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218 Timing Issues


FmShultz13

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The method I have used is, with the distributor out and held in place in the vice, I install the contact points with the hold down screw snug but not tight  and then turn the shaft until one of the cam lobes is lined up with the rubbing block on the point set. I then move the points in or out to achieve the proper point cap then tighten the hold down screw. As I am sure you know, the fiber block on the point set wears down rather than the cam lobes. I am not sure why you cannot get your contact points to open and close. Maybe you could try with another set. Good luck.

John R

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32 minutes ago, FmShultz13 said:

Update. Got the car timed, running, and the carburetor and timing tuned in using a vacuum gauge. Turns out previous owner had put the distributor in 180 out amongst other things. 

Wow never heard that happening before! NOT!

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When I got my car from the PO, I found the No. 1 spark plug wire plugged into the 1 o'clock position, instead of 7 o'clock, and all the other wires following around in the correct firing order sequence.  It must have been easier to change the wires than reset the distributor shaft   I never mentioned to the PO that the distributor shaft was 180 degrees off. 

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  • 1 month later...

Can someone tell me if I'm on the right track? The dots on my crank pulley and cam pulley are lined up right next to each other per the shop manual. My #6 piston is at TDC and is in firing position. #1 is in the exhaust position. The distributor rotor is at 7 o'clock. I'm running a plug wire from the 7 o'clock position on the distributor to the #6 cylinder. The rest of the wires will follow clockwise around the distributor posts to the cylinders in the correct firing order. Am I missing anything.

Is this pretty much how these flatheads were set up at the Dodge plants?  

 

 

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#1 is also on TDC  ( #1 and #6 are both at TDC) and on compression stroke. Seems to me if you put the  wires on as planned you will be 180 degrees out!

Put the wire at 7 o'clock on #1 and around as planned!

 

DJ

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I have the dots on the sprockets next to each other as the B-3 shop manual shows. That puts the #6 cylinder in firing position, not #1.  (#1 is on the exhaust stroke.)  With the sprocket dot marks positioned next to each other, I installed my distributor with its rotor in the position shown below. I intend to run a plug wire from the 7 o'clock distributor post to cylinder #6, not #1. If that's wrong I'd like to know why.  (The distributor is partly disassembled for cleaning but it is engaged with the oil pump.) Does the rotor position look about right?

 

20181104_215934_resized.jpg

Edited by Jocko_51_B3B
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That will work no problem but .... # 7 O'Clock rotor position is normally the #1 wire position.

Why not bring #1 up to firing position and set the rotor to 7 O'clock and make it shown as in the shop manual...

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Dodgeb4ya, thanks for the verification.

I'm glad to know that my logic seems to be sound, but a mystery still remains. The only way I can get my distributor rotor at 7 o'clock and #1 in compression at the same time is to remove the timing chain and rotate the camshaft 180 degrees from where I have it now (dots adjacent) and then re-install the chain. But if I do that, then the sprocket dots will not be adjacent which the B-3 book says they should be. (In fact, the cam sprocket dot will be polar opposite to the crank sprocket dot). That's why I'm scratching my head. It's all about those darn dots. When something doesn't quite add up , even if it seems insignificant, I figure I might be doing something wrong. Or at least I don't understand something very well.

 

From page 272 of B-3 shop manual:

 

20181105_055038_resized.jpg

Edited by Jocko_51_B3B
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Remember, it takes two revolutions of the crankshaft for one revolution of the camshaft.  Turn the crankshaft twice and the dots will line up twice.  One time, No. 6 is ready to fire.  Once more, and No. 1 is ready.  You can tell which is No. 1 by the valves being closed, or by the old thumb-on-the-spark-plug-hole trick.  

 

So, with the crankshaft approximately at TDC and No. 1 ready to fire, the distributor should be installed with the rotor pointing to 7:00 o'clock.  

 

It sounds like more than one guy has lined up the dots, installed the distributor, and found that he has to run the No. 1 spark plug wire to the 1:00 o'clock position to have the engine run.   

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I haven't installed the oil pan yet so I'll just turn the camshaft 1/2 turn and watch the #1 cam lobes until #1 is in compression. Then I'll turn the distributor 180 degrees and that should standardize things for me. I'm not sure why I somehow couldn't get this info out of the B-3 shop manual but if the distributor set-up advice offered by several posters in this forum is the standard, then that's what I'll follow too. Thanks for the help from everyone who posted a response.

Edited by Jocko_51_B3B
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You don't have to do that.  Pull the distributor out, turn the rotor 180 degrees and put it back in.  # 6 cyl on compression, rotor pointing to 1 o'clock, # 6 p;lug wire in the 1 o'clock cap location..

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That's better. Thanks. I finally got it (took too long though). The sprocket dot marks are strictly for valve timing. But to set up the distributor ignition timing like the factory did it, the distributor rotor should be at 7 o'clock when #1is at TDC compression. Obviously then a wire will run from 7o'clock to #1 and the rest of the wires will follow around the distributor in order. The sprocket dot marks are NOT adjacent to each other when #1 is in compression, but it doesn't matter.

Edited by Jocko_51_B3B
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