timing a 318 w/a 495 lift cam!!!!!

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dusterbuster325

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i have a 318 bored 30 over, it has a comp cam 495 lift cam, 360 heads, roller rockers, edelbrock performer manifold with a 750 ede carb. im having trouble timing it with a timing lite. does anyone have any tips? please help! :blob:
 
you got the timing tape if not you'll need it i bring mine up to 2800 rpm and set it at 34 degrees i think most people do it 3000rpm set at 36 degrees somebody correct me if i'm wrong mine runs good at 34 degrees got the ping any higher
 
Make sure you have a good dist cap,
 
do you have the timing tape on your balancer?factory marks only go to 12degrees with the bigger cam you need to set at 34 degrees thats why you need timing tape do a search here on setting timing
 
Unless you shaved those heads significantly, your static compression ratio is pretty low and that cam will bleed off low RPM cylinder pressure quite a bit. Therefore, to try to gain back some low end I would think you would want to run a pretty good amount of initial advance, and light springs in your distributor. Max advance should be held to 36 degrees or you may have detonation issues at higher RPM.

An old trick to get it "close" would be to advance timing at idle to the highest RPM and then back it down 10 degrees
 
...I can see this is going to be a long day.... :)
What he meant "by shaved heads" is the milling down of the the head surface where the head mates to the block (the intake manifold surface should also be done as well to maintain proper engine geometry so the intake manifold bolt holes will line up. Ratios for the cuts are in the Performance manuals). This, in essence, increases your compression ratio by decreasing your head's quench area for each piston.
For what its worth, a 318 for street use really doesn't like a whole lot of cam without some serious mods and thats probably one of the biggest mistake alot of folks make in hot rodding them. With that big carb, high-lift cam, unmodified 360 heads and probably a stock street gear, you're not gonna have much grunt on the low end....a souped import would probably walk away from ya on a dead stop standing start.
It takes the whole combination of the car (right carb, motor setup, gear ratio, suspension etc. all working in harmony) to make it run like a scalded dog.....
A 650cfm carb, a less lift on the cam, a good street gear (I like 3:55s or even 3.91s) and a good set of milled 360 heads will make for a sweet street machine. How do I know??...lol, I've run various combinations of Chrysler's small block since 1968.
 
I second the question... "What kind of trouble? Cna you not see the mark? does it not appear when the light flashes? Did you set it and the engine doesnt behave as you want it? Try to be very specific.
 
Maybe he has the timing light on the #2 plug and not the #1. Doesn't Fords have the #1 plug on the passenger's bank? :scratch:
 
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