[Healeys] BJ8 timing is way off what do I do now?

[warthodson at aol.com]

Check the basics first. Make sure you are coming up on the compression stroke,
both valves closed & not the exhaust stroke.  The spark occurs when the points
or Pertronix OPENS the circuit & the current stops flowing, not when it closes
& the current flows. Therefore, rotate the engine in the normal direction
(well before TDC, maybe 90 degrees BTDC) coming up on the compression stroke &
observe when the light goes OFF. That should occur at approximately 6-10
degrees before TDC. If not, adjust the distributor until it does. This assumes
the cam is timed correctly. Someone else can explain how to determine that.
BTW, Healeys are notoriously hard to start if the choke is not functioning as
designed/intended.
Gary Hodson





-----Original Message-----
From: Jorge Garcia <fortee9er at yahoo.com>
To: Austin Healey <healeys at autox.team.net>
Sent: Mon, Apr 19, 2010 9:48 am
Subject: [Healeys] BJ8 timing is way off what do I do now?


I have not been able to start my BJ8 since last year when I replaced the
tarter. The engine cranks, the spark plugs fire, there is fuel in the carbs
and
uel lines but the car refuses to start. This has been a problem that has
lagued my car since I bought it many years ago.
 decided to go for the basics and try to set timing manually and remove the
alve cover to check valve clearance as I rotated the engine.
 connected a lamp at the coil and the grounded the other side. I rotated the
ngine by hand to TDC - crank pulley mark matched up to timing indicator on
iming case. Turned ignition on and the light did not come on. I rotated the
ngine to 10 deg BTDC (with ignition still on) and the light still did not come
n. I started rotating the engine clockwise until the light came on. This
appened when the crank pulley mark was approximately 2" past TDC.
y question to the group is does this mean that cam timing is off (way off)
ecause of a problem with the timing chain which I suspect is the original with
0k miles on it. Or is the distributor stuck in wrong? The distributor was
ebuilt a couple of years ago and reinstalled by my mechanic. It did run after
hat but it was always very difficult to start.
hanks in advance for your help.
orge
S - The points were replaced with a Pertronix unit a few years ago.
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