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The adventures of "figuring out what bubba did" continues! I bought this 81 vette a few weeks ago and have been digging into what it is (guy said it was a 383 from a 350 but it's actually a small journal 327). Anyway, on today's episode, how am I supposed to set the timing with the balancer only having one mark AND the timing cover only having one mark? The marks do at least line up to 0TDC so that's good. I tried putting timing tape on it but it just won't stick. I don't really want to replace the balance since this is a small journal 327 which normally don't have bolts holding the balancer on, but this car does and I have no idea if the crank is aftermarket or was just drilled out and don't really wanna touch it just yet. Will one of those "bolt onto the timing cover" timing tabs work? Are there different ones?
Wipe the balancer with acetone........stick the timing tape on and then dab the four corners with clear nail polish.......
That is a weird pointer or the photo is lying to me......
Wipe the balancer with acetone........stick the timing tape on and then dab the four corners with clear nail polish.......
That is a weird pointer or the photo is lying to me......
No timing light or timing tape is going to help you here. You don't know where TDC is, you don't know what that nail represents and you aren't even sure if that's the correct balancer. A bolt on timing tab will help but good luck getting at the timing cover bolts.
To fix this correctly, you need a piston stop. That, threads into number one sparkplug hole. Then you need to turn the crank over by hand in both directions until the piston stops. A detailed step by step procedure is likely on YouTube to help you remedy this issue. You have to have reliable reference marks for proper tuning now and in the future.
A piece of tape and a finishing nail isn't going to cut it.
Last edited by HeadsU.P.; Sep 2, 2018 at 05:43 PM.
Find TDC and add a proper bolt on timing tab. Mark balancer at zero and at 36 degrees with a black sharpie. A cloth tape measure wrapped around the balancer to measure the circumference will help. Divide circumference measurement by 10 to find distance to the 36 degree mark.
Timing help
