Got my first advanced timing light, need tips

[Mrturner1]

I got a timing light that has a dial on the back for timing, and I've never timed a vehicle before so I have NO idea what I'm doing but I wanna learn and tune on my own. No idea what it's set at now and I'm putting on the new edelbrock 650 carb at the moment. Any help is greatly appreciated

[68 P.O.S.]

Check this out: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=274806

[Mrturner1]

Do 350's tend to run better with certain timing set? Do aftermarket parts make a difference in what the timing should be? And is it as simple as pointing the light at the harmonic damper?

[4 Wheelin Fudpucker]

If you have points you need a dwell meter, that might be what the dial is.
need pic

[Benny-]

That link has a lot of good info. The timing mark on the harmonic balancer could be painted to make it easier to see. Make sure your vacuum advance is connected to the passenger side port on the front of the carb. A good starting point would be around 6 or so degrees BTDC at idle and 34 ish at around 3k rpms. If timing is off the distributer must be twisted to change the timing.

[Benny-]

I might add, the knob in the timing light makes it so you can find your advance while constantly having the timing mark hit "0". So if the knob is at say 12 and the mark is hitting zero, you're at 12 deg BTDC. Turn the knob at a given rpm til the mark hits zero and that is where your timing is. Set the knob to a degree you'd like to be at and see where the mark falls to know which way to turn the distributer. Just play around with it some.