oddball question-

a buddy of mine brought home a '65 pickup with a FE in it.

he's not a ford guy (yet), so he called me up. he says the #5 spark plug is screwed into some sort of adapter, and the adapter fits into the cylinder head.

the adapter has a small hole in the end near the electrode, and the whole thing spaces the plug about 1/2" farther out from where it would usually sit.

i was thinking it must be some sort of situation with bad threads in the head...but he says they look good.

i'm trying to get him to send me a picture so i can post it...but is anyone familiar with what this might be?

 

Most likely a "non-fouler" on that plug. Those match the description given.

 

It's most likely an adapter that prevents sparkplug fouling. I've seen them used before to stop plugs from fouling with oil...........

 

aha...
so...seeing one of these would not be a good sign, correct?

 

Correct. Most of the time it points to a broken ring or scored cylinder in that "hole" that causes oil or carbon fouling. Try a compression test, or better yet, a leakdown test on that cyl.

 

argh- that's what i was afraid of.

thanks for the info guys!

 

Finding one in use on a rear cyl can indicate a plugged oil drain hole. Any other location usually points to something a bit more involved to correct...... Even if it's just valve stem seals.