Vintage Sun Tune Up, Testers, Scopes, Analyzer, Distributor Thread

I think this was mostly a matter of the fact that most of their equipment was leased and not sold outright. The machines that are still out there were no doubt purchased originally, and probably at a premium price. Sun, and the other vendors of this kind of equipment went out of their way to discourage an outright purchase.

I recall hearing of the same kind of scrapping policies applying to jukeboxes and pinball machines as well.

 

I hear Singer used the same strategy for their sewing machines. Trade in and scrap all the old ones to get them off the market, so more people have to buy new ones.

 

So I saw bob masters sold his whole stash of literature and manuals on eBay late last year. Does anyone know who got it? Anyone here. I would think if that was the case, they would have piped up. anyone?

 

Hi Irisrust65! I think I know what the Ignition Simulator is for. In addition to a training tool, it is one of the tools used by Sun techs to calibrate different units. In the service manual for the model U-808 Tach-Dwell unit in my 947, the instructions for calibrating list one of the tools needed as "IS Ignition Simulator". The Ignition Simulator along with a couple of other tools is used to provide a signal to the U-808 for calibrating the tachometer and cylinder balance tester.

I have a few Sun catalogs from the 1940's, 50s and 60s. The Simulator doesn't show up in them. I do however have a price list from 1974. It lists the Ignition Simulator as model IS ($244), and separately lists the Ignition Simulator Drive as model SD ($525). It then lists them as a set as model ISD ($770). I suspect that one could mount the Ignition Simulator in a distributor machine - thus the option to purchase the IS alone. The "26A" is not part of the model number - it is part of the serial number. "26" means it was built in the second month of a year ending in "6". "A" indicates the version as revisions are made during the production run. That gizmo is a real find - congrats!

Happy Motoring!

 

Hi I just picked up a sun 1160 and sun 1015 locally. Im missing some of the needles and the knobs on the 1160. Anyone know where to find these?

 

For the knobs, try Gary at Ader Inc. He was a Sun technician back in the 1970's, and may still have some parts. He has helped me with a couple of my machines. Nice fellow, and very knowledgeable.

http://timinglightfix.com/contact.html

If by "needles" you are referring to the meter needles, that is going to be a problem. If the needle is gone, the meter movement is most certainly badly damaged. Mark at Paramount Distributors (services and restores Sun Distributor Machines) told me that he can get meter movements rebuilt, but it is very expensive - IIRC on the order of $250 each.

Post a couple pics if ya can!

 

I’m posting here to see if I can find a wiring diagram for I think a 500 sun distributor machine , I can’t find a model # , it is a friends machine that worked when someone borrowed it but came back with wiring disconnected and no model plate on top. It looks like a 504 picture I have,is a 6 volt machine,and the Rolodex goes to 1947 I think.If I can find wiring help it will be easier than tracing it all and making my own block diagram and trying to figure it out. Thanks for any help I can get,,,Wally,,,

 

Post a few pics of it from a couple different angles if you can. If you've got the cabinet open a couple shots of the "guts" wouldn't hurt either.

 

@Wally Spooner Will this help? 1948

 

Hi Wally - for what its worth, here is a page from a 1947 or 48 Sun catalog showing the then-current distributor machine. The same machine also appears in a catalog dated June 1952. I'm pretty sure the 500 series machines did not come out until the 1960's and '70s. I have a model 600 that was made in 1962, and it appears in a 1961 catalog. Oddly enough, the series 400 and 500 machines came out after the 600's. I have a price list from 1974 that lists the model 404, 504 and 506. If you look inside the machine, there is a good chance you will find a component with a date stamped on it. I have a couple of testers that appear in that 1947 catalog and the testers have various components stamped 1944, 1947 and 1948. The meter units often seem to have date stamps too.

 

thanks everyone for your reply,I was at my friends for a gab session and he found a manual for a master model which looks like the one he has.Thanks egads for the diagram,I will check it out for what we have,if this helps anyone that might have info,thanks for your help,if I come up with or create drawings that may be helpful to others I will get back and post them for others,,,thx,,,wally...

 

This guy is a good source for parts and info, have called him several times about mine and always very helpful .http://www.paramountd.com/

 

Can some one help with a wire diagram for a 1015 I bought yesterday , The owner said it worked till the mice ate the wires and there are quite a few wires broken or pulled off the terminals , any help is appreciated.

 

I'll take a look. I might have something.
My old laptop crashed but I think I recovered some of the data onto an external hard drive. I'll see if I can find it.
I might be selling my 1115. If nothing else I could pull the back off and take a bunch of pics for you

 

That would be great. I have 3 wires un pluged at the switch on the side and a bunch of the white wires that go to the knobs were chewed by rats. I run a mobile repair service for classic cars and would like to put it in my trailer and bring it to the cars i work on .

 

I sent you a message

 

Thought I would add mine to the list. I have seen two others here and am trying to get info on it. It is a mess electrically speaking and is missing the strobe. But, paramount seems to have a few parts for it so I might be able to get her back up and running one day. Mine apparently was made in 46 and I have paperwork up to 53.

mike

 

I have a very nice pair of 404 machines that came from a closed high school shop, and one of them has the Ignition Simulator mounted on it, fits on there very well. The old shop teacher used to light pieces of paper on fire by sticking them in the plugs. Also have the adapter for flathead distributors. I have several machines I am going to get rid of, 600, MDT etc., have a 504 that I want to keep, and maybe one of the 404s
Just counted, I have six machines- jeezus

 

New member here, Hello and Happy New Year. I didn't see any Electro Products posted and thought I'd share some of mine.

 

Thanks for sharing

 

Welcome. I have those meters but have never seen the stand. Cool.

 

Just picked this up from a high school.

 

I live in SE Ky and own 2 (no less!) Sun "Investigator" Engine Analyzers. I bought one new in 1984 and used it daily for 2 years before closing my shop to begin a teaching career (that I retired from). I picked up the other one (also bought new in 1987) from the school at which I taught when they surplused it with some other old outdated shop equipment. Both machines still work but both have issues. Is there anyone alive anymore who knows these machines well enough to (help) repair them?

 

Try Gary at gptec@juno.com. His web page is http://timinglightfix.com/index.html. He is a former Sun repair tech and he helped me resurrect my 945.

Good luck!

 

Hi guys, I just picked up the MD-1 and MMT this morning. I am hoping to get them fully refurbished and operational. I appreciate any advice, information, or manuals to assist the restoration.

 

Hi Boone - nice score! The model MMT appears in the June 1952 Sun catalog at $750. Someone has written "1949 model" on the picture. FWIW, it is shown in the catalog sitting on a cabinet like the one your distributor machine is sitting on. The 1952 catalog shows a distributor tester that looks like yours, but is listed as "Model MDT". It is shown sitting on the same cabinet yours is sitting on. I'll attach pics of the catalog pages fwiw.

Happy Motoring!

 

Thanks for the catalog photos!

I talked to Mark at Paramount and he said that the MD-1 is the same as the MDT. I will check the internals to see if there are any dated components to help narrow the build date down.

The MMT's cart is not the usual cart I've seen in Sun equipment photos. I did find a few photos of the same cart on Damon Crowe's service merchandiser website. While mine is now red, it was originally hammered blue with the decal on the door.

 

Dang....a MMT is what I lost in the fire from a lighting strike on a tree next to my storage....

 

I am needing both of these gauges for my MD-1.

Vacuum Advance 729-4
Battery Voltage 5AS 734-10

Picture for reference (not my unit).

 

I am hoping to assemble all the original accessories for my Master Motor Tester. So far I’ve picked up a manual, timing light, and compression gauge. Let me know if you have any of these items for sale. Thanks!