Baffling timing issue...

I finally got a decent know-it-all (actually named "short for Richard") to help me figure out why I could not get the timing set on the '67 f-head. Apparently, a brilliant PO had installed the distributor at 180 degrees offset (upside down basically). So "short for Richard" explained that the motor was thinking the #4 cyl was the #1 cyl. How it ran at all amazes me. We pulled the dist. and installed it the correct direction and it seems to run 1000 times better now. But, I still have to finish the brakes before a true road test.

Has anyone ever heard of anything like this before?

 

Yep, BTDT on the V6.

 

I have actually tred that once. The result was energetic backfiring! I find it is just better to bring #1 up to TDC on the compression stroke and then stick the distributer where you would like it. Minding of coarse the correct foring order from there!

-Hill

 

Yep. Another big thanks to the PO. I wouldn't have minded if I had actually done it wrong. Then I could have just said "my bad". But trying to figure out someone else's mistakes are a pain. The worst part was how hard it was to remove the dist. It was quite rusted to the block. Thanks to some Gibbs lube and a little patience (and a couple frosty beverages), we were finally able to remove the dist. and put it back in right. I can't even imaging how long that it ran like crap before I bought it.

 

umm... on the four cylinder couldn't you have just moved the wires over to get the timing right?? no removal of the distributor required if i'm thinking right

 

BTDT and it blew a big hole in the muffler when she back fired. Boy was she ever ticked off at us messing with her timing.