TDC (Top Dead Center) is marked with zero. You want to time it to 8-10 degrees below TDC.

 

An old fashioned way, a old mechanic told me was to hook up a spark plug to the number one wire, and put the #1 cyliner on TDC, then turn the dizzy til the spark plug sparks. That is top dead center.

 

Okay When i turn the Dizzy it does not move the marks on the balancer. My timing light doesnt seem to be working at all. At least no light comes from it.

 

Its gotta be running to use a timing light.

Pull #1 spark plug
Have someone hit the starter or jump the solenoid while your finger is over the pulg hole. you will feel airpressure against your finger when the piston is at TDC, run it over a few times untill you get the rythim and shut it off when its about to push the air.
Align the mark on the balancer so its at 0
That should be TDC on the compression stroke. TDC is when the piston is at the top of the bore, not moving up or down.
Check to make sure the rotor is pointing at #1 plug wire. It could be directly across from it, that is 180 degrees off.

Does that make sense?

 

Make sure you have the light hooked up right, and the engine running. The green wire goes to the #1 plug, the red goes to the positive pole on the battery, and the black one goes to the negative pole. You can see that the green connection has a coiled wire attached to it. Make sure you have the spark plug wire and the plug attached to it.

 

You guys know that i am trying to start the thing right? it wont start. I think i might be 180 off. My marks that i made line up though(marks on the dizzy)

 

Did you pull the distributor? Did you remove any wires? If you didnt dont worry about the timing...

answers?

 

Well i swapped the manifold and the carb out. so i took the dizzy out, changed the wires, and the plugs(they are gapped right) When i go to TDC the rotor points in the wrong direction. 180* Wrong i guess. I marked the Dizzy so that i wouldnt have timing problems but that didnt work. Tomorrow i guess i should try to put the dizzy in the right way.????

 

Do you have pertronix or points? At any rate, be sure to check all connections to the coil. Also, you may have a burned coil and/or wires relating to it. Get a multi-meter and check all voltage to the dizzy. Coils are expensive, so make sure that is the culprit before replacing it.

 

I got a multimeter the other day brb!