blown 440 timing help...

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flathead31coupe

flathead31coupe

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iam not sure why iam have issues getting the timing set....but here is what i did, #1 tdc 0 on the timing tab and i marked my crank hub there as well, got my new adjustiable timing light today, not much instructions came with it, seems simple though. got the engine up to temp, idle aroung 950, looking for base timing of 18, set my light to 18, mark is way off...so for kicks i kept moving the advance on the light until my mark lined up with 0 on the timimg tab...it was at 58...wth....having a dumb *** attack
 
Make sure the rotor is oriented on the #1 cylinder @ TDC. 65'
 
Plymouth 65 said:
Make sure the rotor is oriented on the #1 cylinder @ TDC. 65'
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ok ....i have never used a adj timing light, by getting tdc and marking the crank hub at that point...and setting the advance on the light to say 18. i shouild just be able to set the hub mark i made to 0 on the timing tab..right?
 
I've never used an adjustable timing light. But if you're truly @tdc on cylinder 1 and the mark on the damper is showing the same thing, set the timing light to zero. That should confirm your rotor is truly oriented correctly. 65'
 
Plymouth 65 said:
I've never used an adjustable timing light. But if you're truly @tdc on cylinder 1 and the mark on the damper is showing the same thing, set the timing light to zero. That should confirm your rotor is truly oriented correctly. 65'
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and if all is correct, then its a matter of setting the advance on the light and watching the mark on the crank hub and setting the dis to the 0 on the timing tab correct?
 
Correct! I went through this recently when I installed my newly curved distributor. 65'
 
I would confirm that the rotor is properly oriented to number 1 cylinder on the cap and damper/timing tab are at zero and go from there! 65'
 
Chinese adjustable timing light . . . ????
As most things made in Chy-Nah.

Set the timing light to zero and time it the old fashioned way. Get to TDC then back it up to 12* BTDC on the indicator at the front Damper. Then lock down the distributor and recheck again.

Borrow another timing light from a friend to double check your light is reading correct. Sometimes you can flip the Clip 180* for the Pickup of the timing light on the #1 spark plug wire so the timing light will read correctly. Have had that problem before.

Good Luck
 
If you are using an msd ignition, i would NEVER trust, or believe, a dial back light. And i dont trust them much, even without an msd.
Use a timing tape, after making sure of rotor orientation at a confirmed tdc mark.
Or, if you think you will have trouble with the tape, tell us the diameter of your balancer, and what you want total timing to be, we can tell you where to scribe the total timing mark.
 
update my fault i had the timing marks off...doubled ckd 0 and 12 with the light and timing tab..all is correct..thanks for the help...a? my blower inst say An ideal distributor has 9 degrees mechanical advance in it (18 degrees at the crankshaft). We recommend starting the advance at 1200 rpms and have full advance at 3000 rpms. In most cases, small block V8's run 34-36 degrees of total advance for street applications. With 36 degrees total, the initial should be 18 degrees at idle and will advance to 36 degrees above 3000 rpms. now i talked to the blower guy he saying to lock out the dis and set the timing to 28....i have it at 12 now...not racing the car...should i go up to 18?
 
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If you lock it out and you have some kind of electronic ignition box you need to set your total timing at whatever your max RPM is. If you don’t, you’ll never know what the total timing is. The boxes (all of them) retard with RPM. Unless you know when it starts and how much it retards you won’t know what your exact total is.
 
yellow rose said:
If you lock it out and you have some kind of electronic ignition box you need to set your total timing at whatever your max RPM is. If you don’t, you’ll never know what the total timing is. The boxes (all of them) retard with RPM. Unless you know when it starts and how much it retards you won’t know what your exact total is.
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the dis is a duel point that was set up as stated in#13 post...no ign box
 
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