believe that was '73.

Bobby and his wife were two of the greatest people on earth.

Champion has always supported boat racing. (or at least as far back as '41, thats as far as I can remember.) I made a vow that I would never buy another brand of spark plug, unless they came in a new car or something. When Bunker started racing Yamatos, they came with some Japanese brand X plug and I wouldn't let him run. I went out and bought Champions. Everybody said you gotta run the Japanese plugs. Well after winning 36 consecutive heats, we showed that CHAMPIONS worked.

The president of Champion in those day's was Robert A. Stranahan Jr and Earl was Chief Engineer of the engineering dept. My farther worked with Earl for many years. I had seen him many time's, he was a nice person. It's sad that all the the great people that made Champion so great are gone. Later, Mike

[bill boyes]

As Ron said Dick Jones had a SK. There was a race at Carlsbad and Dick had Bill Muncey drive it for him. The inspector ask if I would help out and check fuel. Well Bills fuel did not pass the Hydrometer test was close but above the line. I asked Bill were he got the gas and he says Hell, I done know I just drive the thing, ask Dick. So Dick says the the Union station here in town. I said let me check others because something is not right. I checked others and the Hydrometer had the same reading. So then I told Bill and Dick that their fuel was OK. Bill and Dick shook my hand and said Thanks. I did not want to wash my hand as the great Bill Muncey and Dick Jones shook it.

[Mike Bretsch]

Mike:

I was at the Bakersfield race a few weeks back and the crew chief of one of the GN boats had straightened the electrode out and was rounding off squared ends. He claimed doing that provided a better area for the spark to light the fuel in his engine. He was running a 500 or near 500 cubic inch gas burning motor using what looked like a 12-71 blower and the style bug catcher the top fuel cars run. After he filed the electrode, he bent it back and regapped the plug....I thought it was interesting he did that and that Champion just did not build the plug that way to begin with... Any thoughts here?

Skoontz

I have raced at Lake Ming in the late 70's with a 1/4 mile Unblown Gas Flatbottom. Great place, little short for fuel boats.
Never heard of rounding off any sharp edges for better fuel burn. Champion now builds their racing plugs with a cutback ground wire, where the sharp edge of the ground wire is even with the outside dia of the center wire. That way the spark has the shortest path to travel. (My dad did this to plugs we used in my drag car is the early 60's.) The spark arc will be blue and strong, if anything is rounded the spark will scatter around the rounded edge and be weak and yellow. That's why when we run our plug's for a long time in our daily car's and they start to missfire, you check the plug and they are rounded. The spark is scatted and weak. Hope this helps a little'
Mike

[Gene East]

Everyone has been very positive in their assessment of Champion's support of racing through free spark plugs, contingency money and "Champion"-ship jackets to winners.

Let's not forget how popular Skip Mason was with the ladies as he distibuted those fashion statement Champion earrings.

I think every woman with pierced ears had miniature Champion spark plugs dangling from her ear lobes at all the major races!

[Jones Cams]

The president of Champion in those day's was Robert A. Stranahan Jr and Earl was Chief Engineer of the engineering dept.

At that time, Dick Jones'(my dad) title was "Manager of champion's west coast racing facility". His title changed, but I can't remember what it was before he quit champion.
His Boss was Dick Kudner.

I'm right now trying to figure out where to post 100's of pictures from the champion dyno facility, and my dad's boat racing career.

[Mark75H]

At that time, Dick Jones'(my dad) title was "Manager of champion's west coast racing facility". His title changed, but I can't remember what it was before he quit champion.
His Boss was Dick Kudner.

I'm right now trying to figure out where to post 100's of pictures from the champion dyno facility, and my dad's boat racing career.

Doesn't really matter ... just post it and if it seems to go off from where it starts we can move it later.

[russhill]

Yes, Champion did "recondition" old spark plugs and put them in white boxes. We would typically get back about 50% of the plugs we sent in. Champion would tell us words to the effect that some of our plugs "didn't make the cut." I think they may have had cracked procelaons.

I never really owned a "new" champion Spark Plug until I'd raced a few years. My job as a little tiny kid was to hang out in the pits of some of the "Big Timers" and they'd run a set of plugs once and throw them away. I'd collect them and we'd send them into Champion.

I like to hang out in the F pits, becaused I loved 4-60s, and because I could get four plugs at a time instead of just two.

I know they were our plugs, reconditioned, because once after my dad had had a cap unscrew, he started soldering the threads, so the caps wouldn't unscrew. We'd get back from Champion our solder topped plugs.

[Mike Bretsch]

At that time, Dick Jones'(my dad) title was "Manager of champion's west coast racing facility". His title changed, but I can't remember what it was before he quit champion.
His Boss was Dick Kudner.

I'm right now trying to figure out where to post 100's of pictures from the champion dyno facility, and my dad's boat racing career.

I don't what his title changed to, I remember meeting your dad and only speaking to him a couple of time's when he came to Toledo. Where ever you post pictures of the Dyno facility please e-mail, I would enjoy seeing them. If I can get a hold of any old guy's from Champion, I'll see if anyone would remember about your dad's title. There aren't many of those people around anymore and not being in Toledo, I have lose touch of people.