i have an 83 camaro with a rebuilt 350 in it and a 350 turbo, the motor only has a few basic mods like bigger cam and that basic junk, it also has a 650 edelbrock carburator if that matters. it needs to be timed though becuase i had to pull my distributor cap out and i was wondering what is the best timing for it in terms of power. i want to get the most power outta it as possible and i'll be using a timing light, i thought it was supposed to be about at the 12 or something but i'm not sure. i'm just lookin to get the most power i can out of the timing, any help welcomed, thanks.
Dustin

 

set it to 8-10 BTDC(no higher then 12 and you should be fine) and see how it runs

 

you should set your total timing around 36*- 40* this will give you the best power output, you`ll need a timing tape or advance type timing lite to do this though

 

A good inductive timing light with advance is a great tool to have around the car.

 

greezemonkey, what number would 36* to 40* be on the harmonic balancer? like 12? oh and for everyones info the cam i have in it is quite large, i think they said its the biggest you can use that has hydraulic lifters before you have to use solid lifters but i'm not positive. i'm not sure if that would matter at all in the timing but i figured you would know, thanks so far guys.
Dustin

 

Base timing is the timing you see at idle speed, total timing is the timing that occurs over say 2500 rpms, this depends on many factors, prom chip decides total timing and rate of timing increases( electronic advance), knock sensors can remove timing....mechanical dist cars have wieghts&springs that work with centifigal force ( mechanical advance) to add timing and some have a advance mechinesim that adds timing with engine vacuam ( vacuam advance). So the sum of say...base timing & centrifigal timing would be your total timing

12 base + 25 mechanical = 37 degrees total timing

OR

12 base + 30 degrees that the prom chip will supply would be 42 degrees of total timing.

Get it?

You can buy a tape that has the degrees printed on it, install it around your harmonic balancer, and then with a regular timing lite, you will be able to see what your total timing is