“THE SPARK PLUG“ 1975 SPARK PLUG TECHNOLOGY & OPERATION CHAMPION SPARK PLUG PROMO FILM XD43895

Join this channel to get access to perks: Want to learn more about Periscope Film and get access to exclusive swag? Join us on Patreon. Visit Visit our website “The Spark Plug” (1975) is a color promo film for Champion Spark Plugs that combines animation, archival, and live action footage to explain what a spark plug is and illuminates the hard work that has gone into engineering, designing, and producing high performance spark plugs. Champion was founded in 1905 by Albert Champion in Boston before moving to Toledo, Ohio to be closer to other automotive manufacturers. It remained a family business until the 1980s. Today it is owned by Federal-Mogul Corp. producing spark plugs for a wide range of applications, as well as wiper blades, batteries, oil filters, lighting, and glow plugs. Opening animation sequence of two men (perhaps R.A. and F.D. Stranahan) experimenting with materials to create spark plug (0:09). B&W archival footage from early 20th century of early examples of spark ignition engines: Ford Quadricycle, 1908 Ford Model R Runabout, Ford 999 (1:08). Footage of early attempts at flying: young man jumps from roof of shack, man attempts to fly bicycle equipped with wings, tail, burning rocket (1:22). Progression of spark plug designs over time (2:05). Champion engineers in lab experiment on perhaps Mercedes-Benz S-Class W116 series 1973 engine; use dynamometer to test driving conditions on motor, close-up of dials, monitors, charts (2:23). Close-up pliers adjusting wires of temperature sensor, more information about temperature sensor’s job (3:18). Animation depiction how combustion chamber converts fuel to power (3:45). Footage reverts to live-action of interior of combustion chamber then returns to animation to explain spark plug’s role in all of this (4:15). Close-up explains of different residue formations from burning: soft, sooty, oily, corrosive (5:00). Close-up spark plug for large 8-cylinder engine; same spark plug shown over time as increased voltage erodes it away (5:17). Replacement spark plug slowly screwed into place (6:00). Spark plug against orange background (6:14). Engineer sketches out intricate cross hatch design of spark plug (6:30). Spark plugs designed to utilize latest technologies: Heat dynamics (6:37). Ceramics (6:48). Steel (7:00). Metallurgy (7:20). Precision manufacturing - sequence shots of manufacturing equipment producing spark plug parts in factory, women at work on assembly line (7:29). Quality control - more scenes of workers at factory on assembly line testing finished spark plugs (8:04). Animation depicts assembly of spark plug parts to explain spark plug materials, structure, size, design (8:30). Footage changes to live action - close-up of ribbing on spark plug design, experiment depicting electricity flowing over ribbing (10:33). Static sound of radio airwaves plays as static lines across screen, young woman adjusts radio (11:16). Hand strums guitar, compares vibration of guitar string to high voltage charge of electric current flowing through spark plug (11:27). Close-up spark plug resistors twisted into engines of various machines: car, electric-powered saw, motorcycle (11:55). Fulfilling design requirements for each kind of engine: thread size and reach (12:34). Heat range - combination of live action footage and animation to explain how spark plug regulates heat to prevent combustion (12:55-14:52). Illustrated thermometer and eroded spark plug used to depict heat range (cold fouling - pre-ignition damage) (14:44). Animation of car with thermometer, plugs with different heat ranges to meet different needs (15:05). Sequence of live action footage depicting different scenarios where these different plugs may be needed: ambulance, skydiving, race cars, dune buggies (16:02). Montage of different engine designs with various spark plug requirements (17:04). 1970s small aircraft with stars and stripes decal (17:30). Close-up aviation plug requiring fine wire electrodes, used in plane engines (17:41). Close-up fine wire design with gold palladium electrodes used in motorcycle, snowmobile engines (17:57). Snowmobile racers speed through snowy landscape, power snow obscures camera lens, man performs stunt off of jump on 1968 Ski-Doo Bombardier (18:08). Research in lab of precious metal electrodes for automotive engines (18:24). Animation from opening sequence continues (18:44). Engineers test engine in lab, engineering goals appear as text on side of screen (19:26). Animation of spark plug inside engine cylinder (19:37). Closing summary (20:24). This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit