I checked out the pointer once again. There is absolutly nothing to the right or left of the pointer hole. there is just a bracket that is mounted to the timing chain cover that has an elbow (not bent, but formed from factory), extending out over the hb, and with a hole in it. It looks right but doesn't line up with tdc. tdc is to the right of the hole about 1.25 to 1.75 inches. This sounds right according to Final 5-0's statment that tdc would be to the right of the hole, but again, the pointer does not reach that far. This makes suspect that the problem is not with the hb (slipping) but with the timer. I finally got in touch with the previous owner, who said, " the pointer was never right and that the previous owner (before him) probably put the pointer on himself
Well... I thought I finnaly got it right. It seemed to run good, (without any studdering), but with a loss of about 10 to 20 hp....maybe..or maybe its just me wanting more. The timing was set there out about 18 degrees (according to my determined TDC reference. I thought about advancing the timing another mark or two, but decided not to because I thought I heard some pinging. With that in mind I retarded the timing until I thought the pinging stopped. Maybe I'm just hearing the valves clattering but it seemed to soften when I retarded it to about 14. I took it for another test drive and everything seemed O.K.
My happiness was short lived... I decided to take it to a friends garage and let him listen to the car to see if I could afford to advance it anymore. I made it about one block and noticed the studdering again. The
slight studdering is at about 2500 t0 3000 rpm. I can accellerate through the studdering and it doesn't seem to be there. It only happens at a constant speed or at a slight acceleration. I did not test it again at 18 degrees. The question that come to mind is, should the tolerance be that tight just to get the car to run without slight studdering. I'm starting to think that maybe there is a problem with the fuel injectors, but keep in mind that the car did not studder before i started messing with the timing. The reason I started messing with the timing is because the previous owner had it set at 25 to 28 degrees and running without the spout. This caused the car to start hard (embarassingly).
Sorry about the lengthly post, just trying to be thourogh. If anyone has experience similar problems please reply with your sugestions.