Vintage Sun Tune Up, Testers, Scopes, Analyzer, Distributor Thread

Wish that guy in the video was closer to me!
Or someone just like him in north central end of WV or south western end of PA, that has one of those machines, and is an 'expert' in using it!
I have a (dual points) 'dizzy' I have pieced together from several differnt makes of vehicles to clear a original Deuce firewall, to get checked out and 'tweaked'.
Thanks

 

My SUN 825.

 

The gagare where I found it.

 

I wanted one of these machines for a long time, I bought this worn out one at an estate sale a few years ago. The motor ran but I had to replace all the capacitors with the kit Paramount sells, but that did fix the original flash tube not working. I rebuilt the vacuum pump and found a flathead adapter for it. The tachometer I had gone through but still doesn't read, and the condenser meter seems to work so/so, but the dwell meter and all seems to work now for minimal investment overall.

 

I picked this up yesterday model PDT-5D. I believe that this from the 40's, but not sure. I read this complete post last night after getting the tester home. I have the normal questions. Anyone have a manual. I took photos of the insides and to a non-electronics person, it looks like it has been upgraded to the newer electronic parts.? What should I be looking for before I plug it in It had the old belt run off the pully, belt quite hard. The vacuum lines are falling apart. The motor has been changed out and it is a little longer than the old one. May be that the pully on the motor is a little out of place. Very dirty, but other than that it looks in fair condition. Any Ideas, suggestions, or just comments?

 

That's an interesting mix of selenium rectifiers and silicon diodes.

 

Sorry G-son, your talking Greek to me! Are they not to mixed?

 

I know very little about the workings of this kind of electrical equipment. But I think I can safely offer this one tiny bit of advice.

BE VERY CAREFUL WORKING AROUND THAT BIG BLUE CAPACITOR!

 

Hi Grumpy! I *think* the model number, the grey paint and the presence of the wiring diagram indicate that this is a military version. From the internals, I would guess later than the '40's - more like late '50s or '60's. Also, yes, someone has worked on it. The yellow capacitors from Taiwan would not have come from Sun. Also, note the two yellow capacitors piggy-backed. That was done because they could not get (or didn't have) a single capacitor with the correct capacitance. The way they installed the two, their capacitance is added together to get the correct value. I've had to do that a couple times.

I'd bet Mark Saunders at Paramount could fill you in on the details. He is the #1 authority on Sun distributor machines. His number is on his web page:

http://www.paramountd.com/index.html

Can you post a pic of the whole machine?

Happy Motoring!

 

Thank you everyone for the comments, every little bit helps. ClayMart stay away from the big blue thing...O-K!
bctexas I was wondering about being some kind government piece. It has an asset tag riveted to it like they did in the 60's.
Since it had thrown the belt, I was going to check the location of the pulley on the motor. Would it sound about right to set it to be lined up with the cone pulley at midpoint of the cone movement?

 

Following this thread for repair purposes. If you do a repair thread please post it along with lots of pics! I have a 46 version that I will need to tear into soon.

Mike

 

[QUOTE="Since it had thrown the belt, I was going to check the location of the pulley on the motor. Would it sound about right to set it to be lined up with the cone pulley at midpoint of the cone movement?[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure I understand. The cone on my machine does not move in and out - the spinning cone is stationary, and the knob turns a screw shaft that moves an idler wheel in and out varying the speed of the distributor shaft. The idler wheel runs on the cone and the plate attached to the main shaft. Where the idler runs on the cone determines the distributor speed. So you will just line the motor and shaft pulleys up. Here is a pic of the back of my machine. HTH!

 

Thanks for the reply! I will go out again and check what moves. I hope that mine is like yours, because it is so hard to see around in there after putting the top back on. @bctexas, have you taken the main shaft and associated parts apart?
I need to clean and check the bearings (or bushings) and do not want to take anything apart that shouldn't be!

 

Funny this thread should pop up today as I just brought this battery charger home. I’ve been looking for one for years to go with my collection that wasn’t made of gold!

Shes a little rough but seems to work though all new leads will be required as there is more wire showing than insulation!

 

Hi Grumpy! I'm so sorry, somehow I missed this and didn't reply. I don't remember taking the main shaft apart. The parts I got from Paramount were the LED kit, idler wheel kit, capacitor kit, the rubber rings for the supports on the degree wheel, the lead, boot and clamp kit and belts. The instructions he provided were very good and the machine now runs very well.

HTH!

 

That's ok @bctexas, I found that mine is like yours in what moves. Got the belt on and tightened, top back on, and the main shaft rotates well. The distributor support was binding, so am working on that now. I am wondering if one of the shafts that it slides on is bent a little. Going to take them out and check on flat surface, clean up and regrease.
The degree wheel is very stiff in places, so I will take that apart and clean next. Thanks for replying!

 

Just picked these up and the insides are perfect. Just need to replace all of the caps and repair the leads. Anyone know how repair the leads by chance? I will also contact Paramount to see what he says.

 

Picked up a TUT-1015 this morning. An added surprise in the cabinet was a VAT-28 that the seller told me to take along. And much to my surprise and amazement, the TUT-1015 works! The VAT-28 has a bit of rust and the "Field Control" switch is broken, but it looks pretty decent.

With the 1015 (made in 1980) I now have Sun gear from the 40's, 50's, 60's 70's and 80's.

Now I just have to make room for it!!

Happy Motoring!

 

I had a 1015 in my shop back then. Great machine, then I moved up to the 2001 and it was a piece of crap.

 

I wish my 1115 was a 1015 - the emissions stuff doesn't work anyway and it would take up a little less space. Yours is a beauty!

 

Good afternoon

My name is Martin, I’m in England and I just bought one of these. Just wondering if any of you good folks could tell me anything about it? Any idea on the age and any clues where I might get an instruction manual?

Best regards

Martin

 

Bump.

 

Hi @mart61. Nice looking machine! I’d try Ebay for a manual or Paramount. ( I think the website has been mentioned a few times in this thread but I’m too lazy to go back and look! )

 

From the appearance of it I'd guess your Sun 725 to be from the early 60's ? ? ?

Never thought about Sun having built these "across the pond".

Here's a link that should supply some more information for you to research.
Welcome to the HAMB!


https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/search/453157133/?q=Sun+test+scope&o=relevance

 

Recently purchased a Sun 900 and looking for wiring schematics for the scopes on it. Any help would be appreciated on the restoration it.

 

Hello SUN people.........
I've been watching this thread for a while, and now it's time for me to reply/ask of you.... I was "gifted/scored/allowed to have" a few SUN items, and would like to ask you all for some info.......
1'st, a full boogie 820 scope with the cabinet,and all the fixin's. just like google images shows, and a thread on the HAMB.
2nd, a SUN Y-18104 amp/volt tester=tested and working properly.
3rd, a SUN TUT 2316 Volts/Dwell/RPM/Vac-Pressure.
All the above are complete w/ leads............
The 820 is like the one posted, the 18104 looks older to me=years wise, and the 2316 is IMO cherry pie.....
What i'm seeking, is mfg dates.......... The interweb is tough sometimes...... AND.........I'm just trying to get some dates....
I've already used the testers, and it brings me back to when I started to wrench......
My phone/PC aren't jiving at the moment, so no pictures=YET! I will post up when I get that corrected!!!!
If you can help identify the years,= Start to finnish, that would be awesome of you! Thanks-Kid

 

Welcome Kid.
The best advice I can give you is to remove the back panels and look inside.
Sometimes you will see a date on a circuit board.
Good luck.
Tom

 

There is also a facebook group that deals in just sun equipment. They have helped me out a bit.

Mike