I'm having a hellava time here. I put the new distirbutor in, and I can get it to run, but it's either way retarded or way advanced. I'm just turning the distributor in little baby steps, but each time, it's either waay too advanced, or way retarded. I was very careful to put the distributor back in as close as possible to the orientation of the original distributor. Is there a "quick" way to get this thing back on 6 deg timing? I'm afraid to turn the distributor while the car is running. Will I get shocked if I do this? I think it would be easier for me to see what's going on if I can watch the timing light as I have my assistant turn the distributor a little at a time, but again, I'm afraid of getting shocked. Should I be okay doing this?? Any help would be appreciated. By the way, I did unplug the timing bypass switch as you're supposed to.

 

It should run, at least crappy even if your timing is a little bit off. If it won't run, then the distributor is off. Try moving it while turning the engine over if not do this... Take the distributor out. Remove #1 spark plug. Put your finger on the hole and rotate the balancer(turning engine over) till you can feel vacuum on your finger. Now it is at top dead center. Take the cap off the distributor and and drop it in, making sure it is pointing directly at the number 1 cylinder. Make sure it is flush against the manifold. That way you know that your oil shaft is also seated correctly. Put the cap and wires back on, tighten the distributor and crank again. It should start and run crappy. Once you get the timing mark, loosen the bolt and adjust it. It should be on 6 degrees TDC.
Good luck. If you have any questions, let me know.

 

Should it be okay if I turn the distributor while the car is running to set the timing? Or will I get shocked? I have a phobia on getting shocked, so I didn't really want to try it to find out.

Also, when you say point it at cylinder #1, I'm not sure what you mean by this. Do you mean the rotor tip should be pointing near the front left of the engine? Or do you mean it should be pointing directly to the front of the car where the #1 plug wire goes??

 

Yes it should be ok. As long as you don't touch an open wire. Yes, the tip of the rotor should be pointed towards the number one spark plug on the front left side of the engine. If you crank it over and the timing mark isn't pretty close to the tab, then you have to pull the distributor and do over again. It might take a few trys but it will work. You should only have to turn the distributor slightly though when adjusting it. If you have to turn the distributor a lot, then it is a tooth off. When you drop it in make sure you point it slightly more counter clockwise, so that when it touches bottom it will be pointing towards number 1.

 

Okay, I did the TDC thing with cylinder #1. I took the spark plug out, hand cranked the engine 'till I could feel air pushing out. Then I continued about 1/4 turn to get the timing mark dead on the 0 mark on the tab. Took the distributor cap off and the rotor is pointing towards the passenger side of the engine, not #1. So what happened here? Like I said before, I thought I was very careful to put the shaft back in the way the original one was. Also, the shaft is all the way down, flush to the manifold so that should indicate that the shaft is placed in the slot in the oil pump correctly, right? So what should my next step be?

 

That means you didn't get it on #1 like you thought. Time to keep working on it till you get it to point to #1.

If the shaft is all the way down, you are fine.

I would take it out and turn it the way it should and reinsert. Repeat till you get the rotor pointed on #1. Once you do, try start the car. If it runs ok then you disconnect the electronic advance. This is a tan wire with a weatherpack connector by the right strut tower brace. Now you use a timing light and advance the distributor till you get 6 deg. BTW, the distributor should be bolted down snug, not tight so you can turn it while the engine is running. When you are happy, tighten the bolt, reconnect the wire and start car.

 

If it is not running, you can do what Robvas said. If it is running but running like crap, you might be off a tooth.

 

I took some pictures of the current setup so that maybe you can better advice me. I know for sure that I am not 180 off. There is no way. The rotor was orginially appointing towards the driver side before I took the old distributor out. When I put the new distributor in, I made sure it again was pointing towards the driver side. It set down flush with the manifold so I know for sure the shaft got seated properly. I also tried to position the distributor as close as possible to that original orientation. I would have expected the timing to be a little off, but man, it ended up being way off. The timing mark on the crank was like way down, I could barely see it.

Regarding TDC on #1, I did exactly what I was told. Removed #1 plug (front left engine, right?), put my finger on the whole and hand cranked the engine over clock-wise until I felt it blow air out on my finger. At that point, the timing mark was like at the 9 o'clock position. I then proceeded to crank it until the mark was dead on 0 on the tab. That's what you see in the attached pictures. So how is it that the rotor ended up where it's at in the picture? If I'm 180 off, then it would point back up towards the windshield, which I know wouldn't be right as well. Any help would be appreciated!!

 

Also, regarding being a tooth off. I don't think that's possible if the distributor is seated flush witht he manifold, right? That's because there is a tab inside the distributor shaft that only lets you set it 180 at a time. So I don't see how I can be a tooth off, unless the distributor was not flush with the manifold.

 

You shouldn't get shocked. Just don't get curious and wonder what happens if you pull off the coil wire with it running, that was a nice little shock. And it doesn't hurt that much, stop being a whimp

 

Lift it up and rotate it into another tooth spot.

 

The distributor would be fine, but the rotor is what turn the gears in the shaft. All you have to do is put the engine to TDC and when you drop the distributor in, make sur its pointing at number 1 and you should be fine. Then, adjust the timing from there.

 

I'll give it another shot when I get home tonight. Also, just to make sure, did I correctly find TDC by what I explained above? I'm thinking maybe I'm not at TDC. Again, what I did was this:

1) Pull plug out of #1
2) Push finger up against the hole.
3) Hand cranked engine clock wise until first sign of air blowing against my finger.
4) Continued to hand crank the engine until the timing mark matched up with the 0 mark on the tab.

Should that be TDC??

 

Yes you are correct.

 

That should be TDC but sometimes the oil pump shaft might not line up with the distributor so you might have to work it. The shaft can turn on it's own so don't be afraid.