I got a new distributor for my '73 360. It's a stock replacement distributor, electronic ignition like the one it had. The truck was running and driving ok with the old distributor, and it was timed to about 10 btdc.

Before I took out the old dist, I rotated the engine to 0 on the balancer to where the rotor was pointing near (but not at) #1 on the cap. It was pointing almost inbetween where #1 and the next terminal clockwise. I was surprised as I thought it would be pointing right at where #1 plugged in.

I put the new dist in and oriented it just like the one I took out, including pointing it to the same spot on the cap the old one was (not directly at #1), even though it seemed wrong, but it had been running OK. Plugged the trailer style connector into the ignition system as the old one had been. I cranked it over a few times, it sounded funny and didn't start.

Then I took the cap off and rotated the engine to 10btdc on the balancer, and rotated the dist so that the rotor was now pointing right at #1 terminal. Which is how I thought it should have looked all along. Turned it over and it fired right up. I haven't driven it yet but I'm looking forward to seeing what if any difference there is.

From googling it seems the pickup wires were reversed. I am not sure how it ran at all with the old setup given that the rotor wasn't pointing at #1 when it was supposed to, even though it was near it.

Does it sound like the wires were reversed, and can any gurus explain how would it have run "decent" the old way being so far off?