Iam going to be changing out my distributor. This is a first for me. How do you go about doing it. I know you have to put the new one in the same way the old one comes out. If someone could give me pointers I would appreciate it.

Jeff

 

What I do is bring the dampner (on the crank) to number 1. You will verify you are on number one by taking the cap off and seeing the pointer of the rotor. It should be slightly be slightly behind number 1 on the cap. Marking on the intake the rotor postion can help, but as long as the rotor is in the same approximate postion in the new one you'll be good, you can also make a seperate mark to show where the original cap position was, so aside from number one being correct you will start with the timing being close. I would then remove the hold down bolt on intake , 2 small pig tail harnesses from the base, 3 plug ins wires on the top of cap, and the cap. you should be able to remove old one and be ready to install the new one.
Sometimes when placing a distributer in, the oil drive turns and won't allow the distr. to go in all the way. In this event you will have to take a long screwdriver and turn the oil drive inside the block to allign it.
When you are looking at your mark on the intake, start the gear a little before (c.c.w.)it to compensate for the design of the gear. Make sure distr. is flush on the intake, (make sure to not catch any wires between the distr. and intake) don't tighten hold down all the way(snug) attach pig tail wires from the base at this point. Install cap, and twist distrubter to your 'cap mark" and put on all wires.
When you go to crank it you may have to twist on the distr. a little to get it to fire, if you are close to your original mark you may not have too, but regardless it should be re-timed after it is at OT. I think that about covers it.

 

I have not changed a distributor, but I did have to remove mine and reinstall when I did my intake swap.

The first thing I did was to turn my engine to top dead center. I did this with a socket wrench on the crank pully nut. I removed the distributor cap and noted where the #1 spark plug wire was connected on it. I then rotated the engine by hand until the rotor was pointing at the #1 plug connect point and the timing mark was at 0 degrees like this:



Then I took a piece of masking tape and marked on the distributor where the rotor was pointing like this:



Then I took several photos of me lifting the distributor the first inch or two showing how the distributor and rotor shift as the gears disengage.

Hope this helps!

 

Nice pics of the timing mark. One comment though. I'd suggest putting the mark on the engine and not the distributor. The distributor can rotate many degrees in both directions so the rotor could end up in the wrong position. If you notice, the rotor is pointed toward the "G" and the "3" on the intake manifold. This is a better place to put a mark in your case. But could be a little different on another car depending on if you have already pulled up on the distributor when you were taking the pic. The rotor rotates counterclockwise as the distributor is removed so also marking where the rotor stops turning on the engine or intake manifold when removing the distributor is helpful especially for someone who has never done this before. Keep in mind that frequently when re-installing the distributor you may get the rotor to almost come to the same point on the mark but stop. You may also find that the distributor base flange is still sitting up a little and not touching the engine. Some guys will remove the distributor and try to rotate the slotted oil pump shaft down in the distributor hole to re-align it so the distributor will drop all the way in and the rotor to line up. If you look at the bottom of the distributor when it's out there is a tang than engages with the oil pump shaft slot. While this does work if you keep trying, it's really not necessary. If you feel that you are almost on the tape mark and the distributor is not all the way down, just bump the starter by momentarily turning the key a few times until it drops. This should engage the oil pump shaft to the distributor. Then bring the rotor around to the original mark on your engine and see if the mark on the pulley is lining up on the timing tab. If they line up you're good to go. If not then you may have to move the distributor a tooth one way or the other until it does line up again with both the tape mark and the timing mark. The only problem with this is it's time consuming and can be frustrating. Be patient and play with it until it lines up. Removing the distributor completely to move the oil pump shaft is not entirely necessary and can be a frustration in itself. You are much better off enlisting the help from someone who has done this before. It makes it much easier to learn how to do this when someone is helping and teaching. This is just my .$.02.

Art

 

As long as you DO NOT rotate the engine there is no need to bring it up to TDC at Number 1. Remove the cap, mark the rotor, mark where the number 1 plug is. As long as you get the orientation of the new distributor the same as the old, just drop it in. When you remove the old distributor watch the rotor rotate, this will help you know how far off of your mark you need to start so the rotor wil align with your mark when it drops into place.

 

The only time it is necessary to bring the the engine to TDC for the #1 cylinder is if you get lost. Like someone "doing you a favor" and cranking the engine over while the distributor is out. I like to orient the rotor in a direction that makes sense, to me, like straight forward or straight back. What ever you do, don't point it at something that is being replaced, like a mark in the intake, when removing the distributor for a manifold swap. It is fine to mark the rotor position on the distributor body, but be sure to mark the distributor body to something, also.

RACE ON!!!