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

[Bob Spidell]

Could a slipped harmonic balancer cause this problem? 

bs 

-------------------------------- 
Bob Spidell - San Jose, CA 



The only thing to do is to turn the distributor body until the ignition 
timing is correct. Use a Xenon stoboscopic light. If you are not 
familiar with the procedure have it done by a competent mechanic. 
Replacing the distributor and/or fitting an electronic ignition will 
throw of the timing. 
Kees Oudesluijs 
NL 


Jorge Garcia wrote: 
> I have not been able to start my BJ8 since last year when I replaced the starter. The engine cranks, the spark plugs fire, there is fuel in the carbs and fuel lines but the car refuses to start. This has been a problem that has plagued my car since I bought it many years ago. 
> I decided to go for the basics and try to set timing manually and remove the valve cover to check valve clearance as I rotated the engine. 
> I connected a lamp at the coil and the grounded the other side. I rotated the engine by hand to TDC - crank pulley mark matched up to timing indicator on timing case. Turned ignition on and the light did not come on. I rotated the engine to 10 deg BTDC (with ignition still on) and the light still did not come on. I started rotating the engine clockwise until the light came on. This happened when the crank pulley mark was approximately 2" past TDC. 
> My question to the group is does this mean that cam timing is off (way off) because of a problem with the timing chain which I suspect is the original with 80k miles on it. Or is the distributor stuck in wrong? The distributor was rebuilt a couple of years ago and reinstalled by my mechanic. It did run after that but it was always very difficult to start. 
> Thanks in advance for your help. 
> Jorge 
> PS - The points were replaced with a Pertronix unit a few years ago.