GHOSTOWLGRID

I am seeing conflicting info online
can someone verify if this is correct? I see different number 1 positions online for the distributor.

This one:
http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/Vi...62238_olds.jpg

And this one:
http://www.performanceboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=57176&d=1255666294

I have an HEI cap with the coil built into it.

Will the number 1 always be in the proper place, or is it possible for any pin on the cap to become number 1?

m371961

Any pin can be #1. It all depends on how the distributor is installed. If the engine is at TDC compression stroke on #1 cylinder, The dist. rotor can point to any pin when installed, making that pin #1.

oldcutlass

These are the 2 recommended #1 positions on the cap. The other issue is the placement of the vacuum advance canister so you have full range of adjustment for your timing.

joe_padavano

^^^THIS

People lose a lot of sleep over this, for no good reason. The No. 1 terminal on the cap is the one the rotor points to when the No. 1 cylinder is at TDC on the compression stroke. The diagrams all assume the distributor is installed in the factory orientation. If it has been moved at all, all bets are off.

GHOSTOWLGRID

Ok.
So when I set the number 1 to compression top and I pull the top of the distributor to look, do I have to reset the timing on it?
Or is the top cover fixed and I can just put it back and not worry about messing up timing?
What I mean is, is the top a fixed position or variable?

joe_padavano

The distributor cap has a tab and only goes on one way.

GHOSTOWLGRID

Found it.
Yah someone set the wrong pin as number 1.
I just left it because the timing is fine but at least now I know.

oldcutlass

How do you know the timing is fine?

joe_padavano

If the timing is fine, then by definition it's not the wrong pin.

m371961

I would not word it as the wrong pin. Maybe because it is not as shown in a book, but happens often. Many times I have stabbed a distributor, made sure I had enough room to time it, then installed wires accordingly. Sometimes a diagram showing where #1 should be isn't available, sometimes I was just too lazy to look. Sometimes it was roadside. I have seen some caps marked with #1, but not in a long time.

MDchanic

If you have a properly-sized set of spark plug wires, there are some clock positions of the distributor terminals that will not quite reach on some wires, if the wires are otherwise properly routed and the distributor can be rotated to a good position to achieve correct timing.

Other than this, there is no way to locate the distributor wires "wrong," so long as they are in the right order.

- Eric