[66sprint6]

Does anyone have a clear picture of the rotor pointing at the number one cylinder position, with the distributor cap off? In looking at mine, it doesn't seem to quite line up with the number one plug wire. To make it line up, I have to turn the distributor until the vacuum advance is way towards the fuel pump. With the indexing, The thing is either pointing at the number 1 or number 6 wire, correct? So when I line up the three timing marks, it points in the direction of the number 1 wire, but not right on.
My engine is a 67 that I put in the '66 Tempest. In looking at a number of pictures online, there are a lot of differences in where the number one plug wire is in relation to the engine. One picture shows it closer to the engine, another I see has the number 1 wire and the number 5 wire 90 degrees square to the engine. Another yet seems to show the number 1 wire a little away from the engine. Very confusing. I can't get it to start now. Please help!

[66sprint6]

Further to this, I checked my '66 engine and found the rotor to be pointing more or less at the 6:00 position at TDC #1 cylinder Maybe a little towards 6:30. The rotor on my '67 distributor looks to be more in the 5:00 position. That's a big difference and I wasn't aware that there would be a difference from year to year. Unless I'm missing something.

[Bill Hanlon]

Has the engine run since the last time the distributor was removed? If not, you may need more than I'm offering in this post. But if it has run since the distributor was last removed, try this:

Remove all 6 spark plugs.

Remove the distributor cap

Remove the rotor.

Check the point gap. It should be 0.016". Set it if necessary.

Stuff a Kleenex into the #1 plug hole.

Turn the engine over by hand by turning the fan if it doesn't have a fan clutch. If you do have a fan clutch you'll need to turn the engine by pulling on the fan belt or with a socket on the crankshaft pulley. Turn in the direction the engine normally turns. That is the top of the fan should turn towards the driver's side fender.

Stop when the Kleenex falls out. You are approaching top dead center on cylinder #1.

Continue to slowly turn the engine in the same direction until the timing mark on the harmonic balancer is opposite the 5 degree mark (assuming this is a 49 state engine).

The distributor rotor is now pointing to where #1 spark plug wire will eventually be.

Loosen the locking bolt on the distributor. Rotate the distributor to where the vacuum advance is in a "comfortable" position. Not so close to the block that it may hit the block later when you make final timing adjustments. Snug the lock bolt, but not so tight that you can't move the distributor by hand.

Now we need to find the place that the points open. If you have a volt meter or a test light we will use the electrical method. If not, a piece of paper will do.

----------- Start of electrical method ---------------------------

If using the test light or volt meter, connect the positive (usually red) lead to the - side of the ignition coil. Connect the negative lead to ground.

Turn on the key BUT DO NOT ENGAGE THE STARTER.

If the test light is on or the meter reads around 12 volts rotate the distributor very slowly counterclockwise until the light goes out or the meter reads zero.

If the test light is off or the meter reads zero volts rotate the distributor very slowly clockwise until the light comes on or the meter reads 12 volts.

Now rock the distributor gently back and forth trying to find the exact place that the light goes on and off or the meter jumps from 12 volts to zero.

Once you are as close as you can get, tighten the locking bolt and skip to the part titled PUTTING THE DISTRIBUTOR CAP BACK ON.

----------- Start of PAPER method ---------------------------

Pull the points open with your finger or a screwdriver. Place a slip of paper between the points. Let the points close.

If the paper slip can be moved (not caught between the points) rotate the distributor very slowly counterclockwise until the paper cannot be moved.

If the paper slip cannot be moved (it is caught between the points) rotate the distributor very slowly clockwise until the paper can be moved.

Now rock the distributor gently back and forth trying to find the exact place that the paper releases and gets caught.

Once you are as close as you can get, tighten the locking bolt, remove the paper and continue below.

----------------------------- PUTTING THE DISTRIBUTOR CAP BACK ON ----------------

Timing should now be set close enough that the engine should start IF (big if) the plug wires are in the proper places.

Put the rotor back on.

The rotor is pointing to where #1 spark plug wire SHOULD be.

Make a mark on something under the hood that the rotor is pointing at. Doesn't matter what, just in a straight line extended from the middle of the rotor through the "end" of the rotor to where ever the end is pointing at. Call the mark "A".

Remove ALL the spark plug wires from the distributor cap.

Install all the spark plugs after checking gaps at 0.035".

Put the distributor cap on.

Now you need to figure out which spark plug wire to put where.

Start by placing the wires side by side, shortest to the right, longest to the left.

If the wires were original
.... the #2 and #3 wires would be the shortest.
.... the #1 and #4 wires would be slightly longer.
.... the #5 would be almost the longest.
.... the #6 would be the longest.
Yours should be something like that.

Remember that mark "A" from above? Attach the #1 spark plug wire to the distributor socket along that line from the center to mark "A". Attach the other end to the #1 spark plug.

Attach the #5 wire to the next distributor socket COUNTERCLOCKWISE from #1. Attach the other end to the #5 spark plug.

Attach the #3 wire to the next distributor socket COUNTERCLOCKWISE from #5. Attach the other end to the #3 spark plug.

Attach the #6 wire to the next distributor socket COUNTERCLOCKWISE from #3. Attach the other end to the #6 spark plug.

Attach the #2 wire to the next distributor socket COUNTERCLOCKWISE from #6. Attach the other end to the #2 spark plug.

Attach the #4 wire to the next distributor socket COUNTERCLOCKWISE from #2. Attach the other end to the #4 spark plug.

Crank it up and set ignition timing.

[Bill Hanlon]

Ooooooooops! Forgot to have you plug the coil wire back in before attempting to start.

[Jeff Hamlin]

Here is an early/Clear shot of a '66. This is how any/all 66/67 that were running correctly were set up. I've had a few that the Vac Adv would hit block and only required lifting Dist to adjust outer housing orientation.

[66sprint6]

Bill,
Thank you for that comprehensive direction on setting up the distributor. I believe that going through those steps will definitely help to get it going.

In looking at Jeff's pictures, I can say that mine looks off. I'll have to see if I can lift the housing and put it in the right position.

Thanks again, guys.

[TheSilverBuick]

Using one of Bill's methods (awesome list BTW!) you can essentially set the vacuum advance to point any direction it will physically fit. It may require using a screwdriver to turn the oil pump shaft a bit to get the distributor to drop back into the "new" place.

With the engine off, the rotor should be pointing near the edge or just past the #1 cylinder post as it'll center up on the post as ignition advance is added by the vacuum and mechanical advances.

[Bill Hanlon]

Doing it my way does not require lifting the distributor.

Jeff's pictures show the vacuum advance nearly hitting the block, limiting the amount of CCW direction you could turn the distributor. Might not be a problem, but if you need to move it that way my method would move the vacuum advance 60 degrees clockwise, giving a much larger range of adjustment.

Jeff's picture shows #1 plug just CCW from one of the cap's hold down screws. You can't put the cap on 180 degrees out because there is a "key" on the bottom edge of the cap that fits into the top edge of the distributor housing. Having the #1 plug wire in this location only happens if someone (in the almost 50 years since the engine was put together) has not pulled the distributor and moved it a tooth or two in one direction or the other.

[TheSilverBuick]

True, you'd have to move the plug wires over one hole for every 60º turned. I'm more use to HEI caps, but I prefer to keep #1's location consistent with factory because a few years down the road changing the cap out or such it'd be easy to loose track of what wire went where, particularly if it's a shop that is "assuming" it's in the factory orientation.

[Bill Hanlon]

That "assuming" shop would probably assume that the distributor turned clockwise like all good SBC engines.

[TheSilverBuick]

Originally Posted by Bill Hanlon

That "assuming" shop would probably assume that the distributor turned clockwise like all good SBC engines.

(pssst, the distributor on this engine DOES turn clockwise like all good SBC engines)

[Bill Hanlon]

Boy am I embarrassed! I haven't touched a Pontiac 6 in many moons, but assumed (there's that word again) that it turned the same direction as a Chevy 6 from the late 60s. I just spent a bunch of time working on one of those that belongs to my across-the-street neighbor.

Oh well, ignore all I said in this post because it is backwards.

[66sprint6]

That's OK, Bill. It was a big help. I just went with the rotation on the distributor that I saw as I rotated the engine.

[TheSilverBuick]

It's all good, I didn't catch the "counterclockwise"'s in your first post. The info is still very pertinent though! Just make sure you go the correct direction for your engine.

[Bill Hanlon]

Now I'm feeling even worse. I went across the street to Charlie's house and checked his Chevy II with a 194" six cylinder (predecessor of the Pontiac six) and it rotates clockwise as well. I guess OldTimer's Disease is coming on faster than I thought.

[TheSilverBuick]

Only reason I really know is because I use a power drill to prime the oil system and I have it set for clockwise.

[66sprint6]

I am not able to get this thing running. I tried setting it up as per Bill's instructions, but no luck. It backfires when I try to start it. I'm wondering if Bill's voltmeter/paper step should include turning the distributor clockwise, as opposed to counterclockwise, since Bill had the rotation backwards. I've included a few pics of the condition. In looking at the distributor block, it appears that the points will open right when the rotor will pass the #1 cylinder post. I lifted and moved the distributor and I probably should have left it alone. But I didn't like the #1 cylinder wire looking out of place, as it was where the #4 wire would normally be.
I feel like such a bonehead for moving the distributor. I might have moved it one or two notches too far. Or maybe not enough.

[Bill Hanlon]

I screwed up badly in post # 3 above. I wrongly assumed that the distributor rotor turned in a COUNTERCLOCKWISE direction. That is exactly backwards, which makes every direction I talk about in post # 3 wrong. Here is the corrected information, which may help out 66Sprint6:

This procedure will likely end up with #1 plug wire on the distributor being in a "non stock" position. Chances of it being in the stock position is one in however many teeth there are on the distributor gear. But it should get the engine running assuming all that is wrong is improper distributor and plug wire positioning. Once you get it running well, post again and we'll tell you how to move the distributor to the "stock" position.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remove all 6 spark plugs.

Remove the distributor cap

Remove the rotor.

Check the point gap. It should be 0.016". Set it if necessary.

Stuff a Kleenex into the #1 plug hole.

Turn the engine over by hand by turning the fan if it doesn't have a fan clutch. If you do have a fan clutch you'll need to turn the engine by pulling on the fan belt or with a socket on the crankshaft pulley. Turn in the direction the engine normally turns. That is the top of the fan should turn towards the driver's side fender.

Stop when the Kleenex falls out. You are approaching top dead center on cylinder #1.

Continue to slowly turn the engine in the same direction until the timing mark on the harmonic balancer is opposite the 5 degree mark (assuming this is a 49 state engine).

The distributor rotor is now pointing to where #1 spark plug wire will eventually be.

Loosen the locking bolt on the distributor. Rotate the distributor to where the vacuum advance is in a "comfortable" position. Not so close to the block that it may hit the block later when you make final timing adjustments. Snug the lock bolt, but not so tight that you can't move the distributor by hand.

Now we need to find the place that the points open. If you have a volt meter or a test light we will use the electrical method. If not, a piece of paper will do.

----------- Start of electrical method ---------------------------

If using the test light or volt meter, connect the positive (usually red) lead to the - side of the ignition coil. Connect the negative lead to ground.

Turn on the key BUT DO NOT ENGAGE THE STARTER.

If the test light is on or the meter reads around 12 volts rotate the distributor body very slowly CLOCKWISE until the light goes out or the meter reads zero.

If the test light is off or the meter reads zero volts rotate the distributor body very slowly COUNTERCLOCKWISE until the light comes on or the meter reads 12 volts.

Now rock the distributor body gently back and forth trying to find the exact place that the light goes on and off or the meter jumps from 12 volts to zero.

Once you are as close as you can get, tighten the locking bolt and skip to the part titled PUTTING THE DISTRIBUTOR CAP BACK ON.

----------- Start of PAPER method ---------------------------

Pull the points open with your finger or a screwdriver. Place a slip of paper between the points. Let the points close.

If the paper slip can be moved (not caught between the points) rotate the distributor body very slowly CLOCKWISE until the paper cannot be moved.

If the paper slip cannot be moved (it is caught between the points) rotate the distributor very slowly COUNTERCLOCKWISE until the paper can be moved.

Now rock the distributor gently back and forth trying to find the exact place that the paper releases and gets caught.

Once you are as close as you can get, tighten the locking bolt, remove the paper and continue below.

----------------------------- PUTTING THE DISTRIBUTOR CAP BACK ON ----------------

Timing should now be set close enough that the engine should start IF (big if) the plug wires are in the proper places.

Put the rotor back on.

The rotor is pointing to where #1 spark plug wire SHOULD be.

Make a mark on something under the hood that the rotor is pointing at. Doesn't matter what, just in a straight line extended from the middle of the rotor through the "end" of the rotor to where ever the end is pointing at. Call the mark "A".

Remove ALL the spark plug wires from the distributor cap.

Install all the spark plugs after checking gaps at 0.035".

Put the distributor cap on.

Now you need to figure out which spark plug wire to put where.

Start by placing the wires side by side, shortest to the right, longest to the left.

If the wires were original
.... the #2 and #3 wires would be the shortest.
.... the #1 and #4 wires would be slightly longer.
.... the #5 would be almost the longest.
.... the #6 would be the longest.
Yours should be something like that.

Remember that mark "A" from above? Attach the #1 spark plug wire to the distributor socket along that line from the center to mark "A". Attach the other end to the #1 spark plug.

Attach the #5 wire to the next distributor socket CLOCKWISE from #1. Attach the other end to the #5 spark plug.

Attach the #3 wire to the next distributor socket CLOCKWISE from #5. Attach the other end to the #3 spark plug.

Attach the #6 wire to the next distributor socket CLOCKWISE from #3. Attach the other end to the #6 spark plug.

Attach the #2 wire to the next distributor socket CLOCKWISE from #6. Attach the other end to the #2 spark plug.

Attach the #4 wire to the next distributor socket CLOCKWISE from #2. Attach the other end to the #4 spark plug.

Attach the wire from the center post on the distributor to the coil.

Crank it up and set ignition timing.

[Bill Hanlon]

Originally Posted by 66sprint6

I'm wondering if Bill's voltmeter/paper step should include turning the distributor clockwise, as opposed to counterclockwise, since Bill had the rotation backwards.

You are right! See revised post # 18.

[Carousel-Red]

The 69 Manual has this helpful diagram.