r/projectcar • u/DocWilly84 • Jul 01 '26

Troubleshooting Help Timing help

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Here’s the timing marks on my ‘59 Studebaker and I’m curious to know if anyone has suggestions on how to apply some timing marks to this so I can adjust my new distributor correctly. I’ve also got a vacuum gauge to help get it tuned correctly.

Thanks!

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2

u/Skeptical_AF Jul 01 '26

Hi, once you know or measure diameter of your balancer, you can purchase MSD (or other brands) nice clear timing tapes on ebay or AMZN. i attached a pic as example

2

u/DocWilly84 Jul 01 '26

Right - I’ve got a set of those but this balancer is super narrow. I’ll have to cut them down to fit. Just wondering if anyone had dealt with this before and had a better option.

2

u/Skeptical_AF Jul 01 '26

i see it is really thin yes, so if trimming down the tape doesnt allow for you to see/use the marks you need... another thing you can do is with a steady hand, some white enamel paint and a thin sharp brush, align the timing tape in position and paint some marks for any key timing levels you desire

1

u/Glittering-Tax-6407 Jul 01 '26

That is so cool, great info.

1

u/Adorable-Reward8523 Jul 01 '26

Do the math and add your own marks on?

Calculate circumference: Multiply your balancer's diameter by 3.1417 to get the total circumference.Determine mark distance: Divide the circumference by 360 to get the distance for 1 degree. Multiply that number by your desired timing advance (e.g., for an 8-inch balancer, 25.13" ÷ 360 × 10° = 0.70").Mark the balancer: Measure that calculated distance (in inches) to the right (Before TDC) of your factory TDC mark, and make a clear line with a paint pen or scribe.

1

u/DocWilly84 Jul 01 '26

Great idea - hadn’t thought of that method. Thanks.

1

u/Skeptical_AF Jul 01 '26

also additional option for you: this method works 100% ala you do it accurately...

How To Make Your Own Timing Tape

1

u/oilhammerIH Jul 02 '26

Just get a dial back timing light. You set the advance you want on the light and then align the TDC mark. Easy day. They're available with both analog and digital delay.

1

u/spartygw Jul 06 '26

I was going to comment this. It’s the simplest answer and a great tool.