My frigin radiator hose is in the way of my tfi on the distributor. If I set the base timing at 10 degrees btds. My tfi is slammed up against my rad. hose. Something doesn't seem right. I twisted the hose more upright and that seemed to help a little. Did I put the distributor in wrong or something? It seems to idle correctly.

 

Yes you're off by 1 tooth.

 

I don't no. It seems to be idling good. Doesn't sound like it's off. How can I be sure?

 

You already answered your own question in the first post. You are off by one tooth at the bottom of the distributor. That is why the housing is cranked over too far to compensate.

 

OK OK!! settle down bro. I just didn't want to here that answer. Is there an easy way to do it right or is it just a pain in the arss!

 

My buddy Sackman has a great write-up on another forum: How to properly set the timing on a 302 or 351 - FSB Forums

You are close enough now, all you need to do is take off the hold down bolt, pull up on the distributor just enough to move the rotor/distributor shaft one tooth, then drop it back down. Then reset the timing. I assume you also pulled the SPOUT when you set the base timing?

Scott's write-up works pretty well if starting from scratch.

 

I had a similiar situation but with a SBC that I had to drop a dist in during a rain storm in a parking lot. The vac advance hit the firewall so I just moved all the plug wires over one to get home. It would be better to pull it and get it set the right way.
Regards
rikard

 

Thanks brother. I'll give it another shot and yes spout was pulled.