The Ford Barn

Hoop · 05-08-2010, 03:12 AM

Pic keywords: Sun Allen Syncrograph k r kr wilson wasco weidenhoff

zeffer1940 · 05-08-2010, 06:20 AM

good stuff, but u need a Heier ..1936, black & chrome, strobes Ford / Lincoln dist..
has tube tester and various meters..

Hoop · 05-08-2010, 06:41 AM

... "but u need a Heier."

Beautiful looking piece of equipment, but no thanks.

Chasing parts for Sun equipment is tough enough. And, most guys are not aware that strobers need to be calibrated: the Sun tech rep no longer makes the rounds of the auto shops. Mark Saunders and Bob Masters do quite a bit with the Sun Testers, but I have no idea who specializes in Heiers.

There's more to it than simply buying an old strobe machine, taking it home, plugging it in and using it.

There are folks who do restore and maintain Heiers. They are few and won't be including me. Glad that you have one. As I said, they certainly are beautiful.

Ross in East Texas · 05-08-2010, 07:16 AM

What a collection of old machines. Nice!

Ford46 · 05-08-2010, 07:27 AM

Nice collection Hoop, I have an old Sun machine I rescued from the junk man, maybe I'll get it operational someday.LouB

Hoop · 05-08-2010, 07:28 AM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Some are mine, others not ... but good pictures of some forgotten brands.

LouB, your Sun looks better than the one I rescued, I hope.

ken ct · 05-08-2010, 08:27 AM

HOOP,if you want to send it over i will set it up for you for shipping and any parts it might need or send me the parts with it.I'll do it up for you. ken ct.

flatheadernie · 05-08-2010, 08:36 AM

That gray Sun is like the one I used in late 40s at Ben griffins Ford house in dallas tx ernie, a friend bought a german tester/ calibrater on E pa -- Boy did we have fun translating the instructions e

Hoop · 05-08-2010, 08:53 AM

Hey Ken, I'm sure you mean a distributor not the Sun machine. Thank you I do OK with them.

From many of Ken's posts, I know he believes in a "basic" approach to setting up distributors. He and I agree that if you have good parts and things are not worn out, you can be relatively successful with a set of feeler gauges.

I also agree with those who say that for an accurate, complete evaluation of your distributor, nothing beats a strobe machine.

Missing in most of the debates that follow is that some of us would rather tinker with it ourselves ... because that's what WE enjoy ... the challenge is in testing our own abilities.

Makes for a great discussion over cigars and a favorite beverage.

(Ernie, I believe the gray one is a GI version and came with a case that converted to a stand.)

Bruce Lancaster · 05-09-2010, 06:41 PM

And...in between...you can check dwell with simple manual setups depression style, not as good as a strobe but a good check on your parts. Some current crap repro points apparently have pivots poorly located...this means that if you set gap correctly, dwell will be out to lunch, and vice-versa. With good parts the settings should correlate pretty well...if they do not, get parts from a different source.
Using pieces of cardboard to block off the points not under scrutiny, check dwell on each set, then check dwell on the pair against the specs. If proper individual dwell does not produce correct total dwell, then again something is made wrong or bent.

Bill Steiner · 05-10-2010, 11:18 AM

http://s218.photobucket.com/albums/c...3.jpg&newest=1 ,Trying to put a pic. of the old sun machine I bought and have in my shop now. I use to use one like it back in the 50's at a linc Merc dealer. Bill

05-08-2010, 03:12 AM	#1
Hoop Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Jacksonville FL Posts: 1,137	Flathead Distributor Testing/Set up Devices Pic keywords: Sun Allen Syncrograph k r kr wilson wasco weidenhoff Last edited by Hoop; 05-08-2010 at 06:01 AM.

05-08-2010, 06:20 AM	#2
zeffer1940 Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: oHIo Posts: 68	Re: Flathead Distributor Testing/Set up Devices good stuff, but u need a Heier ..1936, black & chrome, strobes Ford / Lincoln dist.. has tube tester and various meters..

05-08-2010, 06:41 AM	#3
Hoop Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Jacksonville FL Posts: 1,137	Re: Flathead Distributor Testing/Set up Devices ... "but u need a Heier." Beautiful looking piece of equipment, but no thanks. Chasing parts for Sun equipment is tough enough. And, most guys are not aware that strobers need to be calibrated: the Sun tech rep no longer makes the rounds of the auto shops. Mark Saunders and Bob Masters do quite a bit with the Sun Testers, but I have no idea who specializes in Heiers. There's more to it than simply buying an old strobe machine, taking it home, plugging it in and using it. There are folks who do restore and maintain Heiers. They are few and won't be including me. Glad that you have one. As I said, they certainly are beautiful.

05-08-2010, 07:16 AM	#4
Ross in East Texas Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Longview, Texas Posts: 282	Re: Flathead Distributor Testing/Set up Devices What a collection of old machines. Nice! __________________ Ross Murphy 1939 Ford Standard Coupe

05-08-2010, 07:27 AM	#5
Ford46 Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Southeastern, MA Posts: 434	Re: Flathead Distributor Testing/Set up Devices Nice collection Hoop, I have an old Sun machine I rescued from the junk man, maybe I'll get it operational someday.LouB

05-08-2010, 07:28 AM	#6
Hoop Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Jacksonville FL Posts: 1,137	Re: Flathead Distributor Testing/Set up Devices Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Some are mine, others not ... but good pictures of some forgotten brands. LouB, your Sun looks better than the one I rescued, I hope.

05-08-2010, 08:27 AM	#7
ken ct BANNED Join Date: May 2010 Location: stratford,ct Posts: 5,971	Re: Flathead Distributor Testing/Set up Devices HOOP,if you want to send it over i will set it up for you for shipping and any parts it might need or send me the parts with it.I'll do it up for you. ken ct.

05-08-2010, 08:36 AM	#8
flatheadernie Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 229	Re: Flathead Distributor Testing/Set up Devices That gray Sun is like the one I used in late 40s at Ben griffins Ford house in dallas tx ernie, a friend bought a german tester/ calibrater on E pa -- Boy did we have fun translating the instructions e

05-08-2010, 08:53 AM	#9
Hoop Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Jacksonville FL Posts: 1,137	Re: Flathead Distributor Testing/Set up Devices Hey Ken, I'm sure you mean a distributor not the Sun machine. Thank you I do OK with them. From many of Ken's posts, I know he believes in a "basic" approach to setting up distributors. He and I agree that if you have good parts and things are not worn out, you can be relatively successful with a set of feeler gauges. I also agree with those who say that for an accurate, complete evaluation of your distributor, nothing beats a strobe machine. Missing in most of the debates that follow is that some of us would rather tinker with it ourselves ... because that's what WE enjoy ... the challenge is in testing our own abilities. Makes for a great discussion over cigars and a favorite beverage. (Ernie, I believe the gray one is a GI version and came with a case that converted to a stand.)

05-09-2010, 06:41 PM	#10
Bruce Lancaster Member Emeritus Join Date: May 2010 Location: Madison, NJ Posts: 5,230	Re: Flathead Distributor Testing/Set up Devices And...in between...you can check dwell with simple manual setups depression style, not as good as a strobe but a good check on your parts. Some current crap repro points apparently have pivots poorly located...this means that if you set gap correctly, dwell will be out to lunch, and vice-versa. With good parts the settings should correlate pretty well...if they do not, get parts from a different source. Using pieces of cardboard to block off the points not under scrutiny, check dwell on each set, then check dwell on the pair against the specs. If proper individual dwell does not produce correct total dwell, then again something is made wrong or bent.