Home About Catalog Index Ordering Info E-mail

Cloth/Cotton Covered Wire

This is quality reproduction wire. The patterns used are the same patterns that were used in early automotive wiring. This wire has been made by the same company for over 60 years. All use a cotton woven jacket over a modern wire insulation material. The copper conductor is high-grade and is easily tinned. All colored cable has a shiny lacquered finish. The black is available in a shiny and a dull finish.

The oak color is kind of a dull orange color (the picture to the right shows several rolls of it and is very close to the real color.) This wire is what you would have found at a hardware store in the 20's, 30's & 40's. It is very appropriate in all applications.

All prices for under 100' are per foot. 100' comes wound on a spool.

For most applications, the 7mm sparkplug wire is adequate. Very early engines used 9mm wire. 9mm is also usefull if you are going a very long distance (over 4 feet.) For long runs, the capacitance of the wire to the engine becomes quite significant. The larger diameter outer casing puts the conductor further away from the engine (the smaller the spacing of the wire core to the engine, the greater the capacitance. If there is too much capacitance, the spark will be reduced and timing delayed.)

My latest addition is the yellow with dual green cross tracers. There are actually 4 tracers, 2 going one direction, and 2 going another. It is designed to look very sharp on John Deere tractors and engines.

Also, I have a limitted supply of 8mm spark plug wire. If this s popular, I may add some additional colors.

I have started making solid core 12 gauge wire for igniters. All igniters originally used solid core wire. It makes better contact to the Fahnstock clips and is much easier to work with. One thing to keep in mind when using solid core wire is that you must add a couple of loops (like a pig tail) in the wire to prevent vibration from fracturing the wire. Always order 1 foot longer than the length that you need to accomodate the loops. This wire can be used on any engine that has an igniter and will improve the performance of the ignition system (I have observed this in my shop, it really works!) Wire for Webster magnetos is different and may be found in the Webster section.

Oak with black and red dual cross tracers, shiny lacquer finish

Yellow with black and red dual cross tracers, shiny lacquer finish

Red with black dual cross tracers, shiny lacquer finish

Yellow with dual green tracers crossing dual green tracers, shiny laquer finish

A note about carbon filament wire: DON'T USE IT!! I have "repaired" many flaky ignition systems by replacing a piece of carbon wire with good copper wire (I only sell copper cored wire.) Carbon filament wire is designed for modern 12 volt ignition systems where the output of the coil is significantly hotter than most of these old mags can produce. The carbon filament acts as a resistor and cuts down the rise time of the high tension voltage reducing interferance with radios. These old mags simply can't drive this wire. Carbon filament wire can be identified by a black fiber-like core that feels like silk. It also frequently has a modern silicone outer jacket. Some of the earlier carbon filament wire is almost unidentifiable from the outside. If you are having problems with your ignition, pull the wire and look at the end. It is worth the effort.

Order number	Description	1' - 10'	11' and up	100' roll	Shipping Weight 100' roll
WIR01	9mm Sparkplug wire , black, dull lacquer finish	1.75/ft	1.50/ft	90.00/roll	6.5 lbs
WIR02	9mm Sparkplug wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR03	9mm Sparkplug wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR08	8mm Sparkplug wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers	1.60/ft	1.40/ft	85.00/roll
WIR10	7mm Sparkplug wire, black, high-gloss	1.00/ft	.85/ft	75.00/roll	4.25 lbs
WIR11	7mm Sparkplug wire, black, dull lacquer
WIR12	7mm Sparkplug wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR13	7mm Sparkplug wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR14	7mm Sparkplug wire, red with black dual tracers
WIR15	7mm Sparkplug wire, yellow with dual green cross tracers
WIR18	7mm Sparkplug wire, black neoprene rubber, no woven jacket	.70	.60	50.00/roll
WIR19	7mm Sparkplug wire, black neoprene rubber, steel core, high voltage, high heat, no woven jacket, great for industrial engines	.80/ft all lengths
WIR06	#8 Primary wire, black, dull lacquer finish	1.50/ft	1.20/ft	95.00/roll	8 lbs
WIR20	#10 Primary wire, black, high-gloss	.85/ft	.75/ft	65.00/roll	5 lbs
WIR21	#10 Primary wire, black, dull lacquer finish
WIR22	#10 Primary wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR23	#10 Primary wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR24	#10 Primary wire, red with black dual cross tracers
WIR25	#10 Primary wire, yellow with dual green cross tracers
WIR30	#12 Primary wire, black, high-gloss	.85/ft	.70/ft	50.00/roll	3.25 lbs
WIR31	#12 Primary wire, black, dull lacquer finish
WIR32	#12 Primary wire, orange with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR33	#12 Primary wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR34	#12 Primary wire, red with black dual cross tracers
WIR35	#12 Primary wire, yellow with dual green cross tracers
WIR81	#12 Igniter wire, solid conductor, black, dull finish	1.00/foot, all lengths
WIR82	#12 Igniter wire, solid conductor, oak with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR83	#12 Igniter wire, solid conductor, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR84	#12 Igniter wire, solid conductor, red with black dual cross tracers
WIR40	#14 Primary wire, black, high-gloss	.70/ft	60/ft	40.00/roll	2.25 lbs
WIR41	#14 Primary wire, black, dull lacquer finish
WIR42	#14 Primary wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR43	#14 Primary wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR44	#14 Primary wire, red with black dual cross tracers
WIR45	#14 Primary wire, yellow with dual green cross tracers
WIR48	#14 Primary wire, red, dull lacquer finish
WIR49	#14 Primary wire, brown, dull lacquer finish
WIR50	#16 Primary wire, black, high-gloss	.70/ft	.60/ft	40.00/roll	1.75 lbs
WIR51	#16 Primary wire, black, dull lacquer finish
WIR52	#16 Primary wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR53	#16 Primary wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR54	#16 Primary wire, red with black dual cross tracers
WIR55	#16 Primary wire, yellow with dual green cross tracers
WIR60	#18 Primary wire, black, high-gloss	.50/ft	.40/ft	33.00/roll	1.25 lbs
WIR61	#18 Primary wire, black, dull lacquer finish
WIR62	#18 Primary wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR63	#18 Primary wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers
WIR64	#18 Primary wire, red with black dual cross tracers
WIR65	#18 Primary wire, yellow with dual green cross tracers
WIR71	#20 Primary wire, black, dull lacquer finish	.50/ft	.40/ft	33.00/roll	1.25 lbs
WIR72	#20 Primary wire, red, dull lacquer finish
WIR73	#20 Primary wire, green, dull lacquer finish

Wire Gauge Table

The following table give approximate dimensions for the conductors and outer jackets of my reproduction wire. The number size is standard American Wire Gauge (AWG), also known as Brown & Sharp Gauge. The outer jacket dimensions are non-standard due to the cloth & varnish overcoating. The current capacity is an approximation. You may think these numbers are rather low, but keep in mind that the cotton and varnish jacket will prevent the wire from dissipating as much heat as it would if the jacket were not there. When used is a bundle, the capacity must be derated by a factor of .8 for bundles of 2-5, and .7 for bundles of 6 or more.

	#10 stranded	#12 stranded	#14 stranded	#16 stranded	#18 stranded	7mm spark plug	9mm spark plug
Conductor diameter (inches)	.116	.093	.073	.059	.047
Conductor diameter (mm)	2.946	2.369	1.854	1.499	1.194
Conductor area (inches2)	.0078	.0048	.0030	.0019	.0013
Conductor area (mm2)	5.038	3.105	1.954	1.327	0.830
Jacket outer diameter (inches)
Jacket outer diamter (mm)
Current rating	50 amps	38 amps	28 amps	20 amps	16 amps	N/A	N/A

source: Alpha Wire Co.