I have a 67 Chevy with a 327 sb. I put an electronic distributer and a new carb on a couple of years ago and never got around to setting it just right. I just start it every few months and drive it around town to keep it running. It will start up fine when cold but after it warms up it will drag while trying to start. I guess the timing is off just a little. Do i need to turn the distributer clockwise or counterclockwise to get it in time? I do not have a timing light and it is so close i think i can do it with just a little twist till i get it just right. Thanks fo any help.
You need to rotate it clockwise. This retards timing, and the symptoms you describe indicate timing is too far advanced. Oh! But to enjoy (living through) those days once more! HTH, s
Good advice...if you cant afford a proper timing light, there is a way to do it with a test lamp..."Static timing", if you do it properly, can get it VERY close.
No. Clockwise "advances" on a Chevy. He needs to retard the timing, which is "counter clockwise."
Hey, idbwill, I'm always open to learn new things and to correct wrong impressions I presently have. Admittedly, I did not look up this issue (like, today) in any source-book or whatever; however, I hope my memory has not deteriorated so as to include an incorrect impression on this;) Please check some technical/knowledgeable source and let us all know back here, so the OP will know what he should do to retard his timing. Else not even a timing light will make him happy with its use and application. (I'll be checking also, in case my thoughts need to be "cleaned up".) sam
Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't need check a book or tech stuff to know which way to turn it. I'm sure I can find something for you, but you can do it also. Allot of times you can "Advance" it till it starts to ping. Then start backing it off, (Retarding), till it stops. Then, (in this OP's case), keep backing it off till it cranks good when hot. If after you?re done, and it runs hot, back it up some more.
Chevrolet: "Retard Timing"/ Counter Clockwise "Advance Timing"/ Clockwise He needs to "Retard" it a bit. V.6/S.B./B.B. Chevys with distributors are all the same.
And to those that are hollering about a timing light. Yes, of course that is the correct way, but he will be fine doing it this way. Hell, the timing chains stretch so fast in them, you'll get better pedal response and allot of times it smooth?s the idle out. When the chain is stretched 8 degrees or more, you gona tell him to buy a timing light with an advance dial on it, and teach him how to use it.
And don?t say ?Well, he should change the chain if it?s that far.? Usually the books say 10/12 degrees or more and change it. But any of you that work on them much knows no one changes them. I?ve had some so loose, you gotta move the distributor to get um to start. That?s the one you gotta change. Most of the time, (if it?s the original chain), the nylon teeth on the cam gear breaks off. Funniest ones where people complaining of an oil leak. Find the leak. Down around the crank gear the chain has rubbed through the timing cover. Funny as hell the first time I say that. OK, now I?m rambling on?
Hey Dave. There appears to be a disagreement between two persons replying to your original question: " Do i need to turn the distributer clockwise or counterclockwise to get it in time?". I've been working on them for 45+ years. Please KNOW that to retard the timing on your Chevy 327 V8, you rotate the distributor CLOCKWISE as I first stated. Not wishing to embarrass the other poster, he/she is simply wrong. Luck with that sweet engine. I've had several personal ( had hundreds of "for-sale" ones) Chevy v8's, from 283 thru 454 cubic inches; and quite probably the best overall engine-combination I've owned and driven started life as a brand new 327 via a local Chevy dealer--actually the 1st dealership that Rick Hendrick (big-name Nascar owner) ever owned, as he bought it about 1978. That 327 project was in the early 60's, at its ultimate running a hydraulic cam--long before other 'locals' would dare attempt racing without a solid-lifter cam. I wasn't that smart, but was lucky enough to end up with a very compatible combination of parts. I still appreciate them today, even as I presently enjoy my '02 Z28, all stock LS1/5.7, just a tad shy of 350 cubic inches and with only 12788 miles. All the best, sam
I put an electronic distributer and a new carb on a couple of years ago and never got around to setting it just right. It starts up fine when cold but after it warms up it will drag while trying to start. I guess the timing is off just a little. Should I turn the distributer CW or CCW to get it in time? I do not have a timing light and it is so close i think i can do it with just a little twist till i get it just right. Thanks. ________________________________________________
To advance the timing in any engine, rotate the distributor in the direction opposite to the direction the rotor turns.
Too much advance may cause an engine to grunt when starting warm, so retarding the timing a little may help.
If you have a vacuum gauge, you can dial it in close by advancing unti you get the best vacuum, then backing it off about an inch of vacuum. This should be within one or two degrees.
My rotor turns clockwise so to retard my timing I turn the distributor counterclockwise. Advancing it is a strange word when you are 'advancing' 'before' top dead center....
My rotor turns clockwise so to retard my timing I turn the distributor counterclockwise. Advancing it is a strange word when you are 'advancing' 'before' top dead center.... ________________________________________________
When you rotate the distributor CCW, you are also rotating the points CCW, causing the points to meet the CW rotating octagonal rotor cam earlier in the cycle than before. This is known as "advancing the timing".
On a distributor with a vacuum advance, advance the timing by turning the distributor in the direction the vacuum line connects. To retard turn it against the direction the vacuum line connects is facing. There could also be a starter problem with worn bushings causing excess draw once it gets warm. A reasonably common problem in older vehicles. They, like us humans wear out. ch
Thanks for all the replies. I think i have it now. If the rotor turns clockwise i would need to turn the distributor clockwise to retard the timing. That sounds backwards to me until i picture it and run trough the motions in my head. Starter? Ha, up until 20 years ago that would have been the first thing i checked with these symptoms. I can not believe i did not think of that:( I used to have timing lights and standard tools laying around all over the place. I have since pushed all that to the back of my mind and it got lost somewhere along the way. I will post the results when i figure out what the problem was.
67 Chevy Caprice. 327sb, double hump heads,4 barrel, power, a/c, 2sp auto, Rally wheels and recap tires, X vinyl top rust bucket. It was my dads car. Wave at me when i go by and I will honk the horn for you.
The easiest way is to check which way the distributor rotor turns. Turning the distributor the SAME way the rotor turns retards timing, turning it the opposite way advances timing.
IF idbwill is a Chevy guy, I'm sure he remembers- just like I remember that smallblock Mopar distributors turn CW and big-block Mopar distributors rotate CCW. But danged if I can remember which way a slant-6 distributor turns :-)
Thanks Steve, for mentioning that reliable rule that so many never knew about or else forgot. Dunno about being a Chevy-person or not but I feel like idbwill at one time did know and either forgot or somehow got it confused; yet when he (almost adamantly) refused my suggesting HE go look it up somewhere--and told ME to go look it up instead--I left him be and merely reminded the op that my first answer to him was correct. If Idbwill ever realizes his error he will probably be embarrassed--I'm still embarrassed to make them but prefer that to being toes up, the only time any of us will ever cease making them. sam
Rotate unitl it stumbles and the idle slows. The turn it the other way unitl the idle speeds up keep turning until it chokes then back off for max idle. Then set idle stop screw to correct idle speed. Drive around. If it pings, back it off a little, or put in super if you wish. yer done.
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