Starting to rebuild the Allen distributor machine

Last summer I bought an Allen "Syncrograph." "distributor tester." It worked, but as soon as I looked inside and moved a couple of wires, the hard old insulation literally crumbled!!! So I decided to modernize it some. Plans are to use (probably) a Mopar ECU for ignition --the machine needs a high voltage source for the timing strobes. With something like the Mopar ECU, I can use EITHER points distributors or breakerless. I may also use a GM HEI module, with a toggle switch, could easily switch from points to breakerless.

For the tach and dwell, (separate meters) I have two "thrift store" meters and plan to simply pirate the boards and rework as necessary for those functions. I've got 6.00? bucks into the small one, and 25 into the large one.

Below, the gutted interior The bottom of the drive shaft is a rubber wheel, and all the mechanical crap is hooked to the huge knob in the front/ center on the lower part of the machine. This moves the drive motor plate up/ down against a spring, and the motor drives the rubber wheel with an aluminum disk. Anyone who has worked on Ariens snow blowers knows this trick.

I still have not figured out how to add text with each photo!!!!

The box of parts is the 1940's era technology. Yes they actually use a coil for ignition. It generates high voltage to fire the strobes and of course was triggered right off the dist. points. Three old tubes, a 5y3 GT dual diode rectifier tube, a 1B3 high voltage damper (used in old TV high voltage supplies), and an 0C3 gaseous rectifier tube

Next two are the tach/ dwell meters, only the boards will be used, my original Allen meters will be used The original tach was fired off the shaft with slip rings, and now I'll adapt one of these tach boards with the inductive pickup, doing away with the three slip rings and brushes

Next is bottom of the strobe wheel. The ring is the slip ring to pickup high voltage, the strobe flash tubes are in the enclosure near top. This will be used pretty much as--is, except a magnet will be attached on the side where the counterweight (bottom) is now, to fire the tach

Below the strobe wheel photo is the brushes holder (top right) for the tach, and the spark gap/ board bottom left is the brush holder and voltage limiter for the strobe tubes. An old 1B3 damper tube (a diode tube) is across the coil output to ground, which turns it into a spike, and limits voltage. The spark gaps here on this board further limit voltage

The chassis photos show the old technology. I started to build a diagram. I may or may not use the transformer. It has at least two low voltage windings, and I may use them for 12V supplies for the tach/ dwell and even ignition The two little square things on the one side are the forerunners of modern rectifier diodes, known as "selenium rectifiers." These may still be used in some battery chargers.

Bottom photo is the horrid, the awful, vacuum pump. Truely a horrid design. I'll find another pump to go in it's place