big_G

Yes, but any more than 52 degres and you may get some roughness at cruise rpm's.

Bob Onit

WHOA! slow down
I was asking a question so I could confirm the method Im using
Sorry... diddnt mean to drill anybody...just trying to learn

MsVetteMan

No blood no foul.

Timing is hard to put in words. A lot of it is hearing, test driving, and feeling. I'm just glad I now understand it 75%.

Rockn-Roll

I think timing must be presented different depending on the knowledge of who is readin it. A Timing 101 post should be for people that have never set their timing...they would need details of the timing marks and what they should look for...make sure they understand that the distributor bolt should be almost finger tight and not loose enough for distributor to freely turn or come up out of the hole...how to use white-out, correct-it tape, white paint, or other means to make the timing notch on the harmonic balancer visible...how to use a timing gun especially one with features such as a delay...why to avoid any baggy clothing that might get caught in the fan belts...why to ventilate their work area while the engine is running so they don't die, and should include some images so they can see what you are talking about. But, a Timing 201 should be very concise and have mostly advanced tips...for example it should be assumed that they know about the timing marks and how to use them...have some skill with a timing gun...know not to remove the distributor bolt...know not to wear baggy clothing...know to ventilate their work area to avoid dying, and some images showing why your post is suggesting something different than from what they can find in any repair manual.

If you differentiate between advanced timing and beginners timing in your post then you will reduce the number of questions, and give the beginners something to practice on before they hit the advanced section of the post.

neoh77

MsVetteMan has it right on. As for the vacuum advance part....I hook my vacuum advance canister to a mightyvac (worth every penny, they're cheap anyhow)....now pull a vacuum of 20", rev your motor back to 3000 rpm and see if you're close to 52 degrees. Your motor might not make 20" of vacuum, but that's not the point. You want to max out the vacuum advance can to make sure you don't exceed 52 degrees. Easy with the right tools.

Lars likes specific vacuum cans, all outlined nicely in his paper. They give the proper 14 degrees of additional vacuum advance. How much vacuum is required to get that extra 14 degrees depends on your engine combination. Again, mightyvac to the rescue. Hook it up to your carb vacuum port and watch how much vacuum your engine makes to get an idea of what you need. I just used an adjustable can and it was easy to adjust with the mightyvac in place (after setting my mechanical timing and curve.)

-Matt

p.s. I also wonder why this issue seems so difficult to grasp. After reading Lar's paper it seemed so very clear to me. Simple and concise...ignore idle timing etc. completely and just get on with it.

PRNDL

Timing 101 wasn't basic enough for me!!!

The first time I used my Sears dialback timing light - you know how it has that cliplike thing that goes on sparkplug wire #1? Well, I clipped it on wire #1 and my brand new timing light didn't work!! So I took it back to Sears and exchanged it for another new one. I finally figured out that the clothespin clip needs to go all the way around the wire, not clip on the wire!!! Never overestimate the abilities of a NEWB!!

MsVetteMan

I don't that I would have told that!

We could start a timing 101 like this......

1.) Remove credit card from wallet.......
....
....
...
6.) Remove twisting things from the cords on the timing light.

....

....
10.) Hook the red wire with the little cute gator clip thingy to.....
....
....

14.) Now squeeze that trigger to make the strobe light go off, put on you best disco era CD, and get to dancin'!!!!!!!

It could go on, and on, and on..............

jdmick

It takes a real man to admit something like that.

highschool67

Did everyone forget to set the points first!
I just worked on a 69 that had 10 degrees of dwell and was running fine. When I adjusted the dwell to 30 it moved the crank timing 15 degrees at least. I reshot the timing and checked advance and was done.

Bad points or bad dwell can really mess up an otherwise easy tuneup.

Dave

Bob Onit

Well, thats not as bad as letting the induction wire lay on the exhaust manifold rendering my brand new adjustable/RPM timing light totally useless

Bob Onit

No points here (Accel point eliminator Module), but I do have a spare "Just rebuilt" Tach drive with new points/condenser/rotor ect: Which I really should install because I can hear a ticking coming from the current distributor... maybe its normal for the Accel Module to click.......... I just dont trust it, although its been in the car for over 5 thousand miles.... once again, Im confused

kdf1986

I liked reading the articles posted by Lars and John Hinckley. That was an in depth technical explanation on what the timing is and does. But it makes it hard to take with me to the garage and follow the steps.

The sticky note thread was therefore good for me, because it pared down the large amount of information into a type of cliff notes for timing.

Now the one that is posted on this thread is like a "timing 101 for dummies" Straight and to the point. Small enough that it can be printed out and taped to my timing light box for easy reference.

But only looking at the highlights of timing will not help you understand how everything works altogether. If you are interested in how everything inter relates to each other, then you need to read the full tech article.

You cant read the Cliff Notes of a book, and think you know what it is all about. You can only know the summary.

All three articles are good for their intended purposes and audience.

kdf

mrvette

Hows about we just disconnect the vac advance and fire the thing up, and if idle is less than 1000 rpm, we look at the timing, assuming harmonica balancer is not slipped, get it to read about 8-10 on the built in scale....
now rev engine, around 3k rpm or so you want to see about 24 degrees on top of that, you can't estimate that with a good glance...summfin rong....

I have never owned a dial back timing light yet....only been 40++ years....

then again if you want to get throughly modern, Millie, you can just get DPFI and have OVER with it....

Vette Dent

After you have 36* advance at 3000 RPM, and you reconnect your vacuum advance, You would like to see 52* degrees. You need a vacuum can that will give you 8 degrees. I used a NAPA 1810 on Lars advice at TFB. Because the distributor makes one reveloution for every two reveloutions that the crankshaft makes, the 8 degrees vacuum advance on the distributor tranlates to 16 degrees on the crankshaft, where you should be pointing you timing light.) 36+16=52 degrees total timing.
Also, there is a little stop bushing in the distributor that is made of rubber originally, and this can mess you up. The bushing is on the lower side of the plate that the points are mounted on. when you dissasemble the distributor and remove this plate, you will have pin on the underside that sits in a hole. If the bushing is missing you will not get the exact 36 and 52 degrees. You will get something like 36 and 54 or 34 and 52. Included in the Mr. Gasket spring kits is a little brass bushing. Use this to replace the original rubber one and peen it so that it doesnt fall off. It works perfectly.