i just need to know which way to turn the distributor to retard the timing?

say the hookup for the tach and power was facing the drivers side of the car.. would i move the disributor clockwise(towards the carb) or counter clock wise(toward the firewall)

please help...

i tried to start up my enginefor break in...i replaced the cam and intake and carb...

i got it to pop a few times for like 1/2 a sec and that was it...


also i probebly cranked it like a total of 1-2min (between 5-20 sec at a time) tring to get it to fire... would that have done anything to the cam?? i used alot of cam lube on the cam and lifters... and the rockers i left alittle looser than they are normally suposed to be...


this is pissen me off... i'm going to totally start over on the distrbutor install..


also anyone with an electric oil pressure gauge.. dose it normally rise when just cranking?? or does the car actually have to be running to get the gauge to rise?

Hey there, fellow Illini, First of all to retard the timing, turn the dist clockwise. Secondly, make sure you're getting gas... maybe a few drops down the carb will help. Third, don't worry about your camshaft until the engine fires and stays running. That's when you need to keep the rpms up for cam break-in.
And last... take you're time, be patient, you may have overlooked something. Also, make certain (as you already mentioned) that you have dropped the dist in correctly.
Post how it goes. Good Luck.

[This message has been edited by jeff81 (edited March 27, 2005).]

Clockwise retards the timing.

Are you trying to do this by yourself or do you have any help? You should work the timing light while a buddy cranks the engine. Anyone can crank the engine....your mother, your brain dead neighbor, etc.

Triple check the plug wires to make sure they follow the firing order, 18436572. Everyone who has messes with these engines screws up the wiring at one time or another. Check the 5-7 wires ten times if you have to, these are the most commonly crossed ones.

I wouldn't worry about the cam. Nobody can tell you with 100% certainty, so try not to fret about it. After it fires run it a good 20 - 25 minutes at 2,500 rpm or so and you will be fine.

In my experience when the engine fails to fire there is not enough timing. Leave the distributor loose enough to turn it while your friend cranks it. Advance the timing while he is cranking and you should hear it cough to life.

Sometimes you won't be able to rotate the distributor far enough because of plug wire length or the vacuum advance canister hits on the intake. In this case you are just one or two teeth off on the ditributor. yank it, make the adjustment and re-install.

As you look down on top of the distributor rotate it clockwise to retard. I bought a $4 spark tester, put it line with the #1 plug, go to TDC on #1, align your timing tab/harmonic balance to 6-10 advance then rotate the distributor back and forth with the ignition on. When the light flickers, I'm pretty close on timing. This will also tell you if you are a notch off with the distributor.

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79 Z28 Bought new, honeymoon ride, same wife, same car.

i pre filled the fuel bowls so i know there is gas.. i know the wires are right.. at first i couldnt get it to start... only to find out i had the distributor in 180* out so i just switched all the plug wires to the one right across from eachother.. and they are in the right order...

i gapped my plugs at .040 should i open them up to .045?(im gonna run nitrous so i didnt wanna regap the plugs)


the last 2 engines i did started easy.. i put the balancer on 8* and dropped the distributor in dead up on #1 post.. and they started right up...

i think i'm gonna go through it and start from square one... might save myself from a bigger headache insted of trying to track everything down

<font face="Arial,Verdana" size="2">Originally posted by 1981coupe400ci:
... only to find out i had the distributor in 180* out so i just switched all the plug wires to the one right across from eachother.. and they are in the right order... </font>


Well Sonofabitch!! I put my distributor 180 out dy accident the other day and NEVER thought to just switch the wires, instead of fighting with it for 20 minutes. Keep It Simple Stupid i guess LOL.

If you are 180 out you can also just remove the the rotor and install it facing the other direction. HEI rotors have a notch in one side so it will only install one way.....but five seconds with a dremel tool will fix that.

Mike - Hope you guys remember all the swapping, switching, and fenageling you did to get to get the timing right, could be real fun the next time a distributor got pulled http://www.nastyz28.com/ubb/smile.gif Us senile old farts have a hard enough time remembering the correct way, much less keepin up with switching plug wires.

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79 Z28 Bought new, honeymoon ride, same wife, same car.

aah pssh it aint THAT hard to pull the distributor out and put it back down 180 degrees.... hheheh I have a funny story though.. we did a distributor swap in engine class- couldnt get it to start! figured we must be 180 out, swap it around, still wouldnt start!

so, we took the distributor back out completely, found tdc on #1 again, put the distributor back in... and remembered to plug in the battery wires ^_^

good times, good times.

<font face="Arial,Verdana" size="2">Originally posted by Skaal-tel 79:
aah pssh it aint THAT hard to pull the distributor out and put it back down 180 degrees.... hheheh I have a funny story though.. we did a distributor swap in engine class- couldnt get it to start! figured we must be 180 out, swap it around, still wouldnt start!

so, we took the distributor back out completely, found tdc on #1 again, put the distributor back in... and remembered to plug in the battery wires ^_^

good times, good times.</font>

its hard to do when its in an S-10 if it was in a camaro it would take like 30 seconds to pull it out... i have to pull the carb... then take the cap and wires off.. then the rotor.. then and wires on the fire wall... THEN i can JUST get the distributor pulled up and out


i had to change our well pump today so i didnt get to mess with it... guess tomorrow i'll do what i can to get it going...


the sad thing is.. once i get everyhting setup and get it all broke in i gotta pull the distributor and set it all back up again with a "MSD" box and standard(small cap) magnetic pickup distributor

[This message has been edited by 1981coupe400ci (edited March 29, 2005).]