The label under the hood of my 5.0 4bbl LG4 says that for an automatic it should be 0* @500 (D)

My question is on the (D) part. Do I have someone stand on the brake or jack the car up? Also, why does it need to be in drive anyway?

 

It shouldn't matter if it's in gear or not. Once that timing connector behind the distributor it disconnected all computer supplied timing is eliminated completely regardless of gear or RPM.

I believe you are looking at 2 different specs. One for timing and one for recommended idle speed once you're done setting the timing (500 in drive).

 

That makes much more sense, thank you

One other thing, how many degrees is each notch on the mark? Are they 2* each?

 

The bottom of the big V is 0*. The tip of the next V CCW (to the left as viewed from the front of the motor) is 4* BTDC. The bottom of the next V is 6*. The next tip is 8* and so on, 2* at a time, trough to tip.

Do a search and you'll find a picture of the markings for the timing tab.

Only 0-4* is a little odd becuase they put 0* at the bottom of a deep V. From 4* BTDC on up it's 2* at a time from every tip to every trough.