86z.28

I have a 86 305 thats been bored .030 over I have the edelbrock performer intake holley 650 double pumper carburetor and the summit 1103 cam. I got it to run for like 15 secs with it set on the timing tab 16 before top dead center I've 12 8 and 4 and 0 still out of time but I can't get my rotor button to point at the number 1 cylinder I get it close everytime but still nothing any help would be appreciated

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Eff "mark" and "numbers". PUT DOWN YOUR "LIGHT" AND FORGET IT EXISTS.

Find #1 TDC by way of observing the piston somehow; for example, a tie-wrap in the spark plug hole. Mark a mark on the damper that lines up with "0". Have your assistant bump the motor until you feel compression in the #1 plug hole, then continue to BUMP it until your NEW mark is just about to reach the timing tab. Pull the dist out, including the cap, then take off the cap. (leave the plug wires in the car) Look down in the hole at the oil pump drive rod, and align it to about 45° from straight front-rear. Hold the dist in the correct position, which would be with the vac adv can on the pass side at about a 45° angle toward the front. Point the rotor about 15° toward the front from straight to the driver's side. Drop the dist in; as it engages the gear it will rotate, keep dropping until it engages the pump rod and goes all the way in. When fully installed the rotor will be pointing about 30° to the driver's side from straight ahead. (will have rotated about 60°). Install and tighten the clamp, leaving it tight enough to hold the dist still but just loose enough to where you can still move it. Observe the "star wheel" teeth in the dist, and rotate the dist body a small amount until they just line up, then rotate the dist body about 15° (call it, 1/16 turn) clockwise from there. Install the cap. Install the plug wires: #1 will be the one of the 2 in the very front just to the driver's side of straight ahead, and of course, in the firing order going clockwise, 18436572. Connect the power and tach wires. Give the carb acoupla shots of fuel with the accel pump. Reach in the window and touch the key, and it will start RIGHT UP. Don't "set the timing", and ABOVE ALL, DO NOT look up some "spec" in some "book" and hallucinate that it will somehow magically be "right" for your engine. Instead, DRIVE THE CAR and see how it runs. Advance it until it pings, then back it off til it quits, for a beginning baseline. (won't be "right" but will give you a rough idea of where to start from)

After you drive it around a bit, keep adjusting it in small increments until it's as good as it gets. "Good" will consist of some combination of snappy throttle response, cool running temp, gas mileage, no pinging, max power, and whatever else is important to you. ("book" has no knowledge of either YOUR engine or YOUR preferences) The process goes like this:

Drive it. Take notes. Time it. Run a few laps. Make a few passes. Time a run down your favorite highway stretch. etc. etc. etc.

Adjust it.
Is it better/worse?
Better: adjust it some more the same direction.
Worse: adjust it back to where it was, plus a bit more.

Is it better/worse?
Better: adjust it some more the same direction.
Worse: adjust it back to where it was, plus a bit more.

Is it better/worse?
Better: adjust it some more the same direction.
Worse: adjust it back to where it was, plus a bit more.

Is it better/worse?
Better: adjust it some more the same direction.
Worse: adjust it back to where it was, plus a bit more.

Is it better/worse?
Better: adjust it some more the same direction.
Worse: adjust it back to where it was, plus a bit more.

Is it better/worse?
Better: adjust it some more the same direction.
Worse: adjust it back to where it was, plus a bit more.

Is it better/worse?
Better: adjust it some more the same direction.
Worse: adjust it back to where it was, plus a bit more.

Is it better/worse?
Better: adjust it some more the same direction.
Worse: adjust it back to where it was, plus a bit more.

Is it better/worse?
Better: adjust it some more the same direction.
Worse: adjust it back to where it was, plus a bit more.

Is it better/worse?
Better: adjust it some more the same direction.
Worse: adjust it back to where it was, plus a bit more.

Is it better/worse?
Better: adjust it some more the same direction.
Worse: adjust it back to where it was, plus a bit more.

Eventually you will get it to a point where no further adjustment in either direction makes it "better". This place is where it is RIGHT, or at least, as RIGHT as it can be, given the state of everything else around it. (springs & weights, carb adjustment, gears & converter, etc.)

This process has a name. It is called "tuning".

Remember always, if you will allow me to rip off and paraphrase one of The Great Ones in a completely unrelated field of endeavor:

If it RUNS good, it IS good.

Never forget that. YOUR ENGINE knows what timing is best for IT, FAR better than "book" or "spec" or even YOU know. LISTEN TO IT. It will TELL YOU when it's happy, by running good. This basic fact is so simple it hurts to even think about it, yet people outsmart themselves over it ALL THE TIME. Be smarter than them. Let the engine tell you what it wants, and follow its instructions.

Then once you are finished and it's PERFECT, pick your "light" back up, and look at your "mark"; and write down whatever they say, so that whenever someone not as smart as you DINKS with it, you can put it back where it belongs.