Outlawmws
Well-known member
In the old days I could do a "one off" using "rub on letters" - with everything digital I'm not sure you can get them anymore? 
Anyone else a Sun Equipment junkie??
- Thread starter blksheep
- Start date
paulm12
Well-known member
I picked this up a few weeks ago, and am using it for storing small engine motor oil on one shelf and gasoline and gas products on the other. Decent shape, but with a user modified/installed caster base. It was done well, just odd.
tx
tx
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Odd Job
Well-known member
I'll take the surviving painted interior to a local body shop supplier and get it scanned for a match. Seems transfer letters are still available in black but haven't found white yet. If there are tubes inside that may be a problem depending on which ones. Lots of tubes still out there. I've dealt with antique electronic supply in AZ in the past, good source for capacitors etc. A good winter project. These old service carts are cool.
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Odd Job
Well-known member
Today I decided to dive into the tach/dwell unit as an easy place to start. As always for the first few seconds it looks like a dogs breakfast. However, it was fairly easy to separate the guts from the face frame, the meter lights being the only parts powered by the vehicle battery. Otherwise the unit operates by a d- cell and a mercury somewhat similar to my later model handheld Sun analyzer. I was thinking that back in the day, customers given a backstage pass at the shop would be impressed seeing all the meters reading and lit while the mechanic was dialing in their cars. I'll be leaving the light sockets/wires in place during prep and paint of the frame (Internation Harverster Red looks like).Surprisingly, the caps all seem very good on visual inspection, time will tell. The only wires to disconnect were the feeds to the batts.
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SunMachineGuy
New member
Currently selling my Sun 504 Distributor Tester w/ Cabinet - Original Paint & Running - $2300 OBO/Trades
Sun DT-504 Distributor Tester with Sun Roller Cabinet-
Runs and still with original paint
Kept in a garage since the 70's
Rare find in excellent condition
Have video of running
Tester spins and dials go up
$2,300 OBO/Trades
Located in Lancaster PA
Contact Ben for details,
717-872-4018
Sun DT-504 Distributor Tester with Sun Roller Cabinet-
Runs and still with original paint
Kept in a garage since the 70's
Rare find in excellent condition
Have video of running
Tester spins and dials go up
$2,300 OBO/Trades
Located in Lancaster PA
Contact Ben for details,
717-872-4018
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Outlawmws
Well-known member
For sales need to be put in the classified section per the forum rules...
Chevyman3388
New member
A friend of mine has a old sun machine that he may sell if interested let me know
ArmyVW_GuyInTX
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thanks for reviving this thread. I am curious to see what appears here.
I picked up the rolling base cabinet that most likely goes to the distributor test unit vs the Sun Motor Tester I have from the 40's? Both were deemed worthy of being rescued by my wife - that didn't help with the "list of projects".
How does one ID or date the gear or the rolling stand?
I've also acquired a few other vintage Sun pieces.
I picked up the rolling base cabinet that most likely goes to the distributor test unit vs the Sun Motor Tester I have from the 40's? Both were deemed worthy of being rescued by my wife - that didn't help with the "list of projects".
How does one ID or date the gear or the rolling stand?
I've also acquired a few other vintage Sun pieces.
Odd Job
Well-known member
Still fussing with a couple of functions on the Master Motor Tester. For sure the resistor in the Coil Tester ohmmeter is cooked. No schematics to be found. Did managed to locate the handheld VAT, BST, and the Timing light that were all part of the original package and would have been stored in the base cabinet.
Then! found a Sun Scope 500 with a working coil unit, so now I can get the value of that resistor. All the pods are the same as MMT. The 500 needed a 6X5GT in the condenser unit and the dwell tach needed the battery contacts cleaned. I use a DC power supply to give the tach its 1.35V that was originally supplied by a now obsolete battery (RM4R).
Then! found a Sun Scope 500 with a working coil unit, so now I can get the value of that resistor. All the pods are the same as MMT. The 500 needed a 6X5GT in the condenser unit and the dwell tach needed the battery contacts cleaned. I use a DC power supply to give the tach its 1.35V that was originally supplied by a now obsolete battery (RM4R).
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Odd Job
Well-known member
richfinn
Well-known member
6 cylinder?
bctexas
Well-known member
Starting in the '60s (I believe) the unit serial numbers started with two numbers, and possibly a letter. For instance, the unit serial numbers in my 947's components start with "27" and "37". My understanding is that those numbers show the month, and the last digit of the year of manufacture. Inside the machine, I found "inspected by" stamps that show the year 1977. I also have a model 600 distributor machine that starts with "22", and it shows up in a 1961 catalog. A letter after these numbers indicates a revision as running changes were made.
My Master Motor Tester is, I am fairly sure from catalog entries I have seen, from around 1958. It does not have these leading digits in the serial number. I have a few pieces from the 1940's, and I found late 1940's dates stamped on the components inside. I also found them listed by model number in a 1946 catalog that I have.
I can find no model/serial tags on the two small cabinets I have. The big one on the 947 has a tag, but it is mangled and unreadable. I have two styles of small cabinet as you can see in the pics. One with the two vertical chrome handles on the front, and another with horizontal handles on the short sides of the cabinet. I have no idea what dates those are from. I don't believe the one under my distributor machine is correct for 1962 though.
Post some pics of your gear if you can.
I am also north of DFW. Will send PM shortly....
HTH!
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Nwpro
New member
Lassen Forge
Well-known member
You;re asking a lot from these old eyes!
32º is a 4 banger... model A dwell 28-32.....
Did I win the free fifth of bourbon?
Outlawmws
Well-known member
most V8's are also 30 degrees.Odd Job
Well-known member
Correct! The reading was taken on a Chevy six.
Odd Job
Well-known member
Odd Job
Well-known member
No takers yet, so the red 6 is used to set the points in the breaker. After connecting the red and black leads to calibrate the ohmmeter to read on the "set line", The red lead is then connected to the ground lead. The point dwell can then be set by removing the cover on the breaker and adjusting until the meter reads on the red 6. Thank goodness for manuals.
Odd Job
Well-known member
Is that a Sun dwell tachometer 7601 in the pic, I recently bought one from Ebay here in the UK to use on my VW bug but got no instructions with it, I can guess how to use it but if you were able to make a copy that could maybe be attached in an email that would be great as I’ve searched everywhere for one with no luck, it would be nice to flick through too
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gnpenning
Well-known member
If anyone has directions for gas analyzer calibration on a Sun 1215 I would appreciate a copy.
Thanks
Thanks
engineer2
Well-known member
I looked at the 1215 manual and it's a 2-gas analyzer; CO and hydrocarbons only. The manual doesn't mention calibration and refers you to your Sun representative which as we know, don't exist anymore.
Check out https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...ith-schematics-or-technical-expertise.166746/
Check out https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...ith-schematics-or-technical-expertise.166746/
gnpenning
Well-known member
Thanks. I had posted in that thread asking the same question. The links didn't work for me then.
You are right about it being a 2 gas. As I recall some required a calibration gas as part of the process?? Would love to have that portion of the scope working as I have several vehicles that the scope was designed to work for.
Hopefully someone new can help.
You are right about it being a 2 gas. As I recall some required a calibration gas as part of the process?? Would love to have that portion of the scope working as I have several vehicles that the scope was designed to work for.
Hopefully someone new can help.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
BST became VAT. Still looking for one (26, 28 or 33) that is priced reasonable and not beat to death !
engineer2
Well-known member
Typically you would use a bottle of calibration gas to check the emissions analyzer. It comes in the same style of bottle as those 30 lb. refrigerant jugs. Not familiar with the 1215, but typically there would be a place to connect the calibration gas and somewhere in the screen menus there might be a gas calibration function. If not, it would mean accessing the gas bench and turning potentiometers, which would require the service manual. For mechanicals, make sure the Thomas pump is working, the chopper motor spins, all the tubing is good, and the IR windows and mirrors are clean.
gnpenning
Well-known member
What you mentioned us what I remember of calibration gas with each bottle having a number that you would input for the correct calibration. I will have to go back and refresh my memory and double check the things you mentioned to look for.
The video is of the 1215 II which is a more advanced 1215, mine is more like the 1115 in looks and function. Maybe I should be looking for a manual for the 1115. I will watch the video tonight and see how much it helps and try following the steps.
Thanks for the information and reminders engineer2, very much appreciated.
Cactus1
Active member
I’m a bit obsessed with Sun Service Equipment…..
Odd Job
Well-known member
It certainly does get addictive. Recently I acquired a 504 distributor tester. I think that may have been the cure, but time will tell.
engineer2
Well-known member
I'm in the midst of rebuilding my Sun 400 distributor tester. Other than what Mark Saunders has posted on http://paramountd.com/, there isn't much service info. I'm learning as I'm going along. I have the mechanicals done, now on to the electronics.
bctexas
Well-known member
The service manual you are looking for is available on Ebay. This one covers multiple distributor machines including the 400:
I found the instructions Mark provided with his rebuild kits to be very good.
HTH!
SUN 400, 500 & 600 SERIES DISTRIBUTOR TESTER REPAIR & OPERATING MANUALS ON CD | eBay
I have worked on all models of Sun distributor testers and can attest to the fact that they are all different and require the correct repair manual. Don't buy a generic manual and hope that It will suffice on a different model tester.
www.ebay.com
I found the instructions Mark provided with his rebuild kits to be very good.
HTH!
engineer2
Well-known member
Operating instructions and parts breakdowns are all over the Internet. It's the repair and calibration manual that is hard to find.
I found a good article on Mark's website that isn't linked:
I found a good article on Mark's website that isn't linked:
engineer2
Well-known member
Anybody know a good match to the older Sun Electric blue cabinet paint? I found RustOleum 7212830 and HAMMERITE 41150 look close, but nobody stocks it.
bctexas
Well-known member
Hi Engineer2 - The CD I linked does have calibration procedures for the U-401 Tach/Dwell/Vacuum unit. You do need to be able to measure the RPM the machine is running at accurately in order to calibrate the tach. I solved the problem with one of these:
www.harborfreight.com
Some reviews say it doesn't work but I suspect most if not all of them are trying to use it on a reflective surface so the tool gets confused. I ended up having to wrap blue tape around the chuck on the distributor machine, and stick on a strip of the silver reflective tape that comes with the tool. Aim the tool at the chuck so the tach sees the silver tape go past each revolution and it works great.
I actually set up a working ignition on my distributor machine and used the HF tach to set the machine's rpm, and hooked my big Sun machine up to the ignition system to calibrate the tach in the big Sun machine.
As for troubleshooting and repair procedures, I don't remember seeing any of that. They did issue bulletins from time to time to tell their techs how to address common issues that came up by changing out a resister here or a diode there. But as for a troubleshooting guide, I haven't seen one of those.
Good luck! Your 400 is looking good!
Digital Photo Sensor Tachometer
Amazing deals on this Digital Photo Sensor Tachometer at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com
Some reviews say it doesn't work but I suspect most if not all of them are trying to use it on a reflective surface so the tool gets confused. I ended up having to wrap blue tape around the chuck on the distributor machine, and stick on a strip of the silver reflective tape that comes with the tool. Aim the tool at the chuck so the tach sees the silver tape go past each revolution and it works great.
I actually set up a working ignition on my distributor machine and used the HF tach to set the machine's rpm, and hooked my big Sun machine up to the ignition system to calibrate the tach in the big Sun machine.
As for troubleshooting and repair procedures, I don't remember seeing any of that. They did issue bulletins from time to time to tell their techs how to address common issues that came up by changing out a resister here or a diode there. But as for a troubleshooting guide, I haven't seen one of those.
Good luck! Your 400 is looking good!
engineer2
Well-known member
I may order that service manual you suggested. Mine looks to be 1967 vintage and judging from the screw marks, it looks like it was apart at least 3 times for service.
I got the drive unit running pretty good. Replaced all the bearings and the pesky center wire for the flash tube. Not sure if the flash unit works though. My capacitors all checked out OK with my capacitor checker, but that doesn't mean they will work under load. I may end up getting the Paramount capacitor kit.
I'm working on mine as time permits and I may have the tach dwell unit updated soon. I bought a 12VDC vacuum pump off of Amazon instead of using the unit's shaft-driven one. It'll fit in side the tach dwell unit too. Also installing a couple of adjustable buck-boost regulators to replace the two batteries. I have a digital tach to calibrate the rpm or can hook it up to may Bear Ace engine analyzer to make sure everything is working OK.
I eventually want to set it up like yours so I can run an entire ignition system. That way I can use it with my Bear analyzer for more thorough testing.
I got the drive unit running pretty good. Replaced all the bearings and the pesky center wire for the flash tube. Not sure if the flash unit works though. My capacitors all checked out OK with my capacitor checker, but that doesn't mean they will work under load. I may end up getting the Paramount capacitor kit.
I'm working on mine as time permits and I may have the tach dwell unit updated soon. I bought a 12VDC vacuum pump off of Amazon instead of using the unit's shaft-driven one. It'll fit in side the tach dwell unit too. Also installing a couple of adjustable buck-boost regulators to replace the two batteries. I have a digital tach to calibrate the rpm or can hook it up to may Bear Ace engine analyzer to make sure everything is working OK.
I eventually want to set it up like yours so I can run an entire ignition system. That way I can use it with my Bear analyzer for more thorough testing.
Cactus1
Active member
I ordered a can through Westlake Hardware. It’s pretty close to the sun color.
Cactus1
Active member
I found this on Craigslist a couple years ago and had to have it. It even works!
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