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I’m about to adjust the timing on my 1949 303. I’m so ignorant I don’t even know what side of this pic is the arrow? The curve on the left or the strait edge on the right? Here’s a pic of how it’s set before adjustment. Should be zero, right?
I don't know anything about 1st gen Rockets, but wire brush the whole thing so you can see any markings. Is there a pointer and scale on the crank balancer?
This one for the guys with older Olds. Looks like degree plate is adjustable. Look at the bolt/slot on what I assume is the distributor base. You may want this posted in the Vintage section ?
You might also brush some paint over the numbers and then when dry sand the paint off the surface so it enhances the numbers. I usually use chrome paint for something like that so you can easier see it with the timing light.
I believe on your's the straight edge of that piece of steel is you indicator mark. I don't think that's an arrow close to it.
The Oldsmobile chassis parts book shows, for 1949 V-8, two varieties on the front of the crankshaft. One is a harmonic balancer with a steel ring bonded to the hub as we have seen for many years afterward. The other, called "2nd type", is just a single groove pulley without the bonded ring. I don't have the shop manual for 1949. If you do, read the part about ignition timing the engine. The shop manuals are often a good source of information. On my '55 Olds there is a pointer near the balancer ring on the front of the crankshaft. The ring has a notch in it. The leading edge is 5 degrees before top dead center. The trailing edge is T.D.C. It may have been different in 1949.
The scale and adjustment on the side of the distributor was commonly called an "octane selector " .
It was used to retard the timing a few degrees if only low octane gas was available .
The best way to set the timing is to follow the 1949 Oldsmobile Shop Manual .
Update: Following the simple guidance from the 1949 Olds shop manual, I went ahead and adjusted the timing. A couple things confused me but I understand them now. Im going to post a series of videos for repairs to this old girl. I've found the manual is helpful, but just vague enough... here's an example:
"When the ignition timing is set, the arrow point on the distributor hold down plate should be in the center "0" position when timing operation is completed" pg 401. What they DON'T tell you is WHERE'S THE ARROW? Is it the end of the sloped point on the left or the abrupt cut on the right? Trial and error showed me that the distributor arrow was the sharp cut on the left. The next trick was discovering that there were two hidden screws that hold the distributor to the mount. you've got to loosen those before you can rotate the distributor. Anyway, thanks for the help as always. I hope to help many when I'm done with these simple videos. There really isn't much on YouTube for the early Olds other than car shows and cruses.
While the manual dose't say to, should I disconnect all vacuum lines such as the choke before setting the distributor timing?
No , only the distributor vacuum canister line is the only one that affects timing .
Follow the timing procedure in the 1949 Oldsmobile Shop Manual to set timing .
You may find that you can advance the timing a couple of degrees at a time until it "pings " .
The timing specs of 1949 were set with much lower octane gas than even the 87 octane available today .
November 16th, 2020, 12:48 PM
