LUVTruck.com

I've been helping out with a cam replacement in a smallblock 350. The cam is a Crane cam P/N 967601. In the instructions, it references to set the ignition timing to manufactuers specs but for some reason, it only runs if the timing reads about 45 degrees ATDC. I can only think that the distributor is mis-stabbed. I wasn't there when the distributor was installed but the motor runs pretty good and it will restart easily so the owner wants to leave things alone. I on the other hand want to get an accurate timing reading for baseline settings.
If anyone wants to throw any solid numbers out for inittial timing setting, I'd like to hear them. I'll print them out and try to convince the owner to go deeper in to tuning the engine.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Damn.. almost sounds like the timing light is hooked to the wrong wire....

I have no freakin clue... sorry

if a distributor is 180* out (the only other way to drop it in) the motor may or may not crank over but it will not fire and will probly shoot flame out the carb. I would just make shure your hooking the inductive pickup for the timing light onto #1.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

There were 3 of us dealing with the problem. All 3 of us made sure that we were reading spark from #1. After sleeping on it, i started to think that the motor has the wrong balancer on it. The balancer is a smaller diameter unit that runs about 1/2 an inch below the timing tab. I just assumed that the owner bought the wrong tab. As long as we could get a reference point for ignition timing, adjustments can be made. I'm not one for "Tuning by ear."
The next day at work, I was talking to the guy that sold the motor and he stated that the motor might have the wrong balancer on it. He has about 3 motors in various levels of repair and the idea of getting balancers mixed up seems easy.

_________________
Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.