VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc 216 timing marks

1952 styleline deluxe 3spd with a 216. The shop manual section 12 page 36 upper right hand corner of the page discusses finding U/C by lining up a mark on the bell housing after getting #1 to slightly past Top dead center. I am having trouble reinstalling the distributor. I have done this job many times but all of a sudden seem brain dead. Is the U/C mark a chevron shaped mark about 1 to 1/2 inches apart from the steel ball? Please enlighten me to the meaning of U/C.The problem I am having is getting the rotor to rotate to the proper location for #1 and lining up the spade that drives the oil pump. Like a dummy I marked all points prior to removing the distributor and then as I like to work with clean parts in a clean area proceeded to clean the marks off.

You are not in as much trouble as you think you are. The U/C means upper center. This is the mark that you use to aline the distributor. As you have discovered the distributor wishes to corkscrew on the way down and won't aline with the oil pump slot. Use a large screwdriver to move the oil pump slot to the projected location to fit the distributor. If everything is alined it will 'go home'. If not, put a light pressure on the distributor while someone turns the motor by either a crank or by use of the fan. You can feel it falling into the slot.

Now locate the proper places for the plug wires on the distributor cap.

Final timing is done with the engine running.

Glyn:
I had the same problem after pulling the distributor and not marking it. I rotated the flywheel until the u/c was in the bellhousing window on the passenger side of the motor (near the starter). Then I turned the slot that the dizzy drops into parallel with the block using a screwdriver and dropped the dizzy in with the clips basically parallel with the motor. With the rotor on the dizzy (dizzy cover off), you then have to make sure that you get the teeth on the oil pump gear lined up with the dizzy gear so that the rotor is pointing at #1 plug. Pulling dizzy up and dropping back in, you can eventually get teeth lined up. I put dizzy cap on, fired it up and fined tuned it with timing light. Motor runs great.

Just be careful you have #1 cylinder on compression. The marks on the flywheel will also line up for #6 putting everything 1/2 cycle out.
Easy way remove #1 spark plug place your finger over splark plug hole and turn motor by hand until pressure felt then continue until marks line up. Then continue as in previous posts.
Tony

I got it running today, was just having a problem with patience running short. Probably had the distributor in there correctly more than once but it did not look right to me. Checked for contact with the oil pump and all is okay. Now all I have to do is replace the muffler I blew out the first time around. Thanks for the input.