Finding 36 degrees BTDC

[@luispina4012]

👍👍

[@hughobrien4139]

Perfect directions. Being in the automotive machining business for over 30 years this subject has caused much grief for many people and it’s disheartening to witness when it goes south because of this simple missed step. I’ve had to leave the shop numerous times after trying to explain this over the phone. I’ve even had customers state that this is over the top and not completely necessary. The most important point you drive is making the marks permanent by cutting a groove in the balancer so that the mark can not be removed. I’ve made this mistake once by just neatly painting the proven timing mark on the dampener. A mechanic noticed the original mark that was about 15 degrees off and took it upon himself to remove the painted on mark at set timing off of the groove. To make matters worse the new remanufactured distributor ended up having extremely worn mechanical advance plates and pins allowing the timing to advance way over what it should. My light showed about 45 degrees of advance when the problem made it back to my shop. At full advance the engine was actually 60-65 degrees. The mechanic advance springs were also allowing this advance to take place at very low rpm. It made city driving a nightmare for the owner. What made it worse is that the reference mark made by positive stop was nowhere to be found. Doing this job in a fully restored vehicle made it into and overrated experience. Cranking a fully assembled engine by hand in the car up against a positive stop isn’t recommended. I literally painted myself into that corner. Learned a lesson then and there. Wasn’t like i didn’t own a milling machine and rotary table to do the job right the first time….. It makes it a huge struggle to diagnose ignition timing issues when the timing reference is not proven. It’s all a big question in this situation. Timing it by ear doesn’t work when everything is not like it should be. Nice information!

[@NoCarLeftBehind]

Thank you for the kind words! Most people don't realize how much power, mileage, and drivability they are potentially leaving on the table by not knowing for sure where the timing is exactly. I've set the timing by the marks numerous times and the car ran horrible because the marks were wrong. I won't be fooled again. Thanks for watching!

[@stevea6722]

Excellent. There are websites that will let you print a timing tape for your damper. Glue it on after checking the accuracy of TDC mark, and cover with satin clear. Done deal.

[@NoCarLeftBehind]

That's a great idea! Thanks for watching!

[@Paveyhill]

Great information!❤

[@Null-h6c]

you need tdc range in degrees .

[@NoCarLeftBehind]

Hi Null. Most timing markers have before and after 10 to 15 degrees. This just picks up where they leave off. Thank you for watching!