Small Block Chevy 350

[Phillfam99]

Hello all,

I keep having issue's with this dang 66 chevy C10 pickup truck.

1. Timing. I have replaced every piece of electrical componant in this truck. I pulled the distributor and installed it correctly. (rotor bud facing #1 cylinder) I brought the engine to TDC. Cranked it up and it runs like poop. When i put my timing light on it, the timing mark on the balancer is on the passenger side. I cant get it to come over to the timing indicator. Has anyone ever heard of this?

2. Tachometer. I installed a super tach II. My hot wire (red) goes to my fuse pannel (an unused ign plug). My green wire goes to the negative side of my HEI super coil on the distributor. and the black goes to the ground. My problem is that my needle on the tach is spiking. it generally stays around 800 to 1000 rpms at idle but every now and then it will bounce up to 2 thousand. When I am cruising the needle will go erratic. Again, I have all new componants. They are listed below.

Distributor cap, Plugs, Plug Wires, Super HEI Coil, New underdash wiring harness, New engine harness. New ignition switch, All new fuses, You name it, I've replaced it.

All parts have been installed to specifications. But the truck just doesnt seem to be running right. And I cant time it because the mark is on the other side of the truck so i am having to time it by ear. But that just doenst seem right to me. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Merry Christmas.

[60ratrod]

hey phil, sounds to me like your distributor is 180 off. i had a 79 ford ranchero that i rebuilt the motor in and i kept on either getting nothing or fireballs from the carb. come to find out that it was 180* out. in otherwords my motor wasn't set to the correct tdc. both intake and exhaust valves must be closed. i took my valve cover off in order to find true tdc. try that. i hopes that it helps. and the tach issue, depending on the tach there should be an option for a 4 cyl, 6 cyl , and 8 cyl modes on the back that's changed by a switch. if it's set on the 8 cyl mode the it sounds like you may have either a bad ground or your distributor wire from your tach may be grounding on something or has a bad connection. good luck phil and i hoped that i helped you out on this one.

[Phillfam99]

When I take the valve covers off, what should I be looking for on the number one cylinder? Push rod up or down?

[60ratrod]

you are going to want both of your valves closed which is the down position. like i said, i had to do it on my ford motor to get true tdc

[MadMike128SL]

You could also pull the #1 plug and with a straightened coat hanger through the spark plug hole turn the motor by hand and watch the hanger move all the way up. When it reaches TDC look at your mark. If it is not at the pointer or 180 out then the outter ring of the balancer moved.

[Phillfam99]

Isn't the balancer pressed on and doesnt it have a key (or tooth) to prevent it from being installed incorrectly? What do you mean the outer ring of the balancer has moved. If it has how would i tell. And what would you suggest I do to fix it?

[60ratrod]

theres a piece of rubber that goes between the outter ring of the balancer and the body of the balancer. once those 2 are put together they are then balanced by either drilling a series of holes or adding small chims of metal. once that outter ring slips i don't think that there is a damn thing that you can do other than replace the whole balancer

[Phillfam99]

Well,
that has to be my problem then. Because I have checked and re-checked everything else. Thanks for all your guys help. I will just purchase a new one from NPD.

[60ratrod]

if you wanna get a alittle spendy get either an internally balanced or a fluidamper. i hear those are supposed to be really good but i've looked and they are a little more expensive, well the fluidampers anyway

[60ratrod]

my buddy may have an idea if you are still having problems. set your balancer timing mark to the timing mark on your engine. then if your motor is at top dead center, put something like a screwdriver, coat hangar, old push rod, etc. to check your tdc. if it is at tdc then you will not be able to stick the object in very far. and if every thing is correct as far as your tdc and timing marks aligning then you should move your plugwires one over in a clockwise direction because everything is one off. he also told me that another way of finding true tdc is to put your finger over the #1 plug hole and when it blows your finger off of the hole then you are there or close. happy hunting man.