Faulty new ignition coil(s)

Purchased two new coils for a 1964 18hp Evinrude fastwin,The fixing plates had been drilled wrong.This caused the steel plates on the coil to foul the flywheel and score it.Luckily I didn't fire the engine up,I just removed the plugs and turned it by hand.
There was a note in with the coils saying the coil fixing screws might need shortening as they might catch the block below.I checked this,and shortened the screws to suit,the magneto rotates freely on it's axis plate.
I came to the conclusion,after measuring the old and new coils,that the design of the new coils makes them slightly smaller,which brings the centre of them lower,and that is the reason the screws need shortening.There was no set measurement of how much to shorten the screws,which was a pain,but the reason is probably because different companies supply slightly different sizes.
I purchased the coils on ebay from Germany,so I am waiting to see what they are going to do about it.
Luckily,there is no urgency for the engine,but it has certainly tested my skills and patience.
I was wondering if my problem is a "One Off" or if anybody has had a similar problem?
Any comments will be welcome.

 

Not sure why you have started this thread. Its only a repeat of your other one.

 

Not really Brendan,this one is about faulty parts.
Same engine I admit,I was asking if anybody had the same problem with new parts.Especially out of line coils.
I must have had the flywheel on and off at least fifteen times,purely because I expected new parts to work correctly.
It's very difficult to measure things like this without a drawing or jig.The difference in the drillings is fractional,maybe as little as 20 thou"
The drillings are slightly larger than the screws to allow for a bit of adjustment,but even with this allowance,they were beyond adjustment.

 

How much you want to bet, the coils are meant as a "replacement" to part number such and such, which covers several different makes and models. The mount may be a generic one, that they suspect will fit most without alteration, while a few might need to have hole elongated, screws shortened, etc. Some bother to engineer the elongated slots, provide shims, spacers, etc., with instructions for the modification on a specific model, while others, leave you to fend for yourself. Yeah, life sucks sometimes. I'm just glad I was born handsome, well hung and with good sense, so I only get screwed over occasionally . . .

 

Ok. I see now.

 

You forgot Modest,HaHa.
I'm pretty sure this is a manufacturing fault,one coil runs parallel with the steel plates,the other runs at a taper.The one with a taper is the one that is definitely fouling on the flywheel/magneto.
I think the German supplier will replace them,they are usually a pretty honourable bunch in Germany.
If all else fails,I might try filing the slot to get more adjustment,like you just mentioned.
I hate not having the feeling that,the job is spot on, and I have had to bodge it.
I really fancied sorting this engine out,but I am getting to the point of giving up on it and getting a more modern one.

 

Come on a good bodge, say once a day, keeps the doctor away. I have mine about an hour after I wake up, usually with coffee.

 

Haha,sounds like the word "Bodge" has a few interpretations.
In Australia in the early 60's,if you wore a leather jacket and behaved like James Dean,you were a "Bodgie boy"

 

are you sure the armature plate is centred properly and somebody hasnt done a repair previously?
There is a tool to align the coils, just a cast iron ring to go around them.

 

Not to forget their female admirers, the "Widgies"

 

Lol i remember my mother telling me my auntie was a widgie.
She was a good dancer apparently

 

Thanks for your reply PB,
When I stripped the flywheel and Mag plate they looked unmarked and untouched. The engine was pulling over freely before I started the repair,but there was only a weak spark on one plug and a very faint one on the other.
As I suspected,the coils were old and falling apart.
At first I suspected what was catching was the four screws that hold the coils down onto the armature plate,but with inspecting the underside of the mag with coils screwed down they were well clear,and not catching.There was an advisory note with the coils that the screws might need to be shortened if they caught the casing below them.
After having attempted the job several times and discovering the coils were fouling the magnets I decided to give up on the idea for a while and have a think about it.
I am going to strip it all back and start again.
The coil centering tool sounds like the answer,but I doubt I will be able to get hold of one.
I tried slackening the coils off and fitting the flywheel to centre the coils,this seemed to work,until I took the flywheel off and tightened the screws back up.
Looks like it's a patience job.

 

if you have a lath/mill you could make the tool as it also rests on machined lugs on the armature plate so you can get the measurement.

 

Haha,I danced with a few widges at the Festival Hall in Melbourne on Sunday afternoons.(1962)
You weren't supposed to dance when the main artist was on but we carried on twisting when Chubby Checker came on,the bouncers asked us to leave the floor,but Chubby checker said,"No,leave dem Man,they's good"Got pulled on the way to Kilda from Port Melbourne for wearing a leather jacket and having two girls in the car(we were only kids)They were keen on the old Carnal Knowledge in those days.I could see the point even then.
I had a nice young lady that lived in Sunshine,but I blew it by going for a long weekend in Torquay with the lads.Surf,sand,campfires and a few bottles of Victoria bitter.I'd do it all over again given the chance.

 

Not been near a lathe in years,I might try and get the Vernier on it.