Hi Bruce,
There should be a Red wire (clamp) goes on the Pos. of battery and a Black wire (clamp) goes on the negative and the third wire (May have a clamp) that clamps over the #1 spark plug wire, or a clip that goes on the spark plug and the plug wire goes on top. Find the timing mark on the damper or the dot on the flywheel and use some chalk or a dot of white paint. You can see it much better. The timing advance needs to be dis-connected and pluged so there won't be a vacuum leak and make the engine run rough. Check specifications on setting for your particular engine in shop manual or other book.

Truck Tinker