How to find Top Dead Center on Mopar flathead after a rebuild?

[MarcDeSoto]

I was having trouble with my timing because I was not at TDC when my rotor was at 7 o'clock.  I'm trying to start my 48 DeSoto after 42 years for the first time after an engine overhoul.  Thanks to Keith's excellent video on this subject, I found out that my distributor was 180 degs. out.  Easy to see.  When I stuck my finger in cyl. no. 1 the pressure came out when the rotor was at 1 o'clock.  Thanks Keith!

 

 

[Doug&Deb]

Sounds like your oil pump isn’t indexed properly. You can re index the pump or simply put number one plug wire at the position it’s in at tdc then follow the usual firing order from that point. The engine will run no matter where you index the pump but 7 o’clock is the usual rotor position at tdc.

[Doug&Deb]

Actually now that I think about it are you sure you’re not 180 degrees out? I’ve done that before.

[keithb7]

Glad to hear that the video helped you. I hear lots of ambiguity around timing of these engines. I tried to weed out the facts and present them. 

[Marcel Backs]

I watched my buddy time my 218 without even starting it using a spark gap device connected in series with the high voltage terminal of the coil. It fired up right away and was running fine until my " new" so called oil pump failed firing the initial start up. Try that on one of today's computerised nightmares (setting timing)! M PS will soon be firing it up again to hear that old mill purr like it should. 

[Sam Buchanan]

A simple trouble light connected to the distributor is all that is needed to set initial timing. On the old VW's we would just listen for the points to arc as the crank was rotated by hand.

 

In regards to the "computerised nightmares" the computer sets the timing....just plug everything in and start the engine.

[MarcDeSoto]

7 hours ago, Doug&Deb said:

Sounds like your oil pump isn’t indexed properly. You can re index the pump or simply put number one plug wire at the position it’s in at tdc then follow the usual firing order from that point. The engine will run no matter where you index the pump but 7 o’clock is the usual rotor position at tdc.

I don't think I have to do anything to the oil pump, do I?  I think all I have to do is reposition the distributor shaft 180 and reinsert it in the slot.  

Edited December 21, 2022 by MarcDeSoto

[Dodgeb4ya]

Correct....^^^^^

[Marcel Backs]

not when the computer is on the fritz though! LOL Thus the nightmare

[keithb7]

Timing for initial engine start up after a rebuild can be easy to accomplish on these old engines. If you do understand the fundamentals of the engine. They’ll fire right up without diagnostic tools. I set my dwell while cranking over the engine to build initial oil pressure. After the engine rebuild, I was pleasantly surprised to learn how far the old timing had been slowly creeping throughout its life. As valve timing sprockets, timing chain and valve train parts wear, ignition timing adjustments are slowly made to compensate. 
 

After my full engine rebuild went back together, I had to tweak the major distributor adjustment. This got the distributor timing back to the range required for the minor adjustment to function as designed.
 

I’m proud as a peacock to say that at the very first crank of the starter, my freshly rebuilt engine fired up immediately. I felt like a million bucks. That feeing was worth every cent and minute of my time that I spent to rebuild that engine.  Great memories!

[MarcDeSoto]

2 hours ago, keithb7 said:

I’m proud as a peacock to say that at the very first crank of the starter, my freshly rebuilt engine fired up immediately. I felt like a million bucks. That feeing was worth every cent and minute of my time that I spent to rebuild that engine.  Great memories!

And after all that, Kyle says "Will it run?".