Distributor tester - any experiences

[elefan]

Hi guys.

I have stumbled upon a distributor tester much line the SUN testers.

Are they worth the space they take up in the garage?

I dont know much about these testers. But the way i see it, they make it easier to dial in the centrifugal and vacuum advance. But im not that old i cant reach me chevy distributors in the engine compartment yet.

But i do t really know if they're handy to have in the shop.

What is your opinion? Do you actually use them? Or are they more of a gimmick really.

Thanks in advance

 

[Ponchoguy]

If it's a rollaway Sun tester, grab it. Those are great vintage pieces....

 

[scissorman]

You don't need one to "tune" your distributor since you can do it in the vehicle but if you want to make money and dial in a distributor for others without having the vehicle in front of you it is needed. This is all assuming you already have an idea of where you want you advance curve both mechanical and vacuum.

 

[Rookie2]

I loved them to tune up an old muscle car but everyone is in to solid state ignitions now.

 

[elefan]

Solid advice given. I think in gonna pass as it is a no brand machine and it will take up precious space. And like you said. If i need to tune a distributor it can be done in the car as well. That is, if the car even has a distributor..

Thanks

 

[redmondjp]

You don't really need it, unless you are seriously into vintage racing in which getting a specific timing advance curve can be important. In my dream garage I'd certainly have one, but even then, I don't know that I would ever use the thing enough to justify having one. They do look cool but take up a huge amount of space.

You can do everything you need to do on-vehicle with a variable-advance timing light and a tach/dwell meter.

 

[mikegt4]

Solid advice given. I think in gonna pass as it is a no brand machine and it will take up precious space. And like you said. If i need to tune a distributor it can be done in the car as well. That is, if the car even has a distributor..

Thanks

Don't dismiss a machine that's not a Sun. There were several other brands that gave Sun a lot of competition. Many people prefer the Allen brand machines.

Then again if you don't have a use for a distributor machine then it becomes garage art.

 

[engineer2]

They used to go for big bucks on ebay a few years ago. Don't know if that's still true.

 

[ScottsGT]

It's worth it only if you utilize it properly. When I was building my '66 Mustang I wanted to use an old school mechanical distributor. I could not find anyone in my area and had to send the distributor off to get the curve matched to my cam and drivetrain. I dropped $100 to get this done.
If you were to get good at doing it, you could advertise the service as a side gig.