# Timing mark at top dead center..



## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

I am double checking everything before i put the heads back on for final install and was wondering what my harmonic balancer timing mark should be on when i have #1 cyl at top dead center. mine is reading at 6 degrees


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## freethinker (Nov 14, 2009)

Instg8ter said:


> I am double checking everything before i put the heads back on for final install and was wondering what my harmonic balancer timing mark should be on when i have #1 cyl at top dead center. mine is reading at 6 degrees


it should be 0 but its hard to check without a tool. you need a degree wheel and a hard stop device that will stop the piston a few degrees down in the cylinder. install your hard stop device on no1 cylinder and rotate until the piston hits. set your degree wheel to 0 on a fixed marker attched to the block. now rotate the crank 360 degrees in the opposite direction until the piston hits the stop. note what your degree wheel says. half way between that number and 0 will be tdc.
it is a good thing to check because balancers are sometimes off.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Instg8ter said:


> I am double checking everything before i put the heads back on for final install and was wondering what my harmonic balancer timing mark should be on when i have #1 cyl at top dead center. mine is reading at 6 degrees


There are a few ways to do it like Freethinker said. Use a piston stop and a degree wheel. I made a stop out of a piece of angle iron - I welded a nut to the side of it, threaded a both through it with a jam nut so I could lock it down, then used two head bolts and a couple of sockets to "clamp" it down across the bore.  Like so 

Another way is to use a dial indicator with a magnetic base. Get the piston "close" by eye and then set up the dial indicator so that it's reading off the top of the piston. Find the "highest" point of piston travel.

You can also make a piston stop that works with the heads on, by "gutting" an old spark plug, drilling through the center, tapping some threads into it, and inserting a length of "all thread" rod locked down with a jam nut. First make _SURE you 'back off' the rocker arms on one cylinder and remove both pushrods!!! _ Otherwise when you turn the engine over the valves will open, bump into the piston stop, and bend everything --- not good. Disconnect the battery before you start, too. Insert the contraption into a spark plug hole so that the rod sticks into the cylinder an inch or so, lock it down with the jam nut. Turn the engine over (by hand of course) until it hits the stop. Make a mark on the balancer liniing up with the TDC pointer. Turn the engine over in the other direction until it hits the stop again. Make another mark. Exactly half-way between these two marks is TDC on the balancer. (Don't forget to reinstall the pushrods and re-set the lash on that cylinder when you're done. )

Once you're positive you've found the real TDC, put a timing tape on the balancer so that everything is lined up correctly. Make sure you use the correct length tape for the size of the balancer you have.

Bear


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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

ok made a dead stop and re-calibrated i am at zero and mark is slightly advanced 1-2 degrees. filled grove and scribed a dead center mark for timing. had the heads off yesterday and ground for pushrod clearance and casting flash while i was at it, machine shop double check springs for bind and pre-load for HS 1:65 roller rockers, cleaned them up and re-installed. Valve lash is all set per Mr. P-body's method (dry lifters). I have the valley pan gasketed and ready for install, its just finger tight now. Should i wait to bolt that and the carb down until i get the motor mounted so i can pre-lube cam and lifters with ZDDP aditive just before start and break in, i noticed all the assembly lube had been scrubbed off from rotating over the last few months? Also does anyone have any information on adapting to a single wire 100 amp alternator with a new HEI distributor. The distributor has been re-curved to be all in with 22 degrees @2500rpm with timing suggested at 12 deg BTDC, does that sound right for 463? More questions to come, i am sure thanks in advance for all your past and future help guys, this is what happens when you let a carpenter build a car....


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Instg8ter said:


> Should i wait to bolt that and the carb down until i get the motor mounted so i can pre-lube cam and lifters with ZDDP aditive just before start and break in, i noticed all the assembly lube had been scrubbed off from rotating over the last few months?


I would. When it comes to lube on a fresh cam, "too much" is way better than "too little" ---- much cheaper too. 



> The distributor has been re-curved to be all in with 22 degrees @2500rpm with timing suggested at 12 deg BTDC, does that sound right for 463?


Sounds like a good starting point. Big thing is to get it started, don't let it idle until you're sure the cam is broken in. After that, if you really want to dial it in, start at around 34 degrees total advance and then work your way up from there a degree or two at a time until you find where performance starts to fall off - back it off a degree and you're home. Then see where that puts you on initial timing so it'll be easier to get back that spot in the future. Chassis dyno and/or E.T. slips are good ways to masure 



> this is what happens when you let a carpenter build a car....


You should see what happens when a programmer builds furniture... :willy:

Bear


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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

You should see what happens when a programmer builds furniture... :willy:

Bear[/QUOTE]

LOL...thanks for the help Bear, would love to break it in on the Dyno but budgets getting a little tight thats why i am giving it a final once over, since i assembled it a few months ago. everything seems good...pumping a lot of air through the holes. and the gas pump is whistling every other turn, walls are still holding oil in the crosshatch nice, cleaned up a lot of slag on the heads to help the oil get back down and the previous owner had painted the inside with Glyptol, the oil runs off it like rainex. As soon as i get it running i will take a vid clip for ya.....:cheers


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