Hey there i know most of you guys have been working on these cars longer than ive been alive im only 18 but i picked up a 75 duster last weekend it has a 318 in it and the guy had the intake off so i put that back on but he also took the distributor out and didn't make any marks where he took it out the cap is off and all the plug wires are in the correct order and hooked up to the plugs im just wondering what i need to do to put this distributor back in the right way so the timing is close enough to fire it up

thanks guys

Pull #1 spark plug, bump the motor around until it is on TDC compression stroke. Look at the timing marks should be close to TDC, if not you are not on the compression stroke, bump it around again. Once you find TDC drop in the distributor with the rotor under #1 on the cap.

thanks ill give it a shot i knew it had something to do with tdc but i wasn't sure but ill give it a try

thanks alot

Stick the distributor in,it can only go in 1 of 2 ways. Either its correct or its 180 degrees out. Theres no teeth to be concerned about.Just the slot on the bottom of the shaft. Once you have it stabbed in,you shouldnt be able to spin the rotor by hand,that way you know the shaft is engage with the oil pump.

If you stick it one way,and it wont fire,or it back fires,then your 180 out,youll need to pull the distibutor spin the rotor 180 degrees and stab it back in.

Dont forget to double check your plug wires and make sure they are routed correctly.

Hi,

Is Anyone Running a Stroker 440 (about 500CID) With a 6-Pack??? What mods did you make/jet sizes, etc??? What initial/total timing are you running?

A friend has just put together this (496CID) combo and is having problems. He is running the same 6-pack as he was on his 440. He is running a 4-speed and 3.91s, and it's in a 71 Cuda.

Not sure of what cam or other mods he has made. He said he was running 9:1 CR.

Thanks, Chuck

Once you have #1 on TDC, if the slot that drives the distributor doesn't let it point to #1, you'll need to move it so it does.

There's no guarantee the previous owner didn't move the oil pump drive shaft, which would change where the disty points.