let me make a short story long,years ago had a ignition problem and my f150 wouldnt start, so young and dumb it was the perfect time to up grade, carter 600 carb, edelbrock intake, headers ,mallory unlite ignition and promaster coil,since it was a previous duraspark 2 system and had no timing scale i timed the mallory by ear its ran great for years but now iam rebuilding my trusty steed and want to get the timing dead on.my long winded question is i still have the orignal pointer on the timing cover is that supposed to line up with the groove on the balancer when checking timing,if so that should also line up when the motor is tdc correct,mine dosent no matter how much i turn the distributor,my motor seems a little down on power and mileage did a compresson test all cylinders range about 155psi so trying to figure if its the c6 needs a rebuild or the timing chain might have skipped a tooth but it sure runs smooth for that to have happened also if i take the distributor cap off take all the slack out of the timing chain then rotate the crank the opposite direction the crank will move about a inch before the distributor rotor will move all the specs ive seen have been to check the chain its self but if i am going to pull the cover and water pump etc all that work i would change it not just check it,sorry to be so long winded but like to provide all the info i can ,the truck is a 82 any help? thanks

 

Hey there! I am going to piggy back on your topic if you don't mind, simply because I think both of our questions can be answered by one SMART person I hope you don't mind. I have an 83 Bronco with a 351W also and I replaced my timing cover and water pump. Unfortunatelly I think I am missing the little metal thing that goes on the timing cover to set TDC. It was located on the bottom left side of the timing cover.

Anyway, I also have a Mallory Distributor and can not even get the engine to spark. I get spark to the cap but nothing beyond. HELP! There are timing marks on the balancer that are as follows

0||||10||||20||||30BTC

Where do I need to put these marks in regard to the timing cover so I can atleast get some kind of spark to adjust the timing better.

Thanks and I'll jump off of your coat-tails now!

 

There should be a pointer that bolts on to the timing cover.the balancer has a scale on it as in the above post.Pull your number 1 spark plug and pull the coil wire so it won't crank.Turn the engine over by bumping the starter until you get a puff of air out of the cylinder.This will make sure you are on the compression stroke.Now get a pencil and stick it in the number 1 spark plug hole.Turn the engine over by hand until you feel the piston reach it's highest point on the stroke.You will probaly have to need to back it up a little and then turn it forward to get it close.Now look at where your timing pointer is in relation to the scale on the balancer.It should be close to 0 on the scale.Now make sure your rotor is pointing at the number one terminal on the cap.This should put you close enough to set the timing with a light.If you are nowhere near zero at TDC the inner rubber on the balancer may have slipt,which means your timing marks don't mean didly anymore.If thats the case put it at TDC on the compression stroke and mark the balancer.Rotate the crank until you are on TDC of the exhaust stroke and mark the balancer again.The midpoint of theses marks will be your o mark.Use that to set your timing.Either that or you can buy a new balncer or get some timing tape and use the tape to reset the timing.

Billy