Timing Marks?

[Chiller]

What are these marks for(30-40)? I understand what top dead center is, I have been told that a degree wheel is use to advance a cam during install so I have no idea what these are for.

 

[Crimson Thunder]

So you can check your total timing. I'm not sure but its probably not a stock balancer. It saves you from having to buy a timing light with an advance dial. Rev your engine to about 3000 rpm with the vac advance disconnected. The timing mark should be between 32 and 36 degrees.

 

[lars]

That's correct. The marks, if correctly placed, are for checking total timing without the use of a dial-back timing light. A non-dial-back light tends to be more accurate than a dial-back for checking total timing, but the marks must be correctly placed on the balancer. If you do not know how to set timing correctly (setting timing correctly involves setting total timing - not initial timing), drop me an e-mail request for my "How to Set Timing" tech paper.

Lars
V8FastCars@msn.com

 

[Hib Halverson]

The red mark on the balancer is the TDC mark for #1 cylinder. It is relatively accurate as long as the balancer doesn't have a "spun" outer ring.

The red mark on the chain cover's timing index is at 12° advanced. No doubt, the previous owner, set the initial advance at 12 and used the two red marks to do that. He or she would put the timing light on the index and when the two red marks lined up, the initial advance was set at 12.

The four white marks on the balancer are at 34°, 36°, 38° and 42° and the dark-colored groove is 40° advanced. Looks like someone took the stock balancer off and had a mark machined in the rim at 40° then added additional chalk or paint marks. All those marks were used to set the total advance by, first, disconnecting any vacuum advance, then using a timing light to line up the appropriate mark (34, 36, 38, 40 or 42) with the zero mark on the index.

Clearly, someone was doing some pretty detailed distributor tuning using a timing light and the stock balancer.

 

[JohnZ]

So you can check your total timing. I'm not sure but its probably not a stock balancer. It saves you from having to buy a timing light with an advance dial. Rev your engine to about 3000 rpm with the vac advance disconnected. The timing mark should be between 32 and 36 degrees.

Many stock centrifugal curves don't max out until 5100 rpm; it's best to rev it up until the timing light shows it's not advancing any more to find the point of maximum advance, and work from there to map and develop the curve you want.

 

[Chiller]

Thank you gentlemen.
-Lars , I dropped you a e-mail request. chiller87@hotmail.com

 

[lars]

I don't think I have received an e-mail from you - I don't show your posted e-mail on my outgoing list.

Lars
V8FastCars@msn.com

 

[AGVI]

I don't mean to hijack, I just wanted to say HI! to Lars!!!

Les