TR2/3/3A TR3 Ignition Timing

[Earl]

I spent an hour last night trying to find the mark/hole on the crank pulley to chalk mark so I can check the ignition timing. Is there some secret I dont know about? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif Where is the mark????

 

[Don Elliott]

The hole in the pulley is there if it's the correct pulley. But it's hard to see. I have never bothered with it. I don't check the ignition timing. I never had a timing light. You don't need one. Below is how I set the timing.

I check the SU carbs that they are synchronised, both sucking the same amount of air. I remove the air filters and listen with a length of garden hose about 20" long to verify that they are both "hissing" the same amount of air. If not, I re-set then equal, then re-tighten the fitting between carb 1 and carb 2. I check that the dashpots are full of oil. I stab the throttle from beside the engine and watch the pistons both rise the same amount and at the same speed.

I check that the spark plugs are clean and re-gap them to 0.030". I also set the points gap to 0.015". Then I start the engine and advance the timing for maximum RPM with the knurled wheel on the distributor. When the engine is at operating temperature, I take it out for a spin. If it pulls OK, I stop, lift the hood and advance the timing more and more, trying it after each time I advance it. At one point I'll start to hear "pinking" under acceleration or as I load up the engine climbing a long hill in top gear. Then I retard the spark just enough so that I can no longer hear any "pinking". Then I know the timing is set correctly. Now the timing is correctly set. I have been doing this for 47 years on my 1958 TR3A.

Don Elliott, Original Owner
https://www.britishcarforum.com/ubbthread...e=&sortdir=

 

[AltaKnight]

Don....
Good procedure.
Question, since you are an original owner what excuse do you use when bad things happen?
The rest of us can fall back on the DPO (dreaded previous owner) excuse. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Don Elliott]

Bad things with my TR3A just don't happen. Well - at least they're not that bad. A year ago, I was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. Now that's bad ! Luckily I'm been in remission since December, waiting for the bone marrow transplant. And maybe that could be bad ??

The best time and place to work on your TR is at home before you go on a trip. Not on the side of the road in the dark, when it's raining and the jack wants to slip on the gravel shoulder. I rarely take spare parts with me and I don't have a CB or a cell phone. In Maryland at TRA in 1998, I knocked 11 teeth off my crown gear and 3 off the pinion in my diff. I got a ride on a trailer from a TR owner to a TR shop and we worked to swap the rear axle with another one. It cost $80.00 for the axle and $400.00 for his labour. I was home one day later than planned. That's not bad.

My overdrive jammed in the "on" position at VTR in Portland Oregon in 2000 and the organiser trailered me to his place where we totally rebuilt it like new. He let me set up my tent on his farm near a babbling brook. That was nice. Then after 5 days, I was on my way to Calgary to meet up with Gary Altwasser (TR3A and TR8) where we convoyed back east. It was quite an experience - but not a bad one. I learned a lot. Seven miles from home on that trip (7225 miles in 3 weeks), I broke my RHS rear leaf spring and limped the rest of the way home. Luck and attitude make up a lot of the pleasure of owning a TR.

Don Elliott
(photo taken on 5225 mile trip to VTR in Colorado in 2001)
https://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/trebor/don3a_big.JPG

https://www.britishcarforum.com/ubbthreads/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=1920

 

[Geo Hahn]

As Don notes, if you have approximate timing already you can dial it in by ear/seat of pants. Still, good to know where the mark is for initial set-up and if you get curious and want to look at advance with a timing light.

It is a hole in the back lip of the crank pulley that is at the top (12:00) when Number 1 &/or 4 are at top dead center.

If it helps, #1 TDC should occur when the dizzy rotor is pointing at #1 spark plug.

Of course it's possible that your mark is somewhere else or missing altogether but that's where is was when it left Coventry.

 

[Adrio]

[ QUOTE ]
Of course it's possible that your mark is somewhere else or missing altogether but that's where is was when it left Coventry.

[/ QUOTE ]
In the case of my TR3A the mark was off so that number 2 was at TDC when the mark was ligned up with the "arrow" sticking out of the engine block. That was an interesting night when I looked and looked for the hole. I understand very well what you are going through looking for something you have never seen before other then in a picture.

 

[Earl]

I spent an hour on my back under the car trying to find the mark/hole. My goal was to chalk the pulley so I could check it with my timing light. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, I expected to find notches in the pulley. When we discovered that we were looking for a hole in the back plate, again we found nothing. I think there may be a grease build up in the hole that made it hard for my finger to detect the hole. I'll give the pulley a good wash with some solvent on a rag and see if the hole "opens up". If that fails it's back to the "seat of the pants" approach.
Thanks for the help
Earl

 

[Geo Hahn]

I would think it would be hard to find from 'under the car' as the belt is covering one side of it. Put #1 at TDC and it should be at 12:00 where the belt is out of the way and the inner side of the pulley is visible and accessible.

 

[jayhawk]

From Don's note: "Then I start the engine and advance the timing for maximum RPM with the knurled wheel on the distributor" Yeah, the little knob is even marked with A and R with an arrow marking which direction is which! I like to see numbers or markers (eg dwell meters, RPM)for confirmation but also like to be able to make easy physical adjustments based on signs and symptoms. Can't do any of that with my "regular" cars!