I need some help understanding how to time my engine.

I was looking over my fan, and the only mark I can see on it, other than grease, is the notch that appears when the engine is at TDC. How many painted marks do I need to time this engine properly? And at what degree/direction should they be? I understand this needs to be done at a certain engine speed as well. If anyone knows what the proper speed/timing settings are, please advise. This is a 009 distributer, if that makes a difference. All the literature I have found seems to be based on the vacuum advance distributer.

The engine is running on the ground, and, if possible I would like to time it before installing, but is that impossible without a tach?

if you have an adjustible timing light (which everyone should have ),
you only need the one TDC mark.....

the timing should be something like 27° @ 3000 or 3500 rpm

each motor is a little different, but that'll be a safe number until you get it running and can put a load on it so see if it likes or dislikes more advance

*for a few bucks more, you can get a digital timing light that'll read the RPMs and is adjustible...once you use one of these a few times, it'll pay for itself

get an engine analyzer most of the read rpm from a simple conection
i got one at a swap meet for $5

Hi,

All the fans that I have touched have the red 27 BTDC degree mark. Out of the 4 fans on my shelf, only one has the a stamping with a zero on it. You should only need the 27 mark to time it with the 009. I threw my 009 away. Better off running any stock distributor without hoses.

The fan turns from passenger side to drivers side. You should see the red mark and about 4 or five fan blades then you are at TDC.

Carlos