Setting timing on a 225??

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zcook13

zcook13

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Hey everyone, got a quick question? Not saying my 225 is out of timing, it sounds and runs good to me. I would like to check the timing though. I have a timing light and know that you hook it up to the first cylinder plug wire. I also know that there are timing marks around the crank dampener. What is the specs on a 70 dart with a 225 as far as timing? And for base time I just unhook the vacuum advance right?
 
zcook13 said:
Hey everyone, got a quick question? Not saying my 225 is out of timing, it sounds and runs good to me. I would like to check the timing though. I have a timing light and know that you hook it up to the first cylinder plug wire. I also know that there are timing marks around the crank dampener. What is the specs on a 70 dart with a 225 as far as timing? And for base time I just unhook the vacuum advance right?
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Yes, unhook vacuum advance and plug it with a golf tee .....base timing should be around 14-18 and total about 32-38.....anywhere in there should run good...
 
Thank you sir. I'm curious to see where it is at.. I just got the car and I just want to make sure everything is going good for her.
 
vntned said:
I thought the factory setting was in the 3-5degree range?!
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that was the factory setting in the 70s with real gas and trying to squeak by on emissions....not the stuff they call "gas"now....I set my 225 at 17 initial and 36 total and it runs great.....mopars love timing!
 
my 1967 factory manual says with out C.A.P. 5 degrees B.T.C. with C.A.P. 170 5 A.T.C.....225 T.D.C.
 
moe7404 said:
my 1967 factory manual says with out C.A.P. 5 degrees B.T.C. with C.A.P. 170 5 A.T.C.....225 T.D.C.
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That is just it ....1967 Service manual.....You are living in the past....

Go ahead set it at 5 degrees After top dead center and let me know how it works out for you...LOL

Mopars love timing......put as much in it as you can without pinging under hard acceleration and the performance will be the best it can be
 
the reason i posted a 1967 was that its all i have here. at my storage i have many more. so like my friends say its ok to try diff settings. and yes i live in the past. iam 66 years old
 
Now I'm just curious. I don't know a lot about timing, but 14-18 degree's BTDC is firing the plug a little soon isn't it?
 
zcook13 said:
Now I'm just curious. I don't know a lot about timing, but 14-18 degree's BTDC is firing the plug a little soon isn't it?
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Advance the timing to the ping at WOT and then back it off 2 degrees and see what you think of it.
Of course you will have to set your idle down when you do it because it will speed up when you bring up the timing.
 
The factory sticker says 0° of timing at idle on my 70 225 automatic dart. I've got it advanced to 7-8° right now, the factory distributor clamp won't allow any more. I didn't notice much improvement if any.
 
69a100 said:
Mine seems to be the happiest at 12* BTDC with no PING!
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Thats where I got the best fuel economy when still had my / . Think if you played with vacuum advance you could squeeze out a couple more degrees.
 
1994redram said:
The factory sticker says 0° of timing at idle on my 70 225 automatic dart. I've got it advanced to 7-8° right now, the factory distributor clamp won't allow any more. I didn't notice much improvement if any.
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That's my problem too. No more adjustment unless I pull the distributor and back it off a tooth or two or rotate the plug wires on the cap. I've got her maxed out and feel like she's begging for more. Don't even know what it's set at, I tuned to max vacuum at 800 rpm and bottomed out the bracket at 18psi vacuum. Really like to see 20-21 psi.
 
Guys, I went through all that business, to no avail. The bit about reclocking the wires or reindexing the drive gear. It didnt work for me. The reason is the very limited adjustment slot. The solution on my 1980 Volare was to pull the dizzy out, flip it over, remove the adjuster tab and slot it out with a die-grinder.Reassemble slightly loose,install, and crank it all the way advanced. Pull out secure tab to dizzy, reinstall, set to where you want it. Older models were different.They had the adjuster clamped to the body and were very adjustable. So if you have one of those, youre good to go.
Now dont forget to limit your power timing.
Bring that advance in as fast as she will allow.
Now your 6 will run like a tired 8.
Some fueling changes may be required.
And dont forget about tuning the vacuum can as well. Theres quite a bit of potential in that little device.
FWIW; I used to subscribe to that old Chrysler knew best doctrine too. But after pumping up the c/r on the slanty, and camming it up a bit, that thing was very disappointing. I began to play with the timing.At first that was disappointing too. So I gave it more and more and it began to respond.So by now I had like 8* in it, and was thinking this couldnt be right. So I verified my TDC mark. Yup, that was good.So I gave it more, and it responded. And again, Im thinking somethings wrong. So I pulled the V-cover and verified where split overlap was. Yup, thats good too. So I gave it more timing and it responded yet again.So I dont recall where it ended up at. I never went far enough to encounter knock. But its probably sitting at 14* or more.
So moral of the story is ATDC is BS. 5*BTDC is not enough.10* is getting started. 15* is getting close. My slanty liked a lot.Just be sure to limit the power timing.
 
I just decided to leave mine alone. It runs well and that's fine with me. It wasn't worth the hassle for a few ponies. I'll worry about fine tuning the engine when it's a V8.
 
AJ/FormS said:
Pull out secure tab to dizzy, reinstall, set to where you want it.

Just be sure to limit the power timing.
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Hope you don't mind the hijack, redram, but what AJ is saying interests me. I already considered slotting the adjustment tab but not sure what you're talking about, AJ. This is my first Mopar so I'm not familiar with the dizzy enough to picture what you mean by the above two directions. Mind elaborating?
 
Sarge
My solution only applies to the late 225s. Once the dizzy is out, and you flip it over you will discover that the hold-down tab is bolted onto the underside of the bowl. Then things should become clear. If youre not confident about pulling/replacing the dizzy, make index marks to help you get it back in correctly.BTW, My slanty is now able to idle so slowly, you can practically count/feel every combustion event. I actually had to speed it up to 600ish

Redram;
Its not just about the few ponies, its about driveability. The engine will become much more responsive and torquier. Its like waking it up from a deep sleep.Ok maybe slumber. And the extra mpgs at todays gas prices are welcome too.But then maybe yours just naturally runs nicer than mine. I had one like that back in the 76 in a 69 Barracuda. That was a sweetheart of an engine.
 
AJ/FormS said:
Sarge
My solution only applies to the late 225s. Once the dizzy is out, and you flip it over you will discover that the hold-down tab is bolted onto the underside of the bowl.
Click to expand...
Found a pic of the underside so I see what you're referring to now. I've pulled and timed a lot of Ford distributors, and done so incorrectly more times than I care to mention. What do you mean by "limit your power timing"? Thanks for the clarification!!
 
sargentrs said:
That's my problem too. No more adjustment unless I pull the distributor and back it off a tooth or two or rotate the plug wires on the cap. I've got her maxed out and feel like she's begging for more. Don't even know what it's set at, I tuned to max vacuum at 800 rpm and bottomed out the bracket at 18psi vacuum. Really like to see 20-21 psi.
Click to expand...

My dist. had a second adjustment (slot) on the adjustment tab under the dist. I thought my chain was gone and replaced it and could not get the timing right. I polled the dist and noticed a second adjustment under the dist. 74 225. Hope it helps.
 
halifaxhops said:
My dist. had a second adjustment (slot) on the adjustment tab under the dist. I thought my chain was gone and replaced it and could not get the timing right. I polled the dist and noticed a second adjustment under the dist. 74 225. Hope it helps.
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I see, in the photo I found, where the adjustment tab bolts in. Are you saying that it's slotted there as well?
 
Mine was! It cost me doing a timing chain because I could not get the timing close. It gives you another amount of adjustment a little less than the normal adjustment. I never even knew it was there, I found it when I was moving the dist a tooth here and then there, I finally looked at it when it was out to see if something was bent and it was a oh crap moment. My book did not even show it.
 
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