ok, ive asked a few different friends and no one fas stopped by to help me... so now im goin to by the light my self but i not really sure how to time the truck my self... so some info would be helpful..
i have an 82 F100 w/ 300

 

As for an 82 Ford F series here are some specs:

start the truck, then disconect the vacuum advance and block off the vacuum tube. There are a couple of specs for an 82. You must look at the distributor tag for the code.

1982 w/ Auto E1TE-FA 6 degree at 800 RPM
W/ Auto E1TE-GA 10 degree at 800 RPM
W/ Auto E1TE-HA 8 degree at 800 RPM
W/ Auto E1TE-JA 10 degree at 800 RPM
W/ Auto E1TE-VA 6 degree at 800 RPM
W/ Man E2UE-BA 10 degree at 800 RPM
W/ Man E2TE-RA 10 degree at 800 RPM
W/ Auto or Man E2TE-FA 10 degree at 800 RPM
W/ Auto or Man E2TE-EA 10 degree at 800 RPM
W/ Man E1TE-HA 10 degree at 800 RPM
W/ Man E1TE-JA 8 degree at 800 RPM

There you have it, a little hint I time all of the 300s I build to 12 degree at 800 RPM they seem to run better and have a little more low end pull. After all is said and done hook the vacuum back up and take it for a test drive. You could even try one or more of these timing settings to see which you feel more comforable with. I do recommend the 12 degree setting though.

 

First off: will the truck idle? If you're still having big problems with that carb it makes it really hard. You'll need to have it idling at 600-800 rpm to time it right. You'll need a tach if you don't have one.

Check your emissions sticker under the hood, it'll give you timing speed and timing degrees. Find you timing marks on the front of the engine. You should have the saw tooth type plate sitting at the 10-11 o'clock position on the front timing cover. At about the 5th ridge CCW you should be at 8 degrees BTDC. One valley CCW from that should put you at 10 BTDC, you may be able to see the marks on the plate... use those if you can. Also find the timing mark on the crank pulley/harmonic damper. You may have to "bump" the engine or rotate it into position to see it. Mark it with a bright color (paint pens work great but if you have a white crayon it'll work too).

Start the truck and let it warm up to normal operating temp. The distributor has a hose that runs into it for your vacuum advance. Find a nail or any smooth object (that won't fall apart and get sucked in by the vacuum) that's a little larger than your vacuum hose and plug that line.

At this point I take the timing light and check to see what the baseline timing is. You maybe suprised that it is still in time. If you get the number from the emissions sticker, leave the timing alone, you've got other issues then.

If you get a number that's more than 2 degrees off the underhood sticker, loosen up the bolt holding the distributor down. Be careful as you rotate the distributor, as it doesn't take much to change the timing a few degrees. You may need a hand for this as the timing marks are on one side and that distributor sits awfully low on the other. Adjust it until you get the number from the sticker. Tighten down the bolt without moving the distributor. Double check, shut it down and reinstall the vacuum line for the advance.

If you don't get the mark to fall within the timing scale, you've got other problems. We'll work on that in a different thread.

Hope that helps.

-Kerry

 

Golf tee works good to plug the advance vacuum tube off the distributer. Like mentioned, you'll need a tach to get a RPM reading. Pay attention to changes in RPM while you adjust the distributer. Use a screw driver to adjust the idle down while you time. It takes some practice the first time to see the mark / notch in the crank pulley. Remember there's a fan spinning too (use caution). Lastly, if you do realize you need to loosen and adjust the distributer, you might want to buy a distributer hold down bolt wrench - costs more, but makes it a lot easier to loosen the darn thing. Just rotate it too, don't try to pull the dizzy out. Good Luck!