Is there a easier way?

my v8 car has a small square cut out of the rear wall. so, you can unscrew it to see the mark.

I have timed a ton of v8 914s, here at renegade we do it by ear. this is really the only way to time a v8 with out cutting or using some crazy system of mirrors and lasers. just find TDC to get it close and dial it in from there.

OKO..thanks!

Hard to start up, so I'm checking initial timing..
Can't see mark, and with these shorty headers, can't remove 1&2 plugs without moving headers - no TDC.

I'll try adjusting back/forward to get it running and go from there.

I wish I could set timing it by ear ..

Might try cutting a hole if the brake lines are clear...

I've always had success using mirrors and extremely contorted positions on conversions. I feel better if I know exactly what the timing is set at.

With a water cooled motor timing is not as critical as it is with an air cooled. If you keep advancing until you get detonation (pinging), then back off until it stops, and a little past that just to be safe. NEVER allow it to detonate for any period of time. It's probably the single worst thing that can happen to a motor. You can't really judge it just reving the engine, you need to be under load. The best time to listen for it is going up a hill in too high a gear, with a low rpm (lugging it). Once you hear it, immediately back off and downshift and go adjust a little more and try again.

I don't need to do this now that it is tube chassis - but the stock 901 has a notch in the housing where you set timing on a stock car from the flywheel. Find TDC with a mirror, etc on the balancer, then mark a stripe the new flywheel with some white paint at TDC. Buy a "dial back" timing light (the only real way to time a car IMO) and dial it to whatever timing you want.

Next time you won't have all the hassle, just dial in the total timing you want on the timing light, rev the engine up around 3K (you will see the mark stop moving in the light once you hit total - that may or may not be 3Krpm but should be around there) and put your white stripe on the zero mark at the flywheel. Dun.

I always set timing by total timing (running engine above 3000rpm with no vacuum advance) and then just check what it is at my idle setting "just to know". don't set initial advance - it is a BS number based on your idle rpm. Total is total regardless of how you idle the car.

My car is all-in, total timing of 36deg on race gas at 2800rpm for instance. I set it to 34 on pump gas to stop detonation (but lose 13-15HP too).

Good idea there..

I was thinking I could attach a pointer lower on the pulley, remark the pulley and time on that. But if the flywheel is accessible, that too would be a good point.

I agree on setting total timing... I get away with 36 total on pump, but my compression is only about 10.

fact is, once you have TDC on #1, any mark you make is arbitrarily TDC, so you could extend a pointer tab tacked onto the oil pan even to the balancer and paint a stripe. The issue there is the next part of the quote - total timing. Hard to hold the throttle open to 3K and time on your back under the car - unless you got some rubber arms I should know about The opening on the trans is right on top behind the distributor, so can't get much better for being able to stand in one spot.


yeah, you should be fine. I am 11.13:1 with long rods, so I can't get away with it. I was surprised I got that far on a SBC, but timing is pretty cylinder head chamber dependant. I have 1/2deg angle mill on mine to get down around 56cc, so I expected nothing over 34deg, but that motor just eats up the gas and timing and makes tons-o-power on the dyno.

Good luck!

Desert hybrids has a timing tab kit that works quite well

Mark