65 stang timing

[DominickS]

My brother-in-law has a 65 I know the harmonic balancer should have hash marks
for timing correct? also where is the pointer located that would tell you what time timing is at using a timing light? like on my 95 f-150 its on the passenger side..
I do not have access to this car at the moment and hes not to savvy when It comes
to this stuff..
thanks in advance

 

[woodsnake]

Is th car V8, I6? I think the pointer for the 65 is on the drivers side, and yes, there should be hash marks. You may need to take a wire brush to the HB to see them though....., and a piece of chalk can be very handy..

 

[DominickS]

It is the V8 289 HIPO sorry forgot to mention that but then again I didn't know they came with the I6..
Ok now judging by what I have read and by looking at his pics
it should be 6 Degrees advanced... his distributor is a single point vac advance..
correct on the 6 degree??

 

[D.Hearne]

289 Hi-po's came with a dual point mech advance distributor. Be that as it may, 6* BTDC is retarded--------litterally...............it'll be much happier advanced to at least 10 or 12. The pointer is a cast in "tit" protruding from the timing cover at about the 1 or 2 o'clock position in relation to the balancer.

 

[DominickS]

Ok thank you now on to the retarded question

Well he pulled the distributor "with out calling me first" and with that said no he did not mark the rotor to the dist and dident mark the dist to the engine
so my question is what is the firing order? And which way does the rotor turn?

 

[woodsnake]

I Think you are probably goingto end up needing a chiltons on this project. Not only are they a great source of information, but you can also use it smack your brother in law in the back of the bean!

My recomendation for finding number one cylinder in your circumstance is:
Disconnect the battery.

Remove the passenger side valve cover. The pair of springs closest to the front of the car is number one.
Put a socket on the crank shaft bolt, the one that holds the pulley, and rotate the engine clock wise, until those springs begin to move.
When you see them start to move, STOP. Insert distriutor, so that the rotor is directly under the number one plug wire.Also, you need to make sure that your pointer is pointing at "zero" on the balancer. If it is not, you are 180 degrees out.

They are usually identified on the cap. If it is not, then you will have to look in said chiltons manual to identify it.
Be aware, that the stock ford oil pump drive shaft is about the size of a number two pencil, and they are well known for coming up out of the pump, when the distributor is removed. So, be aware. They are also known for being a pain to get lined up to go back into the bottom of the dist.
Then, when you have it all back together, remove the car from his possesion!


This may help:
http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1c/30/a8/0900823d801c30a8/repairInfoPages.htm

 

[D.Hearne]

Be easier to just pull the #1 spark plug (1st plug on the passenger side bank). Then stick your finger in the hole, rotate the crank till you feel compression. Stop then and lign up the balancer's marks to the pointer. Then reinsert the distributor with the rotor pointing toward the #1 position on the cap ( this is at 12-1 o'clock on the cap, caps are usually marked for #1) Start it in with the rotor at 12 o'clock, it'll rotate to 1 o'clock as it goes in. You'll usually have a problem aligning the shaft bottom to the oil pump drive before it goes all the way in, you'll just have to play with it till it does. Once it's in, wire the cap, firing order is 15426278 (passenger side bank in 1 thru 4, front to back, drivers side is 5-8, stock intakes have the cylinder numbering on them) Once you have it running, set the timing with a light.

 

[jlangholzj]

one thing that i really found handy, was to get a paint pen (yes a pen filled with white paint) and used a rattle can to spray the balancer black and then mark the hash marks with the pen.

couple things:

I believe that at 2k rpm, it should be at full advance of 36 degrees (correct me if im wrong)

Make sure that after you get close and time it, remove the vacume advance and plug the tube and the distributor and then set the timing. it (it makes a HUGE difference)

keep in mind that every engine is different. Mine seems happy at 15-17 degrees but like D.hearne said, try not to go any lower than 10-12

 

[D.Hearne]

one thing that i really found handy, was to get a paint pen (yes a pen filled with white paint) and used a rattle can to spray the balancer black and then mark the hash marks with the pen.

Good idea ! I use white or light colored chalk (somewhere in the past I inherited a large bucket of sidewalk chalk, been using it for years now,that bucket will probably last me till I die )

 

[DominickS]

Sweet guys thanks and to woodsnake's comment about smacking him with the book I was thinking of smacking him with the Dist after I took the phone out of my mouth and rolled my jaw back up because yes after he told me he
took it out with out calling me first I did one of these numbers

also to that other comment I WOULD LOVE to take the car into my possession
but I cant

 

[woodsnake]

Well, let us know when you get it dialed in...

 

[DominickS]

Will do tho I think I should charge him with tech support lol

 

[woodsnake]

Absolutley! There is a cost to time, and researching. Plus you have to filter the fly poop from the pepper, and ultimately, you are now the "SME", subject matter expert. So, he is going to lean on you everytime something goes wrong, even if it's due to his making adjustments with out your knowledge approval, or consent.
(reference the dist removal.)

I'm a beer drinker , so you can send a 6 pack of the pils Urquell, to my address in Idaho, after 1 June....

 

[jlangholzj]

Good idea ! I use white or light colored chalk (somewhere in the past I inherited a large bucket of sidewalk chalk, been using it for years now,that bucket will probably last me till I die )

We've got a mason jar filled with chalk in the shop to!!! HA! that's what we used the first time around.