So, I checked my timing, and it's off by A LOT. It seems to be a full eigth turn of the crank early, so I'm assuming it's not actually that the timing is off, but that something was installed incorrectly. This car (86 Camaro) has a mysterious past. 305 engine, edelbrock carb and manifold, 350 valve covers, computer completely disconnected - in other words, someone was really messing with it before I got it.

So, what would cause the timinig to be off by that far? On top of that, all the cables are connected to the alternator one eigth over. In other words, the cable for the first piston is plugged in to the connection one to the left of where it should be, and so on. I tried fixing this (shifting them all to the right) , and the engine wouldn't start.

So, what could be going on here?

 

A stock crank damper and an aftermarket timing pointer. Although that wouldn't cause the timing ITSELF to be off; just the indication you see with a light.

 

The timing pointer appears to be original. The crank damper also appears to be original, but I could not be as sure about that because access is limited to it.

 

It's possible that someone removed the distributor and then replaced it a tooth or two off, then compensated for it by moving the plug wires, and you have the timing light connected to the wrong wire if you're connecting the timing light to the #1 wire at the dissy.

 

What Street said! if the current setup bothers you then just pull the distributor and reinstall in the correct position and redo the plug wire placement. As long as the timing light and actual timing are correct, plug wire placement is only important for the sake of consistency (and is highly advised).

 

I guess what I still don't understand is why the timing light is off by one piston. The timing light is still connected to the first piston, so even if the distributor was installed improperly, the first piston should still be firing when the notch in the damper is at the top, unless it was removed and installed incorrectly as well. I don't think that the damper was replaced though, because it looks just as weathered as the rest of the original equipment.

 

The problem isn't the TIMING, it's the INDICATION.

One way or another, the mark is off.

Assuming you have a correct set of matched parts (which it doesn't sound like you really know that for sure), another possibility is that the outer ring of the damper has slipped. Which is incredibly common; since that part isn't actually "attached" to the center, it's merely loosely associated with the center by a blob of spooge. Which tears loose all the time.

Bottom line is, forget about the damn light; just set the timing to where the engine runs the best. Use the light to just figure out where that is so you can put it back wherever it was before if you ever mess it up in the future. And even THAT is only valid if the blob of spooge doesn't let it slip some more.