I have a 72 Pontiac 400 motor with a HEI distributor. What should the ignition timing be set at??

Answer 1

6 degrees before top dead center with vacuum advance plugged

Answer 2

i believe the timing sets at 6 degrees on that motor,,since you have the electronic distributor in it you actually Can play with the timing on it,,and power set it,,this is simply a method of setting it ,,so that it runs the best,,how you do it,,is you run the timing up on it until it starts too miss just a little,,then you take it back down slightly until the miss just goes away,,this is how we set the timing on the bigger engines so you can get the maximum amount of power from it,and most of the time the fuel economy will be better also,,i hope this helps.

Answer 3

it all depends on the size of the cam shaft. If it has a high lift high duration then you need alot of timing aka (advanced) too somewhere around 35-38 degrees. If the cam is stock then somewhere in the range of 25-32 degrees. remember to disconnect the vacuum advance and raise rpms to over 1500 and hold steady then set timing.

Answer 4

i would say at 12 degrees before top dead center any car i ever seen was that setting maybe it still says on one of the stickers onder the hood domewhere in plain sight.

Answer 5

the timing setting is 10 dec btdc (advance)

Answer 6

forget about manufacturing specs...... the motor is old and has wear

set the timing so that it idles smooth.......

Answer 7

try www.askautopro.com. They know everything like that.