Autolite vs Motorcraft

[Gary Lewis]

I saw this on the FORDification Facebook page and thought y'all would enjoy it:

DID YOU KNOW?
Did you ever wonder what the relationship was between Ford, Autolite and Motorcraft? Well, here's a quick rundown:

Electric Autolite was an independent company that began in 1911 and made aftermarket auto repair parts, such as spark plugs and wires, starters and other ignition components.

In the late 1950s, after unsatisfactory initial efforts to merchandise repair parts under the Motorcraft name, Ford began to explore other marketing options. Believing that a good tradename was one key which might unlock the door to the repair parts market, Ford commenced negotiations with the Electric Autolite Company, a primary supplier of parts for Chrysler and a major manufacturer of automobile repair parts. In 1961, an agreement was reached with Electric Autolite in which Ford purchased the "Autolite" tradename, an Ohio spark plug factory, a Michigan battery facility, limited distribution rights, and the services of several employees. Autolite products became standard original factory equipment in Ford vehicles.

Within the year, the Federal Trade Commission brought suit under section 7 of the Clayton Antitrust Act, seeking to divest Ford of the assets it acquired from Electric Autolite. Throughout the lawsuit, Ford used the "Autolite" tradename, along with the other acquisitions. Ford was found liable for Clayton Act violations in 1968 and a final judgment was entered in 1970, which ordered Ford to divest itself of the Autolite assets, including the "Autolite" name. (Even though they had no problem with GM owning 'Delco'.)

 In 1966, Ford created a design which it anticipated would be used with the "Autolite" name. That design consisted of a blurred image of a 1964 Ford GT (the "Ghosted GT"). After the finding of liability but before final judgment, Ford added the Ghosted GT to the "Autolite" name, and began to advertise the two together. Pursuant to the divestiture order, Ford transferred the Autolite assets to the Bendix Corporation in 1973. Even after divestiture, Ford retained the Ghosted GT, using it in conjunction with the tradename "Motorcraft," which Ford had adopted to replace the divested "Autolite" name. In effect, Ford used the Ghosted GT to bridge the "Autolite" and "Motorcraft" names, apparently hoping that the good will associated with the "Autolite" name would travel to the "Motorcraft" name via the Ghosted GT. Ford's use of the Ghosted GT has continued to date.

Ford revived its dormant Motorcraft subsidiary in 1972 to replace Autolite as their official parts brand and went back into the spark plug business. Initially it was just for their own use, but they started marketing them through parts houses again and started gaining a substantial market share. The govt stepped in again (due to complaints from Champion, and now Autolite), but this time Ford agreed to withdraw from the aftermarket and only sell though their new car dealers and fleet outlets. Today, Motorcraft products are sold through Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealerships as well as select auto parts stores but are not necessarily made by Ford. In some cases, the products are originally manufactured by a supplier that uses the Motorcraft logo on the package. Nevertheless, it’s true that Motorcraft products must meet quality standards set out by the Ford Motor Company to be considered for retail sale.  If the manufacturer can't build to code, they lose the contract.

Autolite is still a brand name in use today, but is currently owned by Honeywell, the parent company that also owns/manufactures Fram, Prestone, Bendix as well as Garret turbochargers. And although they are the 'official' supplier of spark plugs for NASCAR, among auto enthusiasts Autolite is considered to be an inferior product, much like the Fram line of oil filters.

 And in a twist of fate...Autolite now builds the Motorcraft plugs but are built to Ford specs, so they are generally considered to be a higher-quality part.

[85lebaront2]

You want another one, Packard electric, as in Packard 440 plug wires, now Delco-Packard. When Packard motor company was bought or taken over by Studebaker (one more company Studebaker milked dry) somehow GMs Detroit Electric Company (Delco) ended up with Packard wire and cable.

Packard developed Hypalon insulation sometime in the 40s or 50s. I know you are dealing or will be dealing with that wonderful 1950s wiring, cloth covered rubber insulation that crumbles if you look at it too hard. We had a 1955 Patrican, all the chassis wiring had hypalon insulation and was just as pliable as you could want, the outside supplied parts like headlamp sockets, blower motors, had the normal 50s rubber/cloth insulation and had to be handled very carefully so it wouldn't crumble. The Packard chassis and body wiring was color coded and numbered for identification.

[ArdWrknTrk]

There's a lot of Motorcraft forgeries being sold online, and even through chain stores.

[viven44]

Its ironic that Honeywell owns Autolite and can get away with it. Honeywell can get away with treason possibly!! Anyway my animosity is from the fact that they have monopolized the R1234yf market... well they have patents so I get it... but a small 8oz can selling for $50.. that I don't.. and until the patent runs out consumers will pay for the depreciation of Honeywell's infrastructure

Speaking of duplicate Motorcraft...
https://youtu.be/OpDJNDb6b9A?si=-kPZIgvTT3HaHCs0

[Gary Lewis]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

There's a lot of Motorcraft forgeries being sold online, and even through chain stores.

Yes, I think the DS-II ignition module that was on Big Blue when I got him was a forgery.  It said Motorcraft but sure didn't have the retard feature.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I can't understand why they don't just go to propane. (well, of course I DO!)

I won't get into geeking on the life & death of Midgley,.
Not having high pressure ammonia inside your house or car was revolutionary back then.

Obviously, a mandate is like a license to print money!

[mat in tn]

as a former air cond tech/salesman. I have a specific point of view. yet air cond is NOT needed. imagine if you will a world without air cond. I promise you that it did exist and can again if we toughen up.

[ArdWrknTrk]

But it didn't exist with more than 2 billion people on it.

Things were a bit less crowded in the 1920's, and there was certainly a lot less 'heat island effect' from concrete structures, paved roads & parking lots, etc..
Remember, grass and shrubs respire, water evaporates from soil.
All of these are carrying 540 cal away with every cc of water.
It's a lot more cooling than you might expect.

Also homes were not nearly as 'tight' and more often had wood shingle roofs over skip sheathing.
Bevel or shingle siding, single glazed windows, porches, dog trots, etc.

"The world" was a very different place.

[viven44]

Coming from a tropical country where air conditioning is only present in maybe 10% of the households, and even when it is present it is reserved for the bedrooms only. Maybe <1% have full home air conditioning... anyway my point is, it is do-able.... I have somehow convinced my wife to leave our AC unit at 78 degrees in summer. We used to leave it at 72 or so years ago!!

I always think about how the condensers outside take heat from inside the house to outside... but then the efficiency isn't there so there is definitely more heat being put out than being pulled out from inside... so the net effect is warming of the environment... all the AC condensers going non-stop in the south... I cannot wrap my head around it.....

This evening (4-6pm) I went on a 70 mile roundtrip on Big Blue 2WD.. 100F outside.. Non-AC... I was definitely feeling it and precipitating for sure  ... the vent window felt like a dream. Some water at the end of the trip felt wonderful... My iPhone --- Not-so much... it was hanging up due to extreme ambient heat!! Felt like I was using a Celeron powered Windows PC back in the 90s..... I wondered what use case just about everything has been designed for. The iPhone is setup for 50C case temperature I imagine (Ambient + processor heat) so anything over that it starts throttling the processor..

[ArdWrknTrk]

Hence Air "Conditioning". 🧐
It's not cooling, as much as lowering relative humidity, so your sweat can evaporate and cool YOU!

It's right there on the nameplate.
4800W*, or whatever.
Lots of central air units are fused at 40A 240V, or more!
That's exactly how much heat you're pumping into the immediate environment.
When you think of a city as densely packed as Hong Kong or Delhi you can imagine the contribution.

[viven44]

My 5-ton Trane unit is using about 15-25A per leg when going full blast.. that sounds about right... Yes it seems to be a vicious cycle.....

[ArdWrknTrk]

I absolutely should have said that circuits have to account for inrush and are derated per the NEC.

But 240V @ 20A is 4800w, and that's not including heat produced at the source (if nuclear, coal or gas turbine)
I don't think that wind, hydro or solar produce significant amounts of heat, and you could say all are harvesting insolation either directly or indirectly.

[viven44]

Yes. My breaker has tripped more than once as the compressor was working really hard. The inrush exceed the breaker’s capacity… I am using a 60A breaker!!!

[Gary Lewis]

Breakers can go bad and trip far earlier than their ratings. I’ve replaced many of them that have.

[viven44]

Ha! You predicted what happened 2 years later after this first started happening. I did replace the breaker... but only when the compressor wouldn't kick... the hard start kit and capacitor all looked good, and I measured ~106V at the compressor vs 240V. I didn't just replace it proactively like I should have....  I just assumed the breaker went bad, but didn't know when they start going out they trip sooner.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Low voltage will kill that compressor in no time.

[vjsimone]

Rare to find an air conditioner in a residential property in Newfoundland in the past. The only reason you see it today is due to the installation of heat pumps in the newer homes. A fan goes a long way when the temp reaches 80 deg F for a few days the first week in Aug.

Interesting stories about the early days of automotive electrics. Thanks ... That's where my electrical knowledge started under the guidance of holding the flashlight for my father whilst he was troubleshooting his 50's vintage Ford pickups.

I to spent some time as an appliance tech. I saved many people a service call, telling them to reset the breaker and give the squirrel cage a spin before trying to start their window A/C unit the first time for the summer. Unless it was a slow week in the shop.....