86 TPI 305 Car runs at -18 BTDC and I cant turn distributor anymore because plenum is in way. I had the distributor out to replace intake manifold gasket and turned the crank to set valve lash. So I set crank mark at zero and put the distributor in. it pointed between 1 & 8. The car seems to run ok but I cant set it to the -6 BTDC spec. The distributor will not turn anymore because the bump for the tach and battery wires hits my plenum. -18 BTDC is as close as I can get. I had the tan / black wire disconnected like i was supposed to. Im not sure if #1 was on the compression cycle when i set the crank marker to zero, could this be my problem? Why is it doing this and what will get it to work.

 

set #1 to TDC on compressio nstroke, pull the distributor, set rotor to point to #1 post on cap,look at where the drive end of the distributor engages the oil pump drive shaft and where it lines up, take long screw driver and set oil pump drive shaft to same position and reinstall distributor

 

Yea, what he said! Redo it, you sound a tooth off. I cheat and use an old cap to line up everything perfectly.

 

Got it!!! I was putting the distributor in the wrong way before. The tach and battery wires were not long enough or acsessable enough to get it into the right place so i soldered extra wires to them from a junk wire harness. Now everything is easy to move and get to. In this round of repairs I had replaced the intake manifold gasket, ported the plenum, installed new injectors, adjusted valve lash, put in new adjustable fuel pressure regulator and put a new brass cap and rotor on. The clicking noise is gone, it runs smoother and it rumbles even better than ever. Cant wait till I get a chance to drive it!
Thanks again
:lala:

 

There is no such thing.