Sun distributor machine

[fuelie74]

I have always wanted a Sun Distributor machine and found one today. It's not in perfect shape but both motors work, everything is free and I didn't pay a whole lot for it. My play is to fix it up and learn to use it.

I can't find any information on this model number so I am not 100% on the details of it. Everything I read talks about 500 and 600 machines. Anyone know anything about it?

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[Provincial]

It looks like a stripped-down 500 machine, without the cabinet. The data plates on the separate components are also there on complete 500 machines, since Sun considered each component to be a separate design. That way they could change components without having to change the designation of the complete machine.

You should look for information on the 500 tester, since everything should apply to your machine.

The condenser tester is nice, but since condensers are so cheap, they are not worth testing. The flash tube on the timing light is the most difficult part to find, but there have been alternatives found recently.

 

[fuelie74]

What are the alternatives for the tube? I put my old buick distributor in and it strobe but then the strobe got faint and went away.

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[alwaysFlOoReD]

thanks

 

[Provincial]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6396670

 

[87GN]

Serial #1??!!!!! the first one in that series made?

 

[redvalkyrie]

Serious, if you decide to sell that I'd love to have it. My cars still run mechanical advance distributors. If the machine is in working order--I'd drive to Monroe.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Go to the junkyard, find some old distributors to mess with... those are awesome machines, and if you are into older cars, worth their floorspace.

If you're going to restore it, take a LOT of pictures... and be careful, next thing you'll end up with a stable of Hudson Hornets just so you can justify having the machine! --lol--

 

[txvwnut]

This place should be able to answer your questions.

http://paramountd.com/index.html

 

[Mintgrun]

+1 for Paramount. Mark helped me get mine flashing again, with the Capacitor replacement kit. I found a 404 about a year ago and the flash tube was very dim, but the kit fixed it.


I almost ordered an LED kit to replace the tube, but I am glad I tried replacing the Caps first.


These machines are not hard to calibrate. Mark emailed the instructions to me.


I made this oil splash shield out of a two liter coke bottle.


My vacuum gauge was filthy as well, due to the little hole in the glass

But it cleaned up quite nicely

One of the pieces of glass was broken on mine

this was my first attempt at cutting a curve in glass and it worked : )

 

[Provincial]

The glass on my vacuum gauge is good, but the housing is broken. I haven't found another gauge that is the same. It seems that they were special to the distributor testers.

 

[Mintgrun]

Mark might have one to sell you. He refurbishes these machines.

Sun test equipment is pretty common on eBay. You might luck into a crusty tester with the housing you need.

The capacitor kit comes with a couple of transistors to replace the vacuum tube.
I soldered little copper tubing pieces to the wires, so I could simply plug them in to the tube's socket, as opposed to soldering them in there.


I have not tried mine with the tube, but I suspect it may still be good.

I used double sided tape to stash it inside, in case I feel inspired to try it someday.




This is the digital tach I bought to calibrate the Sun's tach. It is handy for other things around the shop. Just put a piece of reflective tape on the spinning object and it will tell you the rpm.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Tac...d-Gauge-New-/391682278342?hash=item5b321543c6

 

[6PTsocket]

Mark might have one to sell you. He refurbishes these machines.

Sun test equipment is pretty common on eBay. You might luck into a crusty tester with the housing you need.

The capacitor kit comes with a couple of transistors to replace the vacuum tube.
I soldered little copper tubing pieces to the wires, so I could simply plug them in to the tube's socket, as opposed to soldering them in there.


I have not tried mine with the tube, but I suspect it may still be good.

I used double sided tape to stash it inside, in case I feel inspired to try it someday.




This is the digital tach I bought to calibrate the Sun's tach. It is handy for other things around the shop. Just put a piece of reflective tape on the spinning object and it will tell you the rpm.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Tac...d-Gauge-New-/391682278342?hash=item5b321543c6

They are not transistors; they are diodes. Probably from the 1N4000 series. I hope your source did not charge a lot. From an electronic distributor or ebay they are only pennies a piece. The tube you replaced is a rectifier. The little diodes are a lot mor efficient than the old vacuum tube and generally result in higher voltage. Apparantly it does not matter in your case but in some devices the higher voltage would create a problem and other changes have to be made to reduce it to the original value.

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[Mintgrun]

thank you for the correction. I am electronically challenged.

the diodes came in the kit along with the capacitors.

I'm sure I paid more to purchase a "kit" than if I had purchased the pieces individually, but the price seemed reasonable enough and I felt like the customer service offset the difference.

I copied the following from the link provided above. It is the kit that I bought.

Capacitor kit - Models 400, 404, 500, 504, 600, 680, and the gray military tester - $40.00


A kit containing six capacitors, one resistor and two diodes and other miscellaneous parts to update some of the electronics on your tester. Sun produced these models from the late 1950's and on up into the 70's, so after that amount of time a tester could use an upgrade. This kit is easy to install with basic soldering skills. Instruction sheets are included and I will email pictures to aid in installation.