I agree with you on the Champion plugs. I bought a set one time and the car ran poorly. I thought I got the plug wires crossed some how. It turned out that one of the plugs was bad. during removal one of the others got stuck in the head. It wasn't cross threaded-it was just stuck! I got it out eventually but it was a struggle to keep from stripping out the threads on the head.

I've been running AC 44's in the car for years, but the guy who sold me the new HEI told me I needed to find a plug that had a wider gap (.060"). Thats what I'm trying to find. Of course when you go to the auto parts store they want to know what car its going in. Since my motor is a conglomeration of 60's, 70's and 80's SBC parts there is no cross reference. HEI cars of the 70's and 80's used the smaller diameter plugs and my 64 heads use the larger plug. Thats my dilemma.