Timing Light

Check out the Gunson's catalogue. I have one of their advance timing lights (Superstrobe?) which is excellent and cost around GBP 50 a few years back.

Thanks. I've seen it in Halfords, but Gunson stuff looks like it will break if you use it, and it's not cheap for what it is.

Dave Plowman realised it was Mon, 22 Sep 2003

PC did a comparison test not too many moths ago - might be worth looking that up.

My one is pretty solid. The only fragile bit is the induction pickup that clips around no. 1 plug lead. The main body is a heavily chromed alloy affair: not the flimsy plastic type.

I've got the Gunson Tachostrobe cheapo version with the spring thingy you put between plug No.1 and the lead. The plastic body does indeed look as though it is about fall apart, but I've had it for years and it does the job. Chances are that all the DIY ones are made in the same factory with similar internals. IMO Gunson stuff is adequate for DIY use and will last if handled with care, but Sealey and Draper etc are getting very keen on prices now so they've got to be worth a look.

Typical of the modern marketing, the latest PC tests show three hydraulic puller sets, all identical apart from the labels, priced at £70, £82 and £90! I'm guessing the market for strobe lights could be similar. :-)

I would be interested to know what you find.

Pete W

Advantage of a plastic body is that the body will never be strapped to one side of the supply. As these things are normally negative earth, you'd find a metal body would be at -12v with respect to the frame of a positive earth car - which is not much fun if you touch the case to any car bodywork during use!

I did a quick troll round the local places and ended up with a Sealey from Cannons in Clapham. Just under 50 quid + VAT. And built like a brick outhouse - much better than the Gunson. Too wet to play with it when I got home though.

advance timing

it will

Check out the Sealey range.

I have one of these, a Sealey TL81. Cost me around £45 some years ago. The picture doesn't really do it justice. It is very well made. The steel chromed housing fits really well with no overlaps or gaps. A real precision fit. If you're looking for one that won't fall apart, these are built like the proverbial brick s**house. Maybe not the cheapest, but you wont be disappointed by the build quality. IMO it compares quite favourably with a similar Snap-On one. Which, IIRC, cost around £200. Mike.

You must have been thinking hard before writing this as I picked up your thought waves and bought one. ;-)

It is, indeed, beautifully made, and looks like it will last, and I like the plug in cables. My supplier had both these and the strobe tubes in stock as spares.

Cost 58.70, though.

"Mike G" realised it was Tue, 23 Sep 2003 01:46:58

Don't get me going on Snap-on. I bought a set of four no-name prybars at the last classic car show in Essen*) for about 20 euro's. Nothing fancy, just four stout pieces of steel with blue plastic handles in a cheap plastic tray. Probably made in China or India, but excellent for their job.

There was a Snap-on van at the same show selling exactly the same prybar sets in exactly the same plastic tray. The *only* difference was in the handles: they were red and had 'Snap-on' printed on them.

The salesman didn't even blink when I asked what they cost: 115 euro's. "That's excluding VAT, of course", he added.

How do you know they were the same ? I _very_ much doubt it.

Do you have a Snap-on "nose hook" (I think they call it a cotter pin puller). It's the size of nothing, and you can beat on the thing with a lump hammer without breaking it. You can also buy a look-alike from any street corner car-parts shop, but it doesn't work the same.

I have a lot of Snap-on kit. It's not generally my favourite (Facom is often nicer), and it's usually (but not always) expensive. However I've never had a Snap-on product that I've felt wasn't as strong and reliable as it was possible to get.

-- Smert' spamionam

prybars at

Nothing fancy,

cheap

for their

same prybar

was in the

In that case they could not possibly be the same. Having 'Snap-On' on the handles makes them much better. Stronger, and longer lasting. A real quality product.

Snap-On have an enviable reputation. It allows them to charge up to several times more than the tools actual value. The _real value_ of a tool is in it's strength, wear resistance, and how well it does the job it's designed to do. A nice finish and a lifetime guarantee, is just icing. It doesn't make a tool work any better, or last any longer. And there are cheaper manufacturers that offer lifetime guarantees. IME you're more likely to lose a good quality tool, than wear it out. The only thing special about Snap-On tools, IMO, is their price. Many manufacturers, make tools that are equally as efficient and durable, at only a fraction of the cost of the Snap-On version. Maybe they are not as smooth and as well chromed, but personally I prefer a rougher finish for a spanner, for the improved grip it gives with oily or slippery hands. Mike.

made.

or

picked up your

and I like

tubes in

Ther is one improvement you can make. That's assuming yours is the same as mine, and that is to paint the little pointer on the knob with white paint. Makes it much easier to see when the lightings not so good, or it's buried in the bowels of the engine compartment. Mike.

I know that Snap-On do their spanner is both shiny Chrome and oil-black finishes. We all know which one is better with oily hands, but which is the most expensive?

Phil

same prybar

was in the

cotter pin

thing with

look-alike from

same.

(Facom is

However

strong and

Try their hexagon keys. Absolute rubbish. I use hexagon keys a lot. Baught a set off the Snap-On van once. Screwed one up the day I baught them. Give me a genuine Allen key, or Unbrako key any time. Some of those I've had for years. At least they don't decide to become corkscrews at the first tight bolt they meet.

Another time, I baught a Phillips screwdriver off the van. Cost about £6 IIRC. Didn't get that much use, but within a month the corners had rounded. Tried to get it replaced, the guy didn't want to know. Probably because I wasn't a regular customer. One I baught from Halfords a day or two later, for about £1 is still going strong. Not pristine, but in better nick the the Snap-On one.

The quality of Snap-On tools is vastly overated IMO. Most are not that bad. Quite good in fact, but certainly not good enough to justify their exorbitant price, but as long as people _think_ they are the best, and worth the money, they'll keep buying them. Me. I'd rather have twice the number of equally as good tools at only a fraction of the cost of Snap-On ones. Mike.

Andy Dingley realised it was Wed, 24 Sep 2003

I held my newly acquired, reasonably priced set next to the outrageously expensive Snap-on set at the Essen show - less than an inch apart, they might even have touched. I studied them carefully. They were *exactly* the same. Same finish, same size handles, shanks and blades, same cheap plastic tray, same colour except for the handles. They definitely came out of the same factory.

I prefer Facom, too. Not cheap, either, but a lot more value for money.

I've got a Snap-on combination spanner set (AF). Cost me an arm and a leg, it did, had to put the whole family on short rations for a month just to pay for them. They're bloody nice spanners, too. There are few spanners that make a nicer noise when dropped onto a concrete floor. I'm pretty sure they'll outlast me and probably my heirs as well. But are they worth what I paid for them? Definitely not. I've since bought a metric Kraftwerk set, which looks, sounds and feels just as nice as the Snap-on set. The quality at least equals that of Snap-on. But it's less than a tenth of the price an equivalent Snap-on set would have cost me.

No more Snap-on for me, unless somebody is kind enough to give the stuff to me freely.

I was going to try and get one off ebay.co.uk - there are plenty on there if you're willing to gamble on the descriptions being accurate it would appear that you can get a bargin if you're lucky. I kept getting outbid in the last 3 seconds of the auction by hardcore ebay geeks with fast connections so gave up. Still, might be worth a look...

I picked a cheap no name Chinese one from a poundland store, £1, its pretty naff but if you wait till it starts to go dark & put a few small spots of white paint on your timing marks it should get you through,

Steve.

Let me know if you are still looking. Email me privately and I will give you some prices. Not looking to advertise on this group but will help out when people cannot find something specific. We have an independent van sales operation in Milton Keynes and can supply all the leading makes. Liz Hall