So how do or where do I set the timing marks and camshaft? Went with the performer cam,stock 390fe motor, Cloyes steel geared double roller chain, adjustable timing. I've read but can one simplify this please. Set to TDC no1 cyl. Verify timing marks line up. Check rotor no1. Remove timing chain/ gears,camshaft. Reinstall cam, rotate to TDC , install timing chain/gears, ??? 0,2,4 degrees, I bought the Cloyes for quality made in USA, not sure about all adjustments and Edlebrocks wants you to have their set is their timing install different?

 

Generally, you "degree" the cam to the manufacturer's specs. Install the timing chain/gears at "0" and check the cam timing. This requires a degree wheel attached to the nose of the crank, and a dial indicator so you can tell where the top of the lobe is on the cam, and make sure the "center" of the lobe is where the manufacturer says it should be. If it's not, and you need to back off or advance the cam a degree or two, you use the +- whatever on the cam/crank gears.

That's a greatly simplified version, it's been decades since I did mine.

Someone else here has most definitely done it, and can give you better instructions.

The cam can also be retarded or advanced based on compression, where you want the torque curve to be, etc. I don't know enough about that stuff anymore to tell you what to do with THAT. Again, someone else will be along shortly

 

I just did one - my first ever - with a Comp cam and a Ford Motorsport timing set. In short, you ignore the marks and worry about where the crank is when the intake lifter reaches 0.050 inches of lift. This is the relationship that matters, and where the crank should be is on your cam data card.

On my cam I was supposed to see 0.050 occur at 9 degrees before TDC, so we put a dial gauge on the #1 piston and located TDC. Then we set the degree wheel on the crank and attached a piece of copper wire (ground wire from a bit of NMD 12 household wire) to a water pump bolt and bent it until it pointed to 0 degrees on the wheel.

We then put a lifter in the intake position for #1 pistion, and set the dial gauge on the lifter. We turned the cam until we could reliably indicate 0.050 of lift (obviously this is done rotating clock wise), and now we had an eyeball on "close".

At this point you can have fun slipping the gears and chain on, and repeat the process (find TDC, set the degree wheel, set the lifter, get zero on the lifter, and rotate the crank until you see 0.050, and see where you are relative to TDC) to see how close you are to the correct advance. In my case we were 5 degrees off - that means as we got the crank rotated until the cam lifted the lifter 0.050 inches we were at 4 degrees of advance.

We slipped the chain one link and it came back in at 0.050 inches of lift at 8.5 degrees before TDC, and we were done. If you are within 1 degree you can try all day an not get any closer.

 

Thanks for the real-world report, Paul

 

So the timing mark on the Cloyes is 180 out from what was taken out<br/>. The performer cam and Cloyes gear on the left , Removed the one on the right. I rotated the engine till No1 w/ rotor , No1 and No 6 at TDC , removed timing cover the marks lined up somewhat close as a lot of plat in the chain. Also the pin for the cam sticks out beyond the gear by about an 1/8", I've got a damn good eye for mechanical things, the cams seem to be real close ,probably a little more duration , so when the pin is positioned the same as what was removed the timing mark is 180 out. As for the lower gear I can adjust 0,2,4,6,8 either way from zero. WTF to do here, I'm for a little advance , so that rotates the crank slightly clockwise looking at it. Oh yeah love it , of course the first 3 exhaust bolts, topside forward passanger side snapped next to flush, and the other 13 eased on out. Now to remove the head , no way would I want attempt to drill that in place.

 

Sorry for your problems with the exhaust bolts. Pin sticking out is a problem.

As for the other questions, the cam should be indexed as per your data card. What does it tell you for degrees of advance at 0.050 of lift? The marks are not really important. You can put the gears on at any orientation, all that maters is the relative position of the cam and the crank, i.e. the degrees of advance at which 0.050 of lift should occur. I'm sure there are other ways to do it.

 

Is the CAM 180 degrees out ? Just rotate the engine another 360 degrees, it'll be perfect

 

Doesn't the pin sticking out be needed to locate the fuel pump eccentric and prevent it from spinning?

 

8 ATDC , yes the essenctric fuel cam tab needs to fit in where the pin is sticking out about.375 long., to one of the ??? Do I still advance some to comp for chain stretch.