just need a quick confirmation on my idiocy

kiyoshi said

straight edge was a little off, was hard to get in the bay but looked as close as I could get it (was going degrees of a turn with the hex oil pump priming tool to try to get it to align as best as possible to driver front intake bolt)

reclocked distributor, this is what everyone is referring to regarding vacuum port position, correct?

engine is at comp tdc as per post #10 instructions, distributor at post 1 (cap is marked incorrectly as "5" but is the one I'm pointing to)

will route wires accordingly (18436572) and will fire it up

-kiyoshi

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That's all well and good, but what you describe does not "time" the engine, really. You have got the dist in "close" IF you got the engine up on compression. Did you do that? Now go a step further and put it in TIME.

When you installed the dist, you "could" or "should" have brought the engine up on compression, then bumped it until the marks ARE NOT AT TDC but rather 'where you want the timing,' in other words bring the marks up to 10 or 15BTDC or wherever you want initial timing.

Now, with the no1 tower identified, rotate the dist body CW (retard) and slowly rotate it back CCW (advanced) until the points "break" open, or, if breakerless, to where the reluctor is about in the middle of the pickup coil. YOU CAN ALSO check timing "on the starter" (I "used to know that" but Crackedback reminded me, a few years back)

When you time the engine in this way, you don't have to "screw" with it, crank endlessly, etc. You prime it with a little fuel and START IT UP

If you do that right, it will fire just like it was parked overnight