Testing Helmet On Sun Machine

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philipswanson

Well-known member
I notice the video on U Tube has the coil still attached to the helmet while setting up the distributor. I have a 504 Sun machine and have run my 1940 helmet on it without the coil. Is there an advantage to running the coil with it on the Sun machine?
 
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Re: Testing Crap On Sun Machine

philipswanson said:
I notice the video on U Tube has the coil still attached to the crab while setting up the distributor. I have a 504 Sun machine and have run my 1940 crab on it without the coil. Is there an advantage to running the coil with it on the Sun machine?
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When you eventually bolt the coil on, the spring tension can actually cause the points setting to move. Best with coil installed in final form. DD
 
Re: Testing Crap On Sun Machine

Not sure if you have a “crab” (1942) distributor, or a 1940 distributor as you say both in the same sentence.
On all 32-41 distributors it’s imperative to have the coil or a coil adapter plate installed. The breaker plate is not a press fit into the cast iron housing, and typically has .005-.010” of side to side play. When talking about points, those are big numbers. With the coil attached it presses down on the breaker plate to the position it would normally be in.

For the same exact reasons it’s important to be sure the timing adjuster it tight when setting dwell.


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Re: Testing Crap On Sun Machine

35fordtn said:
Not sure if you have a “crab” (1942) distributor, or a 1940 distributor as you say both in the same sentence.
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Michael....I focused on the "1940" in his post and subconsciously assumed that he misused the term "crab" to mean distributor. I guess most of us realize that you don't mount a coil to a crab distributor. DD
 
Re: Testing Crap On Sun Machine

V8COOPMAN said:
Michael....I focused on the "1940" in his post and subconsciously assumed that he misused the term "crab" to mean distributor. I guess most of us realize that you don't mount a coil to a crab distributor. DD
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Yes I assumed the same. ..... crab, crap, carb, cap, car. All those words staring blending together sometimes.
 
Re: Testing Crap On Sun Machine

If you have the manual for your machine it explains how to test early Ford distributors both the crab and the helmet types. If coil mounts to Dist. It is what's called a helmet.
 
Re: Testing Crap On Sun Machine

35fordtn said:
Not sure if you have a “crab” (1942) distributor, or a 1940 distributor as you say both in the same sentence.
On all 32-41 distributors it’s imperative to have the coil or a coil adapter plate installed. The breaker plate is not a press fit into the cast iron housing, and typically has .005-.010” of side to side play. When talking about points, those are big numbers. With the coil attached it presses down on the breaker plate to the position it would normally be in.

For the same exact reasons it’s important to be sure the timing adjuster it tight when setting dwell.


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Thanks for all the help on my HELMET.
 
Just for the heck of it try it each way on your machine, and you’ll notice the dwell reading will be lower with the coil attached...

Excellent question by the way!
 
That’s normal. Don’t pay attention to gap. It’s just a number. Dwell is all that matters. If the gap is less than .010, then maybe you could have a concern. I run distributors nearly daily on my sun machine and I couldn’t tell you the gap on any of them.


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DISBELIEVER said:
Tried dwell with and without coil installed. Made no difference. I think its an old wife's tale.
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Michael (35fordtn)….It's almost amazing, isn't it? You do this every day for a living with the proper equipment, right? The proverbial "horse" asks you for a drink of water. You politely lead him directly to the glistening brook. Besides a slap in the face, all you get is..."Nah, I was only BS-ing about being thirsty!" DD
 
philipswanson said:
Tried dwell with and without coil installed. Made no difference. I think its an old wife's tale.
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To further test your theory, test with a few different coils to be certain the one you're using doesn't have a weak or worn spring. I have not tried testing without coil but next time I work on a distributor I will.
 
I too believed it wouldn’t make a difference until once you read the instructions printed by Ford for testing on their heyer machine they make it clear that coil should be mounted. I don’t mount a coil but rather a adapter plate. I can promise and bet everything I own it makes a difference maybe minimal on some distributors and more on others, but it does. I noticed it just Friday night that tightening and loosening the timing adjuster moved the dwell. Again what causes this is the play between the breaker plate and housing.

Cool man, you crack me up!
 
The thing about it is that on my helmet distributors the breaker point plates are a tight fit in the housings and a couple of ounces of spring pressure have absolutely no effect on the points. Maybe they shouldn't be that way but this is what I have.
 
philipswanson said:
Tried dwell with and without coil installed. Made no difference. I think its an old wife's tale.
Click to expand...

I’ve set up many V8 & V12 distributors over the last 33 or so years on my Sun Machine and have always done the with the coil attached, the Sun manual advises it so I never strobe without it . I have done it long ago just for comparison, It can cause change without it so I just don’t do it. The biggest change I usually see is loosening and tightening the screw for the timing adjustment .
 
If you were to remove the coil when mounted on the Sun machine and reach in to the mounting pad (brass button) can you move it? On my helmets, it won't move. So mounting the coil has no affect. Should it move easily? My two don't.

Sorry if I stepped on some toes but that's the way mine are, no affect, coil or no coil.
 
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