[Jim/GA]

It does a pretty good job, especially when you find yourself at the side of the road in need of checking or setting the timing on your car (or another car touring with you). But it's certainly not the only way to set the timing, and many experienced Model A guys pooh-pooh it as not necessary.

The design and the instructions they give you on how to use it help you get the slack out of the distributor drive shaft and drive gear mechanism as you set the timing. Not doing this is the most common reason people get their initial timing wrong, so it prevents the most common error made.

It's also a good choice for guys that are not comfortable with electrical stuff, like test lights and ohmmeters. There is really nothing to do except set the engine on TDC with the timing pin and then check/set the timing with the wrench. Almost foolproof. Almost.

If you want to see how good of a job it does, use the tool per the instructions, then check the results with a test light or meter, per normal shop timing procedure. I found it to set the timing just a few degrees after TDC, which is good enough for me. Fast and easy.

YMMV.