Does a brand new optispark come with that plastic cover and anything I should know about while doing the swap?

 

It should be a direct replacement, pull yours off and put the new one on. It really easy.
Brad

 

Make sure you get the right one for your car. 93-94 were NON VENTED while 95-97 were VENTED. They are set up different and are not direct replacements, if you have a non vented you can switch to a vented with a few extra parts.

 

... My new opti doesn't have the plastic cover

 

Huh? Do you mean the actual casing itself? Is this an OEM replacement, or an Autozone/NAPA/Advance POS?

 

If your new opti doesn't have the plastic cover you probably got an autozone opti, which is not the complete unit. Most are gunna suggest getting the complete unit from GM etc. You CAN use that opti, however you're gunna have to dissasemble your existing one to put the new cap & rotor you got on it. It's not too difficult to do but it's probably a good idea ot just get a new one.