Distributor Shaft Alignment, Small sector to Left/driver side? or Right/pass. side? Options

[Gatornapper]

Haynes Manual, page 65, Fig. 3.6, referenced from page 64, Pp. 6, #7: "install it so that.........an angle of 12 deg. .......with the small sector facing towards the outside of the car."

On my 914, the small sector is on the left.

If I'm reading this correctly, this is ambiguous and does not clarify it "the outside of the car" is the Driver's side or Passenger side.......

Can someone clarify this please? Or am I missing something (not the first time...).....

TIA,

GN

[injunmort]

this last pic of rotor has it pointed at #2. that is not where it should be to static time. your tins are stamped with each cylinder # and the firing order is stamped up on right side tin by fan housing. use the factory stampings for position, don't reinvent the wheel. put engine at tdc on cyl #1. timing mark on fan and flywheel should be in the apertures. clock distributor so that rotor is pointing at cyl #1. ( 1 position back from in the photo) set your points at this point and you should be close. you only need to time one cylinder correctly then the engineering magic occurs on the other three. forget about the marks on the distributor body, the rotor contact is the index.

[Gatornapper]

Dear friend Mort -

I totally understand what you are saying - and have ever since I started working on this engine in July. I know well the cylinders and the firing order - they are both stamped on the engine tins. I have been a mechanic for 50 years. I do appreciate your attempts to help.

I think you are not understanding what I am trying to communicate. If that is so, the problem may be that I am not making clear what the situation is. I have already done exactly what you described in your post.

When I put the engine on TDC for #1, the rotor is in the 1 o'clock position. I cannot change that - it is determined by the slot on the distributor driveshaft and the offset part of the bottom of the dizzy. That is where the plug fires doing a static setting of the timing. With the points gap set at .016".

Why is the rotor in the wrong position? If I remember correctly, when the engine was running perfectly, the #1 plug wire was on the tower in the 11 o'clock position, as in the pic on Post 25 (NOT my dizzy). However, I did not record its position as the engine was running well and it was a non-issue. I replace all the ignition parts except the coil in July.
I have never touched the dizzy driveshaft, but it appears to be in the wrong position.

The tower the rotor should point to is the one at the 11 o'clock position when #1 fires - agreed? (my "o'clock" references are based on 12 o'clock being the part of the distributor being closest to the firewall). I

How can the position of the rotor when cylinder #1 is at TDC change?

Unless a gear on the dizzy driveshaft has slipped or moved? And I understand that that cannot happen.

I hope I am making sense - I am sure trying the best I can.

GN

this last pic of rotor has it pointed at #2. that is not where it should be to static time. your tins are stamped with each cylinder # and the firing order is stamped up on right side tin by fan housing. use the factory stampings for position, don't reinvent the wheel. put engine at tdc on cyl #1. timing mark on fan and flywheel should be in the apertures. clock distributor so that rotor is pointing at cyl #1. ( 1 position back from in the photo) set your points at this point and you should be close. you only need to time one cylinder correctly then the engineering magic occurs on the other three. forget about the marks on the distributor body, the rotor contact is the index.