New distributor TDC help

[Raul_C4]

Had my motor rebuilt and put back in car . Not that it took some in and out I finally got the distributor to seat properly !
But I noticed that the rotor is facing 2 o'clock if you're facing the windshield and I know how you want it to face the #1 piston at TDC.. well since I'm at 2 o'clock what do i do to get my distributor set up right ? Everything is brand new so I don't have any markings to go off . Any help is greatly help

 

[forrest]

Had my motor rebuilt and put back in car . Not that it took some in and out I finally got the distributor to seat properly !
But I noticed that the rotor is facing 2 o'clock if you're facing the windshield and I know how you want it to face the #1 piston at TDC.. well since I'm at 2 o'clock what do i do to get my distributor set up right ? Everything is brand new so I don't have any markings to go off . Any help is greatly help

If you feel you have everything is good (Wire 1 is in it's correct place and so on)but just a little misaligned, take the hold down clamp out of the way carefully raise up the Distributor until the it's free of cam turn the rotor just a little, your just trying to catch the tooth in the direction you want to correct to. If it doesn't allow you to fully seat your hanging up on the oil pump drive give a shake on the Dist. and Rotor usually if your only moving a tooth at a time you can usually shake it in. if not pull the Dist. get long Screwdriver and turn the pump drive the little bit needed.

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Had my motor rebuilt and put back in car . Not that it took some in and out I finally got the distributor to seat properly !
But I noticed that the rotor is facing 2 o'clock if you're facing the windshield and I know how you want it to face the #1 piston at TDC.. well since I'm at 2 o'clock what do i do to get my distributor set up right ? Everything is brand new so I don't have any markings to go off . Any help is greatly help

It makes no difference where the rotor is pointing as long as the plug wires are oriented accordingly. Make sure the #1 piston is at TDC on the compression stroke and not the exhaust stroke.

 

[Raul_C4]

It makes no difference where the rotor is pointing as long as the plug wires are oriented accordingly. Make sure the #1 piston is at TDC on the compression stroke and not the exhaust stroke.

Thank you and what would be a way to go about making sure it's at compression TDC ? The balancer doesn't have any markings so I'm at the mercy of the engine builders

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Thank you and what would be a way to go about making sure it's at compression TDC ? The balancer doesn't have any markings so I'm at the mercy of the engine builders

Remove the valve cover and make sure both intake and exhaust valves are closed.

 

[forrest]

Remove the valve cover and make sure both intake and exhaust valves are closed.

Remove Dist. cap & #1 plug stick your finger over the plug hole have someone tap the starter. when compression blows your finger away your starting your compression stroke at this point get a socket on the crank pulley or bump starter until timing mark on the crank lines up, or piston is at the top of it's arch. if you were anywhere close before the rotor should be pointing toward Left Front in a perfect world if not it needs to move there, and make sure wires are configured rite.

How to Install A distributor in a SBC - YouTube

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

if you were anywhere close before the rotor should be pointing toward Left Front in a perfect world if not it needs to move there, and make sure wires are configured rite.

False. Why confuse the issue?

 

[forrest]

False. Why confuse the issue?

I'm confusing you want to make a another Cylinder#1 and the Next poor bastard who doesn't Know that #5 equals #1 or some other plug.

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

I'm confusing you want to make a another Cylinder#1 and the Next poor bastard who doesn't Know that #5 equals #1 or some other plug.

I'm talking about the need to have the rotor point at cyl #1, nothing else. Very few people know or care how GM set up the rotor orientation at the factory. Even fewer people know that the rotor position changed at least twice over the years and that in many of those years Corvette was different from other Chevs.

 

[DonB]

Well I will stir the pot a little.... We've always set SBC to have #1 cylinder at TDC and the rotor pointing toward the #1(left front) cylinder and orient the wire(on the cap) to be there(pointing to left front position) on the dist. cap. It is really just for uniformity. This comes in especially handy when the spark plug wires are concealed. On my Vette I number the boots of the wires on both ends and #1 on the cap. If you don't know the firing order from there you shouldn't be under the distributor cover!

You can make any position on the cap #1, just so the #1 cylinder is at TDC and the rotor is directing the spark to the position you have the #1 cylinder spark plug wire at. Then making sure the firing order and rotation on the distributor is correct.

Actually almost all V-8 engines use the same cylinder firing rotation pattern. Some manufacturers, like Ford, just number the cylinders differently(go figure!..) It is a well balanced rotation.

Raul, follow forrest's link.

 

[Hot Rod Roy]

Everything is brand new so I don't have any markings to go off.

Are you saying there are no timing marks on your harmonic damper? I don't think I can believe that. The link in post #6 is the right way to do it. Yes, the engine can be made to run if the rotor is in the wrong orientation, but why be so lazy that you do it wrong? That will also make it very hard to get the spark plug wires to fit properly, unless you like a sloppy looking engine compartment, with the plug wires running all over the top of the engine!
That might be okay in a race car, where getting the car back on the track ASAP is important, but most Corvette owners like a tidy looking engine. Why identify yourself as a lazy, sloppy mechanic?

:ugh

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

That will also make it very hard to get the spark plug wires to fit properly, unless you like a sloppy looking engine compartment, with the plug wires running all over the top of the engine!

Why would this cause the wires to run all over the engine? Irrespective of which tower is called #1, all the wires fit neatly inside the shielding. There's some configurations that actually look 'tidier' than using any of the factory settings.

Here's how it was done on Impalas. I don't recall wires running all over the place.

 

[Hot Rod Roy]

View attachment 23145

Vettehhead, I like your diagram, but that doesn't agree with your statement that the #1 wire can be anyplace, and the wiring will still come out clean. Looking at your Impala diagram, with #1 "pointing" at spark plug #2, the wire for #1 crosses over the centerline of the distributor on its way to plug #1. The wires for #8 & #4 would be okay, since they go to the right (pass.) side head. #3 would cross over the c/l to the left (driver) side, and #6 would cross over the the right head. Wires #5 & #7 would be okay. Wire #2 would also cross over. So that's FOUR wires that would need to cross over.

If you put #1 at what you show as the #3 position, you get a real mess. Try it yourself!

If you put #1 at what you show as the #2 position, which is AS IT SHOULD BE, you will find there are only TWO wires that need to cross over! Wires #4, 6 and 8 will go to the right head (clean!), and wires #1, 5, and 7 will go to the left head (clean!).

If you want a sanitary installation, the wire lengths should be predictable, and if you don't do it right, some wires will be too short, so they won't fit around the back of the heads!

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Just for grins and giggles, here's the factory arrangement for some Camaros and Firebirds

 

[Hot Rod Roy]

Just for grins and giggles, here's the factory arrangement for some Camaros and Firebirds

View attachment 23158

Boy, does that give me the giggles!!! Counterclockwise??? What does that have to do with an L98 Corvette??? As they say, "Don't try this at home, folks"!!!

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

The point was to illustrate again that the rotor does NOT need to be oriented towards #1 cyl. There's eight ways of skinning a cat in this case.

If the OP is still following along hopefully he understands that he can choose to use the distributor as-is, or remove it partially to walk the rotor to whatever position he likes.

 

[DonB]

Sorry, but your arguments haven't proved anything. There's one right way, and seven wrong ways to do it! The point that you have illustrated to a bunch of people on this forum is that you don't care about attention to detail.

Even the video missed a detail. They forgot to install a gasket between the dist. and the intake manifold.

End of my discussion.

:eyerole

I noticed the omition of the dist. gasket too. I didn't want to be the Elephant in the room.

 

[forrest]

I noticed the omition of the dist. gasket too. I didn't want to be the Elephant in the room.

The gasket is there check min. 2.15 and 4.10 As for the debate for where #1 should be Habit put it L. front by the Plenum cover screw the wire retainer clamp on top of Distributor confirms it in my book, the factory ones plug wires numbers are molded into it.

 

[Hot Rod Roy]

The point was to illustrate again that the rotor does NOT need to be oriented towards #1 cyl. There's eight ways of skinning a cat in this case.

Sorry, but your arguments haven't proved anything. There's one right way, and seven wrong ways to do it! The point that you have illustrated to a bunch of people on this forum is that you don't care about attention to detail. It's so easy to do it right, why do it wrong?

Even the video missed a detail. They forgot to install a gasket between the dist. and the intake manifold.

End of my discussion.

:eyerole

 

[Hot Rod Roy]

The gasket is there check min. 2.15 and 4.10

My mistake. The gasket IS there! Had to look quick!