jonheese
Used-To-Know-It-All
After being inspired by @Deathacus in their post in the WTB section, I have designed some reproduction 3D-printed spark plug wire clips for the Gen1/2 SHO V6 engine. These are the little plastic clips that screw to the valve covers and keep the spark plug wires routed nicely. If yours are anything like mine, the 28+ year old plastic is cracking and the metal reinforcement plates under most of them have delaminated, causing them to dangle in the breeze, if they are present at all.
These are not critical parts by any means, but new ones would look pretty nice in a restored/cleaned up engine bay. I don't believe they've ever been reproduced since Ford discontinued the part, so all of the parts out there today are decades old.
I've spent a few hours (beyond what I posted in the WTB thread) designing and prototyping these replacements for my own use, and I think I'm close to a "beta" release for others as well, so I wanted to see if there was enough interest from folks to make it worth the effort.
If you have a 3D printer, I could sell you the STL files for you to print them yourself, or I could print a set and sell it to you.
If I print these, I would print them out of ABS plastic, which should have sufficient properties to survive underhood stresses and temperatures as well as (if not better than) the original parts. I currently have ABS filament in gray, black, and white, so those would be the available colors to start with. I might offer additional colors for a small fee if there is interest.
I have also sourced the proper Phillips and Torx (your choice) 304 stainless steel screws and some 304 stainless steel bushings (which are inserted into the mounting hole in the plastic clip to provide a positive stop when tightening) which I can include as well, for a small up-charge.
I think that there are five distinct types of clip, as labeled in the first pic above:
A full set would be seven (7) clips: 1xA, 1xB, 3xC, 1xD, 1xE.
I've tried to see if I could find any historical pricing for these parts from Ford to use as a basis for my pricing, but considering that it's likely been discontinued for over 20 years (if they were ever readily available at all), I didn't find anything.
Keep in mind that these would be very low-volume, essentially custom-printed for each order, but I'm thinking about pricing in the following ballpark (may shift slightly depending on feedback):
NOTE: All prices include shipping via USPS in a padded envelope to US addresses.
I have printed a set for my car and will take some photos of them to add to the thread if there is interest. I plan on testing them out myself for a while before offering them for sale, so I just want to set expectations that it may be a while before I move into "production" mode, if that happens at all.
So is there any interest out there for these? How reasonable are my pricing estimates? Any other suggestions for the project are 100% welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for reading.
These are not critical parts by any means, but new ones would look pretty nice in a restored/cleaned up engine bay. I don't believe they've ever been reproduced since Ford discontinued the part, so all of the parts out there today are decades old.
I've spent a few hours (beyond what I posted in the WTB thread) designing and prototyping these replacements for my own use, and I think I'm close to a "beta" release for others as well, so I wanted to see if there was enough interest from folks to make it worth the effort.
If you have a 3D printer, I could sell you the STL files for you to print them yourself, or I could print a set and sell it to you.
If I print these, I would print them out of ABS plastic, which should have sufficient properties to survive underhood stresses and temperatures as well as (if not better than) the original parts. I currently have ABS filament in gray, black, and white, so those would be the available colors to start with. I might offer additional colors for a small fee if there is interest.
I have also sourced the proper Phillips and Torx (your choice) 304 stainless steel screws and some 304 stainless steel bushings (which are inserted into the mounting hole in the plastic clip to provide a positive stop when tightening) which I can include as well, for a small up-charge.
I think that there are five distinct types of clip, as labeled in the first pic above:
| Triple clip (C) | On driver's side of front valve cover |
| "" "" | On driver's side of rear valve cover |
| "" "" | Underneath rear of intake near throttle body |
| Double clip, rear (A) | On middle of rear valve cover |
| Double clip, front (B) | On middle of front valve cover |
| Single clip, front (D) | On passenger's side of front valve cover |
| Single clip, rear (E) | On passenger's side of rear valve cover |
A full set would be seven (7) clips: 1xA, 1xB, 3xC, 1xD, 1xE.
I've tried to see if I could find any historical pricing for these parts from Ford to use as a basis for my pricing, but considering that it's likely been discontinued for over 20 years (if they were ever readily available at all), I didn't find anything.
Keep in mind that these would be very low-volume, essentially custom-printed for each order, but I'm thinking about pricing in the following ballpark (may shift slightly depending on feedback):
| $30-40 | Full set of seven (7) clips |
| $35-45 | Full set of seven (7) clips plus stainless steel hardware |
| $10-15 | 3D printer files (STL) only |
| $20-30 | 3D printer files (STL) plus stainless steel hardware |
| $10-15 | Stainless steel hardware only |
I have printed a set for my car and will take some photos of them to add to the thread if there is interest. I plan on testing them out myself for a while before offering them for sale, so I just want to set expectations that it may be a while before I move into "production" mode, if that happens at all.
So is there any interest out there for these? How reasonable are my pricing estimates? Any other suggestions for the project are 100% welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for reading.
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