You use a marker to line the diz body with a fixed point so that your timing is relatively close. You might use a marker to line up the rotor with the diz body so that your rotor and gear is in time with how your engine sits if you did not first set it to TDC on #1. Personally, I like to always set the engine to TDC on #1 before pulling diz, that way, with or without a mark you know you need to set the rotor facing the #1 hole on the diz cap. If you make a mark for your diz body, I'd mark it in accordance with someting other than the intake manifold since the point here is changing the manifold.

 

When I built my 390 a few yrs ago, after replacing the stock mani and the stock exhaust mani's,(Edelbrock, and headers), I could actually feel the difference on the front end of the truck when driving. I figured I pulled 150lbs off of the springs. Use that cherry picker!, or another set of arms.

 

Weight my old iron 4v intake on a fish scale 27 yrs was 78lbs the Edlebrock got a be 30+lbs my sanerson shortie out weight the old logs. Maybe you just had your foot on the gas a little more then normally..my 2cents
orich

 

I have the manifold and carb bolted up and the distributor back in, but I forgot to label the two wires that go on the back of the coil (the one from the conduit and the one from the distributor) which one goes to which terminal?

 

The one from the Dizzy is the ground and goes to the "-" side of the coil. The other is the hot and goes to the side marked "+" or "batt".

Good luck!

 

I have everything hooked up, but my electric choke. Where did you guys hook up the electric choke at? Holley says not to use the coil.

 

You need to find a switched source, from inside the cab and run to it. Like the wiper, radio....

 

Alright so I finally had my truck on the road... well for about 15 min. and I decided my timing was a little off so I adjusted it and went to tighten the hold down and stripped the manifold. No big deal, I went and got a helicoil and fixed it, put the distributor back in and nothing, but a back fire every few seconds. No big deal, I'll put it at TDC and re-do it. Where is the mark and what does it look like for TDC? Sorry for the length.

 

On the FE engine the timing mark is on the passenger side front at around the 10 o-clock position looking from the front. The the harmonic ballancer will have deg marks on it from +10 ATDC to 30 BTDC, but you need to make sure it's on the #1 and not 180 off.

 

i usually pull the #1 spark plug to figure out what tdc is. its so easy to get fooled and it could be at tdc of the exhaust stroke and not the compression stroke.

 

I'm not seeing any marks on the harmonic balancer. All I see is two divits on the front face in between the pulley. Also how hard should it be to turn the crank? I have the truck in neutral with the parking brake on. I just hope I didn't somehow lock my motor up.