The Ford Barn

willysspeed · 12-03-2025, 03:48 PM

Head scratcher here.

Just picked up a 35 ford w/ a 21 stud flathead that has been in slumber for 25+ years.

Helmet style distributor needed to be sent out, and after messing with the generator could not get it to charge, plus all battery cables were 2ga (would also want to purchase 00 to stay w/ 6v), so figured for the marginal cost difference it'd be a good time to swap to a 12v neg ground electronic ignition and alt setup.

Made myself a timing marker to go onto the timing cover, and with the big zip tie method, got 2 timing marks and split the difference to get TDC. Verified 3 times.

Installed the distributor and looked to be about perfectly visually clocked when I aligned to TDC, which i would expect.

Fired right up, ran great. When I hooked up my dial back timing light (Innova 5568) it was showing 30 degrees advance at idle. There is no vacuum advance. Just as a dummy test, I clocked the timing back and it started running worse. Not to sound pretentious, but I'm pretty damn positive my timing mark on the pulley is right, and the motor sounds like it has the correct timing (or pretty damn close).

Yes I can dial in timing with a vacuum gage from where I am, but I hate when things don't make sense and I would like to use a light to verify where I'm at when I tweak timing. Why is my timing light showing 30 degrees off? Anyone have any similar experiences?

12-03-2025, 03:48 PM	#1
willysspeed Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2023 Posts: 11	Timing light shows 30 deg off? Speedway Electronic Distributor Head scratcher here. Just picked up a 35 ford w/ a 21 stud flathead that has been in slumber for 25+ years. Helmet style distributor needed to be sent out, and after messing with the generator could not get it to charge, plus all battery cables were 2ga (would also want to purchase 00 to stay w/ 6v), so figured for the marginal cost difference it'd be a good time to swap to a 12v neg ground electronic ignition and alt setup. Made myself a timing marker to go onto the timing cover, and with the big zip tie method, got 2 timing marks and split the difference to get TDC. Verified 3 times. Installed the distributor and looked to be about perfectly visually clocked when I aligned to TDC, which i would expect. Fired right up, ran great. When I hooked up my dial back timing light (Innova 5568) it was showing 30 degrees advance at idle. There is no vacuum advance. Just as a dummy test, I clocked the timing back and it started running worse. Not to sound pretentious, but I'm pretty damn positive my timing mark on the pulley is right, and the motor sounds like it has the correct timing (or pretty damn close). Yes I can dial in timing with a vacuum gage from where I am, but I hate when things don't make sense and I would like to use a light to verify where I'm at when I tweak timing. Why is my timing light showing 30 degrees off? Anyone have any similar experiences?