Timing issue

[Bruce Adams]

Hi Skip,
To take up the "slop" without doing it correctly by rebuilding your distributor, you can try taking up the slop in the cam by rotating the cam clockwise, taking up the "slop", and then loosen the screw and rotate it, clockwise while at TDC until the points JUST CLOSE, which is the same as rotating CCW until they just START OPENING.

This should give you a good starting point.

 

[palmaceae]

Good news everyone, thanks to all here that helped I got it timed correctly. The first thing that was off was the spark advance lever, so I adjusted that (thanks Ken). Then even though I did adjust the points gap it was way off, barely opening, not sure how that happened but it is correct now. I also used a philips srew driver to find the timing dimple and then followed Marco's article and I have a nice running A again.
Thanks again for everyone's help!

 

[RonC]

You can check your timing by retarding the spark lever, remove the distributor cap and body, turn on the ignition key (make sure your car is in neutral with E-Brake on). Press on the timing pin and slowly crank the engine until the pin sets into the timing gear recess. Do this while watching the points. At the exact moment the timing pin falls into the timing gear recess the points should spark. If not your timing is off.

 

[roccaas]

One little point:

If the screw that holds down the cam slips while the shaft is turning, timing is a mess. It is probably not a best practice, but we put a thin lock washer under the cam screw on an old barn find, and the cam slipped no more!

 

[Old182]

Could it be that palmaceae's rotaional slop is from the distributor gear riding up the camshaft teeth when the distributoir shaft is being turned by hand? A simple check for vertical movement would prove or disprove that scenario. I only mention this because my distributor has similar play and I believe it's from slop in the distributor teeth and the camshaft. I figure when the engine's running, there's always torque on the shaft and all the play is taken out, except, perhaps at idle, and so I time it accordingly. It would be a shame (and costly) to buy a new distributor and not solve the problem for lack of a simple check. $0.02.