The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Timing light?

It's been 40 years since I owned a timing light and all I can remember is that the cheap ones had to be used in the middle of the night because the light was so weak and the good ones were expensive, at least on my salary.

So, what's the current wisdom on timing lights? What do I need to buy to keep an almost stock 235 tuned?

Oh, and I didn't become independently wealthy in the past 40 years either...

I really don't think you need one. I have a 12v that works on 6v, the light is just a bit dimmer and I have an old Sun 6 or 12v that I bought at an auction a while back. I rarely use either. I think the rule of thumb of advancing the timing until you start to get pinging on acceleration then backing it up until the ping goes away is probably the best way. If there really is a BEST way to set your timing.

You mean there's something I DON'T have to buy?
Surely there must be some mistake.

I belive timing to spec's is the wat to go,also setting the dwell angle is important.cheap timing light:20 bucks.dwell meter,dont know but I have three of em and use em all the time on the older motor's.got them at garage sales through the years.never paid more than 5 bucks for em.Just my 2 cents...tom

I preferr using a light, too. Get one with a xenon bulb and seeing it won't be a problem. Most of the timing lights available now have xenon bulbs anyway, so even an inexpensive one will do. Personally, I have one that has an advance knob on it (Matco), as my engine does not have a vacuum advance on it an needs extra base timing to run happy. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with other methods, I just feel that using a light is more accurate.

Thanks for the input. I'll get a timing light to set to factory and then advance using the Ping Test... seems to be the consensus.

with points, set gap first (you can validate with dwell meter) Timing lite is recommended, however I also use the advance until she pings method.

However I would personally pick up a pertronix conversion to eliminate the points. Then the engine timing wont vary with points wear.

Because each engine is different I use the timing light to establish a starting point. Then I set the final timing with a vacuum gauge. I get good results without having to use the ping method. There are some tricks to doing this. First, the idle speed has to be set as slow as possible, and the the the timing adjustment must be done very slow until the highest vacuum with a steady needle on the gauge is obtained. I thought about writing and submitting a tech tip on this.

That would be a great idea.

Go for it, Jim.

Whether you choose to listen for the pinging or watch the vacuum shouldn't deter anyone from using a timing light. As Jim and others said, you use the light to set the starting point. From that point, you use the light and increase it by two degrees. You didn't get what you wanted? You use the light and add two more degrees. Now it's pinging or the vacuum dropped. Use the light and drop it one degree. If this makes you happy, you now have your new timing mark.
You had started at, say four degrees and after putzing around you added three more degrees. The next time you need to set the timing, you set it at seven degrees and be done with it.
I have a digital timing light with the dial-back and a tach. The tach in your old dwell-tach meter may not work with electronic ignition. Mine would not work with the HEI so the timing light tach, takes care of that.

Another quick note on timing lights on 6 volt systems, you can hook up the 12v timing light to a separate 12v battery and the sparkplug wire to the 6v stovebolt you are timing. The light does not care where it gets its power from and it is independent from the timing. Nice bright light from 12v, although it does take away from quality time with your truck in a darkened garage.