Piece of cake, Scott. You only need to learn some basics which apply to almost all four stroke engines.
Your firing order is 1-5-3-6-2-4
Number one cylinder is the front most, up by the water pump.
Your engine rotates clockwise.
Your distributor rotates clockwise.
Begin by preparing your engine to accept your distributor. Make sure your key is off and nobody to punch your starter. Remove your spark plugs, take off your valve cover. Look at your valves for your number one cylinder. Exhaust valve is above your exhaust port, intake above your intake port.
Now the work. Slip your truck into high gear, brake off. You do the pushing and pulling, have your wife watch those valve rocker arms. Grab a tire or bumper, make your engine turn over. Watch for the exhaust valve to go down, then come back up. Watch the intake valve go down and when the valve begins coming back up, slow down, rotate the engine until the intake valve stops going up, right when the valve stops moving. You are now very close to Top Dead Center (TDC) on your number one cylinder.
Have your wife shine a flashlight down at the timing hole in your bellhousing. Very slowly rotate your engine clockwise and have her watch for a "silver ball" fly by through that hole. Rotate your engine forwards and backward, just a little, until you can just about center that silver ball in the hole. Sometimes, with a loose engine and a tight fan belt, you can grab a fan blade near the pulley and rotate your engine by hand, with the trans in neutral. Your valves must NOT move during this, if so, you rotated too far, go back and start over.
Get that silver ball on the flywheel lined up in the bellhousing timing hole. You are now close enough to install your distributor. This will not be perfect timing but close enough to fire up your engine then time with a timing light.
Prep your distributor. Used points, set a .016 gap, new points set a .019 gap. Usual rules apply, all is clean, your point lever is dead center on a high distributor cam lobe.
Shine a light down your engine distributor hole. Note how your oil pump shaft is aligned. Hold your distributor down by your engine and rotate until the vacuum advance will well clear your block, you need room to turn your distributor for timing without anything interfering. Now slowly rotate your rotor on your distributor until your distributor shaft end roughly aligns with your oil pump shaft. You can turn the oil pump with a long screwdriver if needed.
Carefully slide your distributor down into the hole, wiggle the rotor a bit to engage your oil pump shaft. Might have to remove and install your distributor several times to get a proper alignment between your distributor shaft and oil pump shaft. Your rotor will turn a bit when your distributor gear engages your camshaft, might not align with your oil pump shaft. This is a trial and error job. When all is aligned, your distributor will easily bottom out against your block.
Fetch your distributor cap and properly fit it to your distributor, only goes on one way. Take the cap back off then study where the rotor will be pointing with the cap on. The spark plug wire fitting which your rotor most closely points to will be your number one cylinder spark plug. Have to be careful, have to study close to be sure you have the right spark plug wire fitting. Mark this one somehow, piece of tape, whatever.
Install your distributor hold down clamp and bolt, only finger snug, not tight, snug.
Grab a thin strip of paper, like printer paper. Slowly rotate your distributor until your points open. Slip in your thin paper. Rotate your distributor a little until the points close and seize your paper. Grab your paper strip and tug just a little, slowly and carefully rotate your distributor clockwise until your points just let go of your paper. The moment your paper slips out, stop. Your timing is now rough and close enough to fire off your engine, at least get a backfire.
Tightened up your distributor clamp.
Double check your work. Silver ball on your flywheel just about center in your bellhousing timing hole. Both number one cylinder valves are closed and your number one piston is close to TDC. Your points are just opening and your rotor points very close to a spark plug fitting, the one you marked with tape.
Put everything back together, valve cover, distributor condenser, distributor cap, spark plugs and all that. Make sure all parts are in place and everything is a go.
Your number one spark plug goes in the distributor hole you marked. Looking down at your distributor, moving clockwise, your number 5 spark plug wire next. Continuing clockwise, number 3, then number 6, then number 2 and finally, number 4 spark plug wire. You should see a spark plug wire cylinder order:
1 5 3 6 2 4
Number one in the hole you marked.
Using a squirt gun, fill your carburetor float bowl with 1/4 cup of gas by carefully squirting gas down into the vent tube which is top and center of throat on your carb. Comes out at an angle, vent hole points upward. No more than 1/4 cup. Two squirts down your carburetor throat, adjust your manual choke half on.
Now you are ready to set your engine on fire, maybe even your truck. Keep a thick towel handy to toss over your carburetor should it catch on fire. Smother the fire, never spray with water.
If you have all right, this will not happen. Your engine, in time, should sputter and cough then eventually catch and run. If you luck out and your engine fires up, let the engine run at a fast idle, your choke should do this, a fast idle for about two minutes. Check your oil pressure to be sure you have some!
Your timing will be off, this is expected. Once warmed up, you can time your engine with a timing light. Idle down to about 400 to 500 rpm. Clamp your vacuum hose on your vacuum advance; bobby pin from your girl, clothespin, clamp, whatever, just pinch the hose so no vacuum to your distributor. Timing lead to your number one spark plug wire, other wires you know where those go. Slightly loosen your distributor clamp, snug, not loose, point your timing light at the timing hole in your bellhousing. Carefully rotate your distributor clockwise and counterclockwise until that silver ball becomes just about dead center in your bellhousing timing hole. This is good enough for now.
Scott, I am making a presumption you know all the things you need to do before test firing an engine, during running and after shutting down. Oil check, radiator water check, fuel line check, all those things you need to do for safety and to have your engine run.
I have given you a very basic method of installing your distributor. You only need to move along step-by-step very carefully. Mess up a step, your engine will not run or will not run right. Backfiring is a clue something ain't right.
You must have each step right or this will not work. You are to work slowly and carefully.
Now, before you try any of this, you are to go over to Google, then search like crazy and read like crazy on how to install a distributor and how to set the timing. You are to have all of this well in mind, know exactly what to do before you even pick up a wrench. Rehearse this in your mind and on your work bench. Do all of this, then check your work by doing this again. Lot of work turning over an engine, having everything lined up, worth doing two or three times before firing an engine to be sure you have all correct. No greater glory than having your engine fire up the first time you try.
There is a ton of information out on the web just waiting for you. Get out there then read and research, you will be rewarded.
Billyray
