My 1970 F-350 which has been sitting at a friend's house since I hauled some lumber for him 4 to 5 weeks ago is now in front of my house! It took several things to get it running. The way it ran the last time I thought it was the timing. We could not get it started....

Here is what we did: took off the starter (and that one bolt on top is a b-watch) and got it rebuilt. Put on a new solenoid and a new battery cable. When jumping the truck the cable and solenoid got real hot and smoked. The solenoid was not working. Today we put the rebuilt starter on and the solenoid and cable. It spun real easy, the battery did not drain quickly, but it didn't fire. We did not have a spark coming out of the plug wires. Did the same to the coil wire and had a small spark. I thought it should have been a bigger spark. Took the coil off and took it to the auto electronics shop that rebuilt the starter. He tested it and it was bad. Bought a new one at the parts store and installed it.

The truck now popped right off but ran rough. We loosened the dizzy and turned it to make it run better. It did not run good enough like it should though.... But it was good enough to make the 4 mile trip to my place.

Big Question: how do I find TDC? Is it marked on the fan pulley? What shall we look for? I saw the pointer on the truck. Any other tips would be appreciated. I plan on replacing the plugs and wires soon when funds permit. They are only about $25 but I am tapped out right now.

Thanks!

 

only for sure way is pull number 1 spark plug and have a buddy roll motor over by hand while you look into cylinder with flashlight and wait till it gets to top but theres a chance it can be 180 degrees off but if it fired up that means it is close and no need to pull dizzy under any circumstances if it fires up and runs..... but that is just my opinion

 

The crank balancer will have TDC marked right on it(might have to clean it up to see it). Usually including 0-10-20 degrees for setting timing. Rotate crank til it matches pointer. Now, the only issue will be if it is on #1 FIRING or not. Have to pull cap off and see if rotor is point to #1 on the cap. It could be 180* out, just go one more time around.

When you use a timing light, just point it at the pointer, hook lead to #1 wire and it will flash the light at the correct time. Adjust distributor til the pointer reads at 10*.