My SBC is driving me nuts. I pulled the distributor to pre oil the engine ( it has sat for a while). I put it all back together and fired it up. Runs okay, no popping etc. But I can’t find the timing mark with my timing light. I can swing the distributor 2 inches in either direction and still it’s not there. There is no backfiring at all. So dumb question is, can I be a tooth off? It amazes me, that once you pass that big 70, how much mechanical stuff goes “lost in the ozone” in your memory.
I am on the correct plug wire and I doubt the balancer has slipped. It was running fine before. It just sat for a long time. After I put the distributor in, it just fired up right away. And yes, the vacuum advance is disconnected. I even tried hooking the vacuum advance back up to see if I could see the light, to no avail. There is little room to see the whole balancer which is making this less fun
Were you ever able to time this particular engine with that timing light? If this is the first time using a light on this engine, you may have the wrong combination of balancer and timing tag.
There are some engines used in vans, and maybe a few other things, that have the timing mark at the top, instead of around 45 degrees. If there is a mismatch, then that's where it would likely be. If you can't see "up there", maybe put another mark on the damper, about 45 degrees to the right of the real one, see if you can see that one with the light. or try the light on all the plug wires, until you find one that shows the mark? then try to figured out what's going on
I never had a problem with the light before. The engine has been in the car for at least 20 years . I’m going to borrow somebody else’s timing light just to make sure. There is absolutely no logic to what is going on, so I’m sure it’s something very minor, very stupid, and staring me right in the face.
It is an adjustable timing light, and probably imported garbage. The advance dial says it’s off. At this point, I’m thinking the timing light might be the issue, and trying to find somebody close that I can borrow another one from to check it.
Had a similar problem with the 312 in my T-Bird when I first got it. With the timing light connected to number 1 (furthest forward cylinder, right?) I never could see the timing mark. I resorted to a vacuum gauge to time the engine. A couple of years later I was reading a service manual and noticed that on a Y block, the number one cylinder isn't the furthest forward cylinder. I went out and connected my light to the correct number 1 cylinder on the opposite bank and the timing mark came out of hiding.
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