when i bought my 1966 Fastback it had 302 emblems on it. so i figured the kid who's parents had it restored for him rebuilt or switched the original engine.

i changed the timing chain on it and and put a new timing cover on it believing it was a 1979 or up part i needed. i have now rebuilt the engine(found out by the # it was still the original 1966 289. it is now a 331 stroker and i used that new timing cover on the rebuild.

i am having a hell of a time finding a timing pointer for it. any help of which one would work and where to get it would be great.

 

I picked up a Drake Scott pointer for about $6 (I think from CJ Pony Parts). I'm not sure if it'll work on a 79+ timing cover. Weren't the pointers on the passenger side for those?

I had previously fabbed a pointer with a bolt and a coat hanger wire, which you could always resort to. More importantly, where does TDC show on your damper? Then you'll know which side of the cover your pointer needs to be on.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

 

easiest thing (and safest thing) to do is to get a piston stop
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-4795/


make sure to get the right one for your spark plug hole. when using it make sure you have the ignition key out of the switch and burry it under the seat so when you pick it up you know why you were hiding it there. if the engine is not in car even better.

remove #1 spark plug and put that piston stop in there. rotate the engine anticlockwise manually until you hit that piston stop. make a mark on the timing.
If you have any mark on your timing cover then make a mark on the balancer where it points to at this moment. then turn the engine manually clockwise until you hit that stop again. make another mark. Exactly inbetween those two marks is your TDC. bang on

if you don't have a mark on the timing cover then do it the other way around and make marks on the cover. It's less accurate since you have no degree marks there. Or install an adjutable pointer and use that.

If you have a marking on the timing cover and it does not match your balancer markings, you can always get a tape with timing marks for your balancer diameter size and tape it on the balancer once you know where TDC is
like that:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MSD-8985/?rtype=10

(make sure you get the one that matches tyhe diameter of your balancer where the markings are)


the remove the piston stop!

Kalli

 

Fortunatly, Ford didn't make a lot of changes over the years. Yoy could probably get a stock replacement part for pretty cheap. Aftermarket billit pieces work well, but are a lot more expensive. If you have a welder, you could simply make your own. Doesn't have to be anything spectacular or fancy; it's just a pointer.

I made this one out of a washer and piece of 1/4" rod.

 

The timing pointer was always 45° to the left, or right, of the 0° vertical position. You either need a left pointer, or a right pointer. Since you have installed a water pump with the inlet on the right side, let's hope you need a left pointer. The one never-fails way to find TDC is to remove the bolt from the center of the damper. The key slot faces straight up at TDC.

I identified a defective NOS balancer on a Shelby that way last summer.

 

I had the same problem. I fab'ed my own using some stiff aluminum; shaped it so it would point to an easily visible location on my balancer. I then used the screw in the plug hole method to determine TDC on #1 cylinder. I marked that spot right where my pointer fell, problem solved. That was a few years ago and I'm sure there are way to throw a few more $ at it but I like my handy work. Good luck.

 

This is the left pointer. $8.

 

Ya. Very true the keyway is always up. Otherwise the dot marking would never be right. If it's always 45 or 0 like 2+2 says just turn it up and check at what engine side the tdc mark is. If on the good side installing pointer will do the trick alright

 

thanx for all the info. it will definatley help me to work something out.