and to check the total advance I need an advance timing light or some of the tape you talked about...in either case if I set the initial timing at 8 then if the advance goes to 30 I should be good to go?....and that's at idle?
Set the initial timing to 8. Then either use an advance timing light and set it to 22 then run the engine up to 3200 RPM. The timing mark should be at 0 then.
Or if you get the tape set the timing to 8 then run it to 3200 rpm then see if the timing mark is on 30.
On the timing light that's how mine works. Yours instructions might differ a little but that's the concept.
I have the one made by actron that has the digital display on it.
so I set the base timing so that when I remove the bypass it advances to 8before....then I ran the revs up until the timing returned to 0...checked the advance and it was at about 22....I reached that advance at about 2500 rpm...then I took the boat for a run...everything works good but I'm only getting 3200 at the top...the spec for the motor is 4200-4600 so I've still lost my top end...am I still doing it incorrectly?
No, if he sets the timing light to 30 the mark should be at 0 at 3200 rpm. Here's the easy way.
distributor loose, and in regular run mode. Start it up with your timing light set to 30. Run it up to 3200 rpm and rotate your distributor till the mark is on zero. Done! tighten the distributor and test. If your distributor is in the correct advance mode when you check your base timing at idle it should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 8. Give or take.
Is this different with a points dist vs this delco one?
I was told to do it on my IGN (which is a points dist) the way I described.
On mine Im aiming for 29 degrees at 3K RPM and 8 degrees initial. When I put my timing light in advance mode and set it to 21 it shows at 0 on the timing marks.
forget about the 22, set the initial to 8 in bypass,this will give you 30 total with bypas un hooked . simple, fool proof, you are making a mountian out of a molehill.if you want to check the total set the light to 30, rev to 3200 it will read 0
lots of lively discussion on my behalf...thank you gents...I think where I'm getting hung up mostly is that the instructions I have with the distr kit tell me not to do it that way....and in any of the three base timing settings they recommend maximum advance is reached somewhere between 2400 and 2800 rpm with max advance of from 21-28 based on which intital setting is used in bypass....I'm hearing differently from you....I bought the kit online...maybe I rec'd the wrong instructions?...I've been looking for some specs for the engine online but haven't had much luck
I think everyone is getting caught up in symantics, and different methodology to acomplish the same thing. Timing an engine with the right equiptment is one of the simplest procedures.
Shadbay, just put the dist in base timing mode. With your timing light set to 0 advance set the timing at your OEM base timing (I think 8 degrees was mentioned) using the marks on the timing cover. Your timing is now set. Put your dist into run mode. Now if you want to check your advance run the engine up to the specified rpm, and adjust your timing light until the mark goes to 0 on the timing cover plate. Read your timing light, and that is your total advance. If it is incorrect change the distributor setting and retest. Once your base timing is set you should not have to touch that. Just get your dist into the right mode for the specified advance for the engine.
Base timing, and total advance shouldn't be any different no matter what distributor is in the engine. 28-30 degrees is usually a good number for a small block.
