Electro DT-800C Distributor Tester

[Ayrhead]

Hi All… I managed to find another vintage machine. This looks older that the Allen machine I picked up. But from what I can find it’s actually a 1955 model 13 years newer than the Allen. Attached are some pictures…
The unit itself is quite heavy but it looks to be in nice condition considering it’s been in a barn for the last 40 years…

 

[Mintgrun]

That's cool. I saw one come up for sale near by around a year ago and saved the photos from the ad.



I've got the "Trouble Shooter" tester. Mine came with a broken "Leak-Detector" neon bulb, but I found one on eBay for $25 and someone on a radio forum was nice enough to send me the pdf of a manual. Unfortunately a C-clamp fell on the bulb before I got around to using it. Be careful with that bulb. They're hard to find.

I plugged the tool in once to test see if the other features worked and got an impressive shock through the wimpy test leads I plugged into it. The kind that made my hands hurt for a bit afterwards.

I've got an old SUN 404 distributor tester that works great. All I did was replace some capacitors and calibrate the gauges. Tinkering with distributors is really fun. Maybe you need an old car to go with all of your new old testers!

Tom

 

[Ayrhead]

You guessed right. Here’s my 1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside Pickup Truck with a 1946 King Tune Up Tester in the back of the truck…

 

[Mintgrun]

Nice!

I've got a KING condenser/coil tester that seems to work well.



It came with these SUN testers that I found on Craigslist a few years ago.



I was most interested in the cart for my 404 distributor tester. It fits nicely and is narrower than their typical carts.

I was wondering if Ayrhead referred to vintage VWs. I was close!

Tom

 

[Ayrhead]

Ayrhead is 2 fold… 1. I live near a village called Ayr… 2. I have/ enjoy Corvairs…
Nice Testers. Unfortunately, I don’t have room in the back of my portable Man Cave to put the Testers in. I have room for a couple of the smaller components though…

 

[Mintgrun]

I can relate to the "don't have room" problem, yet I still seem to have a problem with dragging stuff home. I resisted some Allen testers the first time I saw them at the St. Vincent DePaul store, but then caved in and bought them the next time. Three of the four are in the upper right corner of this photo. I've got all that stuff condensed in one corner of the shop.



Does your new old distributor tester spin?

 

[Ayrhead]

Both the Allen and the Electro spin freely by hand. I have not plugged either one in yet…
When I first saw the Electro I thought it was older than the Allen but it was the smaller carryon pieces that made me make that assumption. They just look like they would be from the 30’s to 40’s era not 1955… I’m glad the manuals were still with the machine. I’m in the process of scanning them into *.pdf format