the car is a 1986 firebird 305 carb.
im looking for that thing with the saw teeth. i mean i have looked around for 1/2 hour at least and me and my friend just couldn't find anything. is it possible that it is missing or am i just not looking hard enough.

 

At 12 o'clock above the damper.

You have to look between the water pump and timing cover to see it.

 

do i have to be under the car. (please don't laugh this is really making me frustrated).

 

Dude, you may have to go under the car. Yes, it is better that way because while under there you can clean the harmonic balancer. This is where the timing marks are. Get some carb cleaner or brake cleaner and a rag and clean it off. You may want to also use a socket and wrench to turn the engine. Then, get some white chalk and mark your timing at 6 degrees BTC on the damper/harmonic balancer.

 

here are some pics i took. do you think you could circle which part where the timing tab is?

 

Left of the power steering pulley, above the crank pulley off to the dr. side, that's where it is.

 

yeah, its kinda under the water pump and to the right

EDIT: You dont really want to be under the car at all, first off you should be able to find it from above the car, second no matter what you are doing weather its adjusting the valves or adjusting the timing, you cant do either of those from under the car.

 

You can't see it from under the car.

It's not to the right when you look behind the water pump. It's straight below it. '86 used the 12 o'clock timing tab location.

See that heater hose that goes to the top of the water pump in your second photo? You have to look behind and below there. You have to lean way over the bumper (or fender - bumper usually works better) and look down in that space between the water pump and timing cover (which is what I said in my first response). It's tight, there is only a small "window" that allows you to both point the timing light and actually see where it's flashing.

When you do this, make sure your timing light wires don't get close to that spinning AC pulley. Only bad things happen after that. Ask me how I know. . .

 

 

Right.

But that's not where it is on a stock '86.

 

ok i printed off all the info you guys posted ima try tomorrow i think i can. i think i can.

 

If he gets that close he can feel around and find it

 

heres two quick diagrams of the typical mark locations, the first is where Five7kid is saying yours should be, the second is where vetteoz described, it will be in one of those two locations, mounted to the timing cover.(the peice behind the water pump and crank pully)

 

A picture's worth a 1000 words

 

BY GEORGE I'VE FOUND IT!

 

haha good.

 

I'd like to know how he is gonna time the motor and aim the timing gun for the carb application or TPI application because of the timing tab being buried down there?

 

yes, the timing tab is placed in an ungodly spot. to mark the 0 i used plyers clamped onto a tire pressure gauge with a dab of paint on the end to mark it.

 

ha, very creative.