My brother bought a "donnor" truck for his plow truck. It is an '81 C-20 Chevy p/u and it has a 350 4-bolt. My bro wanted me to swap engines in his plow truck (it had a 305) once the 350 was out, he opt to do a quick "fresh up" on this 350-4bolt. (ie: valve seals, lap the valves and a new timing set...etc) After I installed the new timing chain and gears, and put a new cover on, I noticed that the dampner(balancer) tdc mark looked off!!! When the dampner is installed, with #1 @tdc, the timing mark is almost at 12 o'clock, the old timing cover had no timing tab, and the new tab doesn't line up... It's an 8" inch dampner, looks original.. is this the way they are?, I never did a sbc newer than about '70 before so any insight would help...
I think the SBC had a couple of different timing covers. My old Blazer had one with the mark straight up 12 o'clock and the rem remainder have it at the 2 o'clock (or so) position.
I think there is 2 or 3 tabs out there, i'm pretty good at tuning by ear because of my last couple cars
You could dimple the cover at TDC and use a adjustable timing light to set your timing to the total advance you want. Remember once you put the water pump on it covers up quite a bit of the cover.
i use a wad of toilet paper in #1 and do baby cranks until wad shots out, and thats tdc. worked on a car with an 82 sbc out of a camaro/with short water pump and i just timed it by ear and it runs fine. That other gadget posted is pretty nifty also
Well I just don't know if they ever came like that,(with the mark at 12 o'clock) or maybe the top ring spun on the rubber?? Is this possible?, It doesn't look like it did, maybe he should buy a new one just to be safe? I know how to time it myself without a mark, I just don't want it to come appart under the hood....
yes, a lot 305 chevy engines came with the timing mark at 12 o'clock. and yes , it is possible that the outer ring slipped on the balancer. AND YES..there are aftermarket timing tabs , timing chain covers, and balancers that are marked wrong that is why i ALWAYS check for TDC and the timing marks..and remark them if needed ...on every SBC rebuild and installation. not doing this is a big mistake in my opinion...well that is really not an opinion , that is a statement of fact. i know that info doesn't help you now. what you need to do and find TDC...440 told you how...and remark it. then you know where you are
The 79 350 that I have in my 71 GMC has the timing mark at 12 Oclock. The tab should be welded on the timing cover if you have the original cover. You have to shoot the timing light and look down behind the water pump. The tab is pretty hard to see from the side. Most likely it also has the tube for the electronic pickup for a scope on it there too. If you have a short pump on it you will end up having to time it by ear or vacuum gauge.
Today, I found a smaller 6 3/4 balancer for a mid '60's 327, its brand new, I must have ordered an extra one some time ago, could I use this smaller one on a 350?? It seems to fit fine...
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