after getting everything else on my 350 motor assembled, i need to reinstall the distributor, it's a stock HEI GM dist.. i don't know what order the plugs go on or how to go about checking orientation... i belive you'd start with piston #1 at TDC.. but after that i'm lost.. any help?
~J

 

Remove #1 spark plug, stick finger over hole and turn engine until air is forced past your finger. Continue until the piston reaches TDC. Then drop distributor in making sure the oil pump drive goes into the bottom of the distributor. Try to get it so that when the rotor points to the #1 wire on the cap it is also pointing to the #1 sparkplug. When you have it lined up look at the ring with 8 points underneath the rotor, line the #1 point up then rotate the distributor body counter clockewise abou 8-10 degrees. Tighten the distributor down. Now install wires in this order 18436572 going clockwise on the distributor.
CoryM

 

There's a 'notch' (oil pump drive) at the bottom of the hole the dist. goes into. You might have to use a long screwdriver to align it so that the dist. points at #1.

 

thanks guys, my problem was i had adjusted the rockers too tight and wasn't getting any compression, i checked the pushrods readjusted, put the intake and carb back on, dropped in the dist, rewired and it fired up... all i need to do is adjust the timing, put a radiator in, get some headers and i'm done
~J
P.S. i noticed that there isn't a #1 mark on my dist cap.. the rotor faced the battery, and i wired it acording to the firing order with the #1 plug wire being at the tip of the rotor.