1lowdelta88

I own a 1975 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with a 455 engine.

To make a long story short, my car does not have the little tab with the timing marks on the front of the engine block. My friend pulled the factory distributor out before I could get the #1 piston at TDC and make marks as to where the rotor button inside the distributor was facing.

So I'm stuck now, trying to get this car back on time, with little to nothing to go off of. I need some major help so I have a few questions.

20150530_162851.jpg
Does anything else plug into the distributor here? I should've taken pictures when I removed the engine

20150530_162826.jpg
Is this the correct order? on the dist. and the cylinders??

My last question is this, if I remove spark plug #1 and stick a long screw driver down in the cylinder wall, and turn the crankshaft bolt until that piston is as high as it can go, that's TDC right? Should the rotor button be facing the #1 terminal on the distributor??

Any help appreciated. These are pictures of my actual engine, if there's any more I should take that will help me figure this out I will gladly do it.

Oldsragger

Maybe this pic will help a little, the pink ignition wire should be on the right on the disturbutor. The left i think its for tachometer,, i Just set the piston #1 on top and have the rotor pointed to cyl #1. And install the wires after.

Octania

That would be TDC at the top end of either the compression stroke or the exhaust stroke. Feel for compression or observe valve action to determine which.

The timing marks make a good way to get to pretty much exact TDC also.

The rotor will now point at #1 wire if your TDC is the end of #1's compression stroke...

or at wire #6 if your TDC is at the end of #1's exhaust stroke and therefore the end of #6's compression stroke.

1843
6572

#1 and #6 cylinders are doing the same thing but one turn apart. When one is coming up compressing, the other is coming up exhausting. Same with the other pairs- 8/5, 4/7, 3/2...

Be sure to see if you are getting a spark at the end of the plug wires. W/o the BATT wire hooked to the HEI, it has no power and cannot make spark.

oldcutlass

Your missing power to the distributor. Pull the number 1 spark plug and place your finger over the hole as you bump the engine around, when you feel a pop of air come out of the hole stop bumping and install the distributor with the rotor pointing to the #1 wire position on the cap.

1lowdelta88

Thank-you guys so much for the help, I can't wait to get in the garage today and tear into it again. I think my main problem is the ignition wire going to the dist. I never had it hooked up. Even if my timing was off some, it should stil try to start with starter fluid correct? Well I got nothing, even with starter fluid...

MDchanic

Why did you change your old HEI distributor to a new HEI distributor in the first place?

And why would you change your distributor before buying a timing tab, when by definition changing your distributor will require re-setting your timing?

Please note that you will not be able to find TDC using a screwdriver in the spark plug hole.
If you are extremely careful, and have a very sensitive finger, you may be able to get within 10°, but 20° is more realistic, and is obviously not close enough to properly time your engine.
To find TDC accurately, you will need to use a dial indicator or a stop-bolt TDC-finder, or, even better, replace your timing tab.

- Eric

1lowdelta88

My olds distributor was fine, I just swapped it out with this clean new one to improve the looks of the engine

My original plan was to make a mark where the rotor was facing on the distributor, before it was removed. But without me knowing a friend of mine just pulled it off and by then it was too late.

I wish the car came with a timing tab, it would make things so much easier!

Octania

so, new and clean and pretty but does not make spark.
OK... NOT BETTER

Is there a rotor in place?
GET SPARK to the end of a spark plug wire before trying anything else. Timing and fuel [Start Ya Bastid spray] cannot help if there is no spark at the right time and place.

think of your unmarked dist'r as the opportunity to learn how to install it and time it, folks a lot slower than you have done it, and you can too.

Would you like a timing tab? I have a few extras, or the interwebs has them available.

Unfortunately, these bubes appear to be your only easy to find reproduction choice

http://www.ebay.com/itm/68-74-OLDSMO...0f8b5b&vxp=mtr

MDchanic

+1 point for looks.
-1,000 points for operation.

This is why a wise man once advised, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."



Which would not have worked.

True, your engine would have run, and this is what any of us would have done as a first step to get it running after removing the distributor, but the next step is to set the timing, which you clearly did not have fully planned out.

You do have a timing light, right?

If not, you need to get a timing light ($5 at yard sales and flea markets across the land) and a timing tab (from Chris, in the post above this one), and then you will be able to enjoy your car.

- Eric

1lowdelta88

I would most definitely like a timing tab! I'll PM you

I get what you're saying, but clearly you're a "purist" which is ok! But I'm not...

When the rest of your car looks like this...

10658799_10203000968813409_7872075895456731585_o.jpg

10380523_10203000969133417_1419507386375312678_o.jpg


Your engine bay can't look like this

CAM00196.jpg




Can you explain this a little more please? So what you're saying is, if the engine was on time before and running fine, and I pull the distributor cap off and make a mark as to where the rotor is facing, and put my new distributor on with the rotor facing in the exact same position, it wont be on time?

No I do not have a timing light, the one I always used no longer works so I will need to purchase a new one.

The car is running now, maybe not exactly as it should be, but it's running. The reason it didn't start before was because of the 1 wire going into the distributor to give it power, I was rushing and just overlooked it.

I want to say thank-you to "Oldsragger" for the pic! That's what made me go back and look things over. And to "Oldscutlass" for the pics and the advice

oldcutlass

Now all you need is a timing tab and an operational timing light to get it right. nice car btw.

1lowdelta88

I'm going to look into getting a timing tab right now. Has anyone ever installed one? are they difficult?

And thank-you for the compliment on my car. I know it's not your typical delta 88, but that's why I like it, and put so much work into it! It's definitely a head turner

MDchanic

If you made the rotor and the distributor body both face in exactly the same direction, and the hall effect sensor and reluctors of both distributors were aligned with each other and with their bases exactly the same way, then sure, no problem, your timing would be exactly the same.

The only problem is that that's impossible.

Even if you had marked the distributor base where it comes up against the manifold, and lined it up perfectly, and done the same for the rotor, you would still need to account for manufacturing tolerances within each distributor, which would cause the spark to be triggered at slightly different rotational angles.

In your case, you haven't even mentioned marking the position of the distributor body and setting that to its original position, so I suspect you didn't do that, so there is about a 1 in 45 chance that your timing will be set right (ASSuming a timing tolerance of about 1° and a "looks about right" range of about 45° for the distributor position).

So, once you get the distributor into roughly the correct position, you need to put a timing light on it and set your timing to wherever it needs to be so that your engine runs properly (which, in your year, is usually at least 5° advanced, when compared to the specification).

... Oh, and the timing tab is not hard to install: just remove the bolt, place the tab over the stud, and replace the bolt.

- Eric

1lowdelta88

Very informative! Thank-you so much