Hot Rods 8ba timing marks

I have a souped up 8ba. I want to get the timing in the general vicinity of where it’s supposed to be for first fire up. I will be using a test light to do this. Same way vw bugs are timed. What does the timing mark on the crank pulley mean. There is only one mark but it’s that mark Tdc or a few degrees before or after it?


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If you have a "souped up" flathead, the timing might not be the same as a stock flathead. You might have to retard or advance the timing to get it right.

Have fun.

 

True. But I’m just looking to be in the ballpark. And just to know what the mark means just out of curiosity


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The mark,,,,on the pulley ?
Mine has a round dimple,,,it is TDC .

Tommy

 

Perfect. Thanks. That’s what I wanted.


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At least,,it is supposed to be,,you never know what has been replaced after all these years .
I alway check and degree it in ,,to be sure .
It seems all the same old stuff on Ford was pretty close.

I just weighed my rods the other day on a gram scale and balance fixture.
I only got three weighed,,,,they were all within 1 gram,,,stock 8CM rods .

Tommy

 

I believe the "dimple" is 2% BTDC, not that it makes that much difference on then initial start. If you have a low voltage test light connect it to the distributor when it is installed in the correct general position. With the "dimple" lined up with the pointer turn the distributor until the test light comes on. Then slowly turn it until the light goes off. That means the points just opened, which fires the ignition. You should be right on

 

It's not zero degrees TDC, but rather it's the factory timing setting for consumers to use to set timing. I think different years had different settings, but an 8BA would probably be about 4 degrees BTDC.

Your distributor rotor should be about 6 O'clock for the number one cylinder when the dimple is on the pointer. Unless you're 180 out, that should get you running.

 

Which way do you turn the distributor clockwise or conterclockwise?

 

2 degrees is almost TDC,,,,

 

Clockwise to turn the light on; counter-clockwise to turn it off.

 

I used the plastic zip tie method to find TDC on my 8BA, dropped my distributor using that mark and it fired immediately. Just a tip. I have trouble trusting 20 year old motors let alone 70 year old ones.

 

The timing mark on all 8BA Ford/Merc/truck crank pulleys is 2 degrees BTDC.

 

The mark is TDC.

 

If you took the time to accurately find #1 TDC, you would see the timing mark IS 2 degrees BTDC, just like the shop manuals state.