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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / How do you set timing on a 35 flathead 8

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Posted By Discussion Topic: How do you set timing on a 35 flathead 8 -- page: 1 2     fenbach 11-07-2023 @ 7:47 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 227 Joined: Dec 2009 Earlier in this thread, I mentioned that on my '36, "the top of the no. 1 piston is in plain sight when I look thru the spark plug hole." I had occasion to look again recently and could NOT see the piston! I do have a "new" engine and noticed that the recess for the sparkplugs is deeper on the heads of this engine than on the one before, deeper enough to block sight of the piston. But, curiously, the heads from both engines have the same part number, 68-6049B. The first engine had domed pistons. This one apparently has flat tops. I ended up using a bent wire to find TDC [more or less]. Anyone know of a better method? fenbach 08-03-2014 @ 8:05 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 227 Joined: Dec 2009 always nice to have someone apologize. thanks stroker. i found another suggestion for setting the timing, altho i haven't tried this method. in some forum on oct 21, 1999, a fellow that goes or went by the name "rumble seat" suggested using a vacuum gauge connected to the intake manifold. leave the vacuum line to the distributor in place. move the advance/retard plate back and forth to obtain max vacuum. that's it, he says. probably good to add that you should keep your fingers away from the fan and the belt when adjusting the breaker plate. anyone know of a safe way to do that?? and while you have a vacuum gauge out, take a look at page 9 of the july/aug, 2003 V8 times. dick flynn lists 9 ways a vacuum gauge can be used to diagnose engine problems. Stroker 08-03-2014 @ 7:08 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 Fenbach: I apologize for my expansive statement, and I agree that it is possible to see the edge of a piston from a spark plug hole on a 32-53 Ford V8 if you view at an angle. This subject has been discussed before in regard to the use of screw-in timing stop screws which will very accurately determine TDC on those engines that have the spark plug located above the piston bore. As we both know, the spark plug hole on a Ford is not positioned in such a way to allow for the use of proprietary timing stop screws. The bent coat hanger or welding rod as you have pointed out is not an accurate measurement device, and likely is no better than a visual inspection with good light. fenbach 08-03-2014 @ 4:10 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 227 Joined: Dec 2009 hmmm. i have a stock '36 LB engine, and the top of the piston is in plain sight when i look thru the spark plug hole. not all of it, of course, but more than enough to tell when it's at the top. with a small margin of error, but much better than i can do with a coat hanger. for the timing method to work you have to be sure it's on the compression stroke and not the exhaust stroke. TomO 08-01-2014 @ 6:10 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7256 Joined: Oct 2009 Ken, Have you considered that the distributor may already have new points, or that the 'experienced operator' ran out of hid Ford script points and had to buy NORS points? Tom Stroker 07-31-2014 @ 6:05 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 I'd take issue with the statement: "just look down the no. 1 spark plug hole". Looking down any spark plug hole on a flathead Ford V8 will only give you a nice view of the area between the intake and exhaust valves. You CAN however, insert a bent coathanger or welding rod and find the piston, which is displaced somewhat towards the exhaust side of the engine, and get a rough idea of TDC. fenbach 07-31-2014 @ 1:58 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 227 Joined: Dec 2009 the V8 times has many articles about distributors and timing. one, in particular, gives a simple method to find TDC. "Engine Timing Tips" by charles schwendler. Vol 37, no. 2, pg 45. just look down the no. 1 spark plug hole! he also explains how to set the advance using a timing light. but the book, V-13 from suppliers, 1932-36 Ford Engine and Chassis Repair Manual, has a slick way to set the advance. put the no. 1 piston at TDC. set the number one plug wire close to the block, turn the ignition on, move the slider all the way down and then up until you get a spark. now move the slider up one more notch and you'll be at 4 deg before TDC. worked for me. ken ct. 07-31-2014 @ 3:14 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1513 Joined: Jan 2010 Tom an "experienced operator" will only use quality points on installations,lol ken ct. TomO 07-30-2014 @ 8:55 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7256 Joined: Oct 2009 The correct point setting will give you correct timing. The best way to set the points is on a distributor machine. Skip Haney in Florida, Yesteryear Ford part in Michigan and C&G Ford parts in California all provide this service. There are others that also provide this service. If you are a member of a Regional Group, ask your fellow members for a source. The dual point distributor uses one set of points to make the circuit and the other set to break the circuit to give more time to saturate the coil.The break set of points controls the timing of the spark. The distributor is driven directly by the camshaft. It has a tang that is offset to match the offset slot in the camshaft end. The screw on the passenger side of the distributor is used to give a few more degrees of advance or retard to compensate for different fuel grades. There are problems with the quality of the points being sold today and a distributor machine in the hands of an experienced operator, will be able to spot these defective parts and replace them with good parts. Tom ken ct. 07-29-2014 @ 12:40 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1513 Joined: Jan 2010 You will already be real close if dist is installed correctly. ei: tounge of dist lined up with the offset slot in the camshaft.After that move the timming screw andindex plate 1 line up from middle mark.You should be ready to go. Caution points must be set with coil scr*w*d down to dist .014 both sides. ken ct. actually pretty simple after a hundred or so done. lol.

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