what is involved in adjusting the timing

 

Adjusting the timing, well, You need to get a timing light, of you want to do it right, but to do it by ear you have to loosen the distributor hold down clamp and then rotate the distributor. clockwise is advance, counter clockwise is retarded.

 

can i hurt anything by doing that or will i get shocked

 

just keep away from the fan, and grasp the distributor by the metal part, below the plastic cap.

 

Something else, you only want to move the dist about an 1/8" at a time. Best to set your timing while drivibg around too, that way you know when it's running best. That's how I had to do it anyway, runs like a champ, and still don't know the #'s it's showing. Don't care, it's running the best it ever has.

 

i'd have to go with coop on that one, i adjusted my ignition that way too, and the weird thing is that it runs great now, but when i hook up the lamp, it shows 20-25 degrees advanced.... it should only have about 6 in the book.... go figure.

 

Then the pointer on the timing cover is not in the right place. If it is, then it should run great at 8-10 degrees BTDC. But, I'm wih you guys.....I time mine with the light first, then tweak it with my ear. Then I take it out and floor board it. If it pings, I back off (retard) it just a tad.