I have a 71 Cutlass 350 Rocket and am trying to set the timing. I think it is supposed to be 12 BTDC. with vac adv removed and at 850 to 1000 rpm. My problem is that I cannot see any timing marks on harmonic balancer. See attached pictures. The white mark is 0 deg. and the red is ??? but at 2800 RPM or higher that is where the timing is at. It would be nice if I could make a mark at 12 degrees. (or where ever it should be). Could anyone tell me how many inches from the white mark should I make a mark for 12 degrees. I think it should be somewhere between the white and red lines.

 

You can buy and install a new timing tab.

 

That is not any factory timing tab that I have ever seen. In 1971 your tab should look like this.

 

Here is a pic from inline tube that shows where it goes also

 

If the white mark is "0" when lined up with the engine-mounted tab, then get a "dial-back" timing light. You just turn the **** on the dial-back timing light to "12" (or whatever value you desire) and then line up the "0" to the tab - the timing light calculates the 12-degrees for you, making the "0" into "12".

 

I used a little bit of that math stuff they taught me in school years ago. The circumference of the wheel was 20 In. (or 320 1/16th inches) and if you divide by 360, you can determine how many 16ths of an inch 12 degrees is. So I marked up some masking tape and put it on the wheel. Now I got a 12 degree mark and timed it.

Thanks for your input. But putting a marker on the engine block is just too much work and I do not have one anyway.

 

Did the harmonic balancer line up with the makeshift tab when the engine was at #1 tdc?

 

I guess so. I only put 2 marks on the tape. 0 tdc and 12. Lined up the 0 mark with the groove on balancer.

 

The tape is not going to stay on long, so you can transfer the marks to the balancer using a paint pen.