I rebuilt the top end of my '88 305 TPI motor. being a former 2nd gen owner, I set the balancer to 0 degree's with #1 at TDC and dropped dist in with rotor pointing at #1.....

now i see an article in new Car Craft,where they rebuilt a vette L98 and had drivability issues, and the fix is the dist was dropped in incorrectly. the article stated how balancer should be at 6 degree's BTDC and then drop dist in with rotor pointing at #1.

which is correct??

I'd like to find out before i finish reassembling my motor since I have great access to Dist right now.

 

Even with the timing mark at 6 deg they would still be on the same tooth of the dist gears. I think someone was looking for a lame excuse, or smoking crack. You just need to get VERY close cuz you'll be setting the timing with a light right after you fire it up. I forget exactly how many teeth on the dist. gear but if you divide 360 by that number, you'll get the degrees for each tooth.

However, it is always a good idea to make sure the dampener timing mark is exactly at TDC. This way when you set 6 deg you know that you actually have 6 deg. I have seen older dampeners be off a few degrees.