What is the firing order for the olds 350? I have found 18436572 but Im not sure if this is correct. Also the rotor turns counter clockwise on the olds? correct? where is the number one plug on the cap? its an HEI and im putting it in my olds 350. TDC is where the mark on the balancer and the arrow on the timing marks are right? Help, Im about to loose my mind

Hi c_creations, all
Yes, your firing order is 18436572. I believe you are also correct with the rotor turning counter clockwise. If you find TDC on #1 cylinder, that will be the #1 plug on the cap. To find TDC, and you may know this, take a screwdriver and stick it down the plug hole. Rotate the engine until the screwdriver reaches it highest point. That will be TDC. You may need to rotate the engine until the #1 cylinder is at TDC, compression stroke. That is when both valves are closed. Be sure that you have an Olds distributor, because they are shorter than a chebby cuz they dont go thru the intake. Hope that helps


Andrew

hmm yea, i got it to TDC and i positioned the rotor to the number one plug, and yea it just keeps back firing either out the pipes or through the carb, i tried to adjust it a bit and move it back and forth to make it better but it just wont run right. Im bout to really throw something really hard, ive been workin on it all day. How much do you think it would cost to let someone else do it.
This sucks

Hi c_creations, bobshow, all,
It could be that your distributor is off a tooth or two. I don't know how much it would cost you to have it done, but it sounds like that might be a good idea before you hit it with a hammer and break it... Bobshow, not to be a dick, but this is a thread about distributors, not about little buzzers. That is called a "thread hijack" and alot of people dont like it. The best thing to do is to create a new topic about it. But, I believe that your buzzer is under the dash somewhere... Its a looking game until you find whats buzzing. At least thats how I have done it. Why do you want to find it? I think that since it lets you know your lights are on, its a good thing to keep. But its not my call or my car. Hope this helps.

Andrew

Hi andrewk, bobshow, hello everyone,


Or 180* off because he's on the wrong TDC.


You can't be, because I'm the resident dick.


It's always better to start a new thread with an appropriate name as it's more likely to attract the person with the right answer.
For example, if I had a better answer than andrewk, I might never have seen your question because I'm no longer interested in this thread.

It's also helpful if one posts new questions on the subject in the same thread.

Regards, Norm

Hi c_creations, All,

Looks like my conscience won't let me be that much of a dick.

If you are replacing a points distributor with an HEI, there is some rewiring involved, so until you get a handle on what needs to be done you might consider putting the points back in. If not, disregard.

The following applies to both:

Remove the #1 (driver side, front) spark plug and remove the coil wire..
With your finger in the hole, have someone bump the starter 'til you feel/hear air from the compression push on the finger.
Turn the harmonic balancer clockwise slightly (viewing from the front) til it shows 10* advanced. If it's bumped too hard it can pass the marks and will have to be backed up.
Pull the dist out and replace it so the rotor points at the #1 plug wire if the wires are still in the cap. If not put the #1 wire where the rotor points. The vacuum advance goes on the Pass side between the intake and the firewall.
Connect the wires (if applicable) and snug the clamp enough that it won't move by itself but not so tight you can't move it smoothly.
Replace the spark plug and coil wire.
Twist the dist to the left 10* or so.
While holding the end of the plug wire about 1/4" to 3/8" inch away from a ground source, Twist the dist slowly to the right until the spark occurs.
Clamp the dist down. If it has a stock advance curve, you're done.

Regards, Norm

ok
I got it really close, but i dont have a timing light to get it exact. so i guess ill just take her in and have "them" do it. I dont know if the TDC on this is true, because i did all that and its just not up to stuff quite yet. oh well.

Thanks for getting me this far.

Hi Norm, creation, all,
Wasnt trying to take your job Norm... But can I be your "apprentice"? LOL.... Yeah, I agree with Norms post, about the retrofit. Its too bad that you cant finish yourself after getting that far, but glad I could help.

Andrew

haha well at least i can drive it to the shop and dont have to tow/push it:S

Hi All,


I figure with enough knowledge/experience, one has a right to be a dick on occasion.

What's in your resume? How many years of "hands on" performance engine design/machine/assembly/tuning experience?
In my case, it's more than a few years, and "hands on" has included everything except the actual cam grinding, crank grinding, and balancing operations.

The following (as do most of my statements) apply to everyone who is interested in increasing performance with any engine.

If you followed directions, it's at 10* BTDC, which will work very well on a stock 350. Where to go from there is governed by the engine mods. The cam change rendered all the stock specs useless, so unless the shop has a chassis dyno, a timing light is no help. If they do, it's not needed.

The most common patch, is to advance it til you hear ping at full throttle then back off it slightly. If there is inaudible ping, (the actual engine killer) I don't know what to tell you, because it's the reason I don't use that method.

If the dist you took out was better than a half assed set up (half assed = an aftermarket curve kit used), and the timing was close to correct for your combo, you just threw away some very valuable numbers.

No way to know without checking, but it's very possible you replaced a performance distributor with a stock one. If so, it won't run as well as it did, but you don't know that because you didn't check it and you didn't set a baseline or benchmark.

Does "you need to find out where you are, so you'll know where to go next" sound familiar?

All the information you need (or would have needed) would have been here, but, it seems you already know what you are doing, so don't bother looking.

You might want to ask yourself: "If it's that easy, why doesn't everyone run 12s (or 11s) with a 350 Cutlass"?

Or: Why does one '88 "G" body run a second (or more) quicker than another with the same aftermarket parts?

Here's a freebee: Why did my 3950# (drive anywhere) grey Olds coupe run 11.98 @ 116 with a 2.2 60' time, using a '69 455/400 and '57 Olds rear end. It used all OEM or OEM replacement parts (including the '69 points distributor that came with the 455) except the following list of aftermarket parts:

1) A 40 yr old Edelbrock intake.
2) A 20 yr old out of the box (except minor squirter and jet changes) Holley carb.
3) A 35 yr old Engle cam.
2) 2 generic glasspack mufflers.
4) An off the shelf (and very streetable) Art Carr converter.

Everything else in the car was/is '50 Olds OEM or OEM replacement, except:

5) 2 M & H soft compound DOT approved (drive anywhere) tires on a pair of custom made (to my specs) steel wheels.
6) '57 Olds front coil springs, minus 2 1/3 coils each.

If I had listened to all the free advice at hangouts, cruises, shows, street races, and even at the drags, I'd have an unstreetable car full of mismatched aftermarket parts that runs in the 13s.

The miss information spreads more rapidly, and gets exaggerated even more since Algore invented the internet.

As I've tried to say before, you need to decide who to listen to.

You also need to decide whether you want it to be quick or if you just want to fock with it.

A little something to think about, before you continue your project.

Good luck with it.

Regards, Norm

hmm, Your very interesting to listen to, Im getting to like this. I want to be faster. It sucks very much because the guy who bought my engine just bought it as a rebuilt 355/350 engine, so i really dont know whats in it. Yea it sucks. so when i got the timing. when i gave it alittle gas it came up through the carb, which is Bad!!!!!!!!!!!! so im guessing that is to far advanced. but i dont know because this is the first. It does have an after market cam in it so that probably messes things up, I just want to get it to run again. and with my lack of knowledge... its not helping one bit. Please bare with me. I will learn as fast as i can. So, the timing is off so it detonates through the carb. what does this mean. And yes i know its bad.

Thanks

o i forgot, it dosent have an aftermarket advanced curve.
would that help?

Hi All,

It's easy (and fun) being a dick when the other party starts it.

In this case, it's a last attempt to get my point across.


But my suggestions are not worth following? My questions are not worth answering?

Hard to help someone who withholds what little information he does have.


I'm not.

It's not fun spending 3 or 4 hours composing a post in order to make sure it is as accurate, clear, and informative as possible, then having it ignored.


Everyone does. First step is either to learn the basics or to have a pro build the car for you.

Or you could get more help from the person who told you to change distributors without knowing which was the better one, then didn't tell you what's involved in the prodedure.


And I already gave you the first step toward finding out.

But, instead of answering my questions, you chose to do something stupid.


Take it to the shop. When they have it running as well as they can, you can start over. This time at the beginning.


Already covered in one of your other threads. You probably ignored it cause it didn't refer to something else to bolt on.


Take it to the shop.


Does the word "basics" sound familiar?

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/

As I said when I originally posted the link, "don't just read it, understand it". The answers to your questions are there. You won't see them if you just read the material, but they are obvious after you understand what you've read.


It means you should learn what's involved with a job before attempting it.

It means you made one of two rookie mistakes. Take it to the shop and have them do it right.


1) You said you don't know what you have, so how do you know whether it does or doesn't?
2) I called it a half assed patch, so why did you ask?

You have shown me you are not interested in learning anything.

To paraphrase:
I would give you the knowledge to catch your own fish, but you want me to catch one and cook it for you.

Maybe, someone else will.

Regards, Norm

Norm,
I have been in engines since I was 14, so that gives me almost 6 years of experience. So in some aspects I am still green, but in those 6 years I have learned alot and have done alot. When I was 14 I bought a 1979 Jeep Cherokee that got 5 miles to a quart of oil I rebuilt it to stock specs using nothing but my brain and a service manual. That was my start. I got more out of the Jeep than I had in it, and it is still running, so I must have done something right... My next vechile was a 84 Olds cutlass supreme. 4 doors, vinyl top, 307. I built an Olds 350 for it with a TH350 behind it. I did this one over a couple times to get it right. I used an old Edelbrock intake, 4a heads, an Erson cam that this old guy recommended and an 850cfm Q-Jet. I put flat top pistons and a 330 steel crank in it the second go around because it was a dog at first. I then learned the value of having a rotating assembly balanced when it all came apart after the crank change. Luckily the crank was not hurt. 3rd go around (a year later when I had saved up enough money to do it again) I got it right. And that is when I fell in love with Olds. It had more guts than any chevy I had ever driven. It was no 10 second car, but it felt quick. Unfortunatly I wrecked the car really bad and the engine, amazingly unscathed by the ordeal, ended up in a chevy truck in front of a TH-400 with 4:10 gears. Fun truck, but recently had to get rid of it. So someone, if you find a green 1979 half ton chevy with an edelbrock intake and 4a heads, it has a steel crank, so buy it.
Sorry for the book, but that is most of my resume. I have not built race engines, but I have built them for mild street performance. By trade, I am a small engine mechanic. It was doing that where I learned to grind valves and cut seats, and do most internal stuff. I have built race engines for guys that pull garden tractors. Its insane. Theres my life....lol

Hi andrewk, All,

I guess I should have used a smiley or two.

That's pretty much what I remember from ROP.


Sorry you got started so late.

Regards, Norm