The Ford Barn - View Single Post - Mallory Electronic Ignition for 1940 Flathead

drolston · 08-04-2021, 06:32 PM

Timing by ear is as old as the term "hot rod", when kids who could barely afford to buy gas at $0.29 per gallon knew that the more advanced they could run their spark, the better their chances against their buddy at the next stop light. Instead of a dwell meter, they meticulously filed and gapped their ignition points. Instead of a timing light, they advanced the distributor and then went out and floored it in second gear. If they did not hear pinging, they kept advancing until they got it to ping, and then backed off a degree or two. That is "setting the timing by ear". It worked back in the day, and 60 years later, I just set timing on my '41 coupe the same way.

08-04-2021, 06:32 PM	#7
drolston Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Williamsburg, VA Posts: 1,627	Re: Mallory Electronic Ignition for 1940 Flathead Timing by ear is as old as the term "hot rod", when kids who could barely afford to buy gas at $0.29 per gallon knew that the more advanced they could run their spark, the better their chances against their buddy at the next stop light. Instead of a dwell meter, they meticulously filed and gapped their ignition points. Instead of a timing light, they advanced the distributor and then went out and floored it in second gear. If they did not hear pinging, they kept advancing until they got it to ping, and then backed off a degree or two. That is "setting the timing by ear". It worked back in the day, and 60 years later, I just set timing on my '41 coupe the same way.