Spark plug cleaner/tester

[thatguysb]

i was doing some work at my grandfathers house and i came across this unit.
he was saying its a plug doctor, basically he got it brand new and never used it because he never had shop air.

some rodents got to the package and slowly it started deteriorating, the wires and components seem to be in working condition, the air setup after the sandblaster setup seems to be plumbed with some sort of nylon hose.

 

[ndnchf]

Nice find - are you going to restore it?

 

[larry4406]

I like this as well. I remember the the mini blast cleaners for plugs but never one with a tester as well.

 

[Roberts210]

My brother has an '85 Chevy pickup that he bought in '87. It's rusted out and beat-to-****... it generally only runs on about 6 cylinders but it DOES start every time. Anyway he has one of these and he cleans the gunk off his spark plugs regularly.

 

[ken w.]

Cleaning plugs was the thing to do back in the day. I still clean small engine plugs if I'm out of new ones. I have an aluminum one with a bag of sand under it. They do come out clean. That is a nice find to restore.

 

[larry4406]

Ebay links for similar Vixon unit

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Spark-plug-...nd-/122308182147?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/282374742847?vectorid=229466&lgeo=1&item=282374742847&rmvSB=true

 

[ken w.]

You can buy a lot of plugs for $300.00. Ouch. This is similar to mine.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...Air Compressor Accessories&utm_content=155522

 

[thatguysb]

Today i powered it up, getting 110v till the switch and from the switch but no spark, partially disassembled the housing, more than likely im thinking the ground is faulty because i saw a small amount of rust there.

slowly working on it. Ill shoot a update soon.

i have a older datsun with a l24. straight 6 that my dad loves to tune ever so often. i hope it would work but i really like the newer units.Much more compact

 

[bonneyman]

I used a machine like this in auto mechanics class in high school. teacher was adamant about thoroughly cleaning the plug of the abrasive before putting it back in the motor, as one small piece of grit would tear up a cylinder wall.

That was in the late 70's.

Looking forward to this machine being restored.

 

[VocaTexas]

Not sure about nowadays, but as late as the 1990s it was common practice to clean aircraft spark plugs regularly. Certain avgas grades still contain lead and will tend to foul spark plugs if the engine is idled too long or mixture is run too rich.