The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay wiring on top of distributor cap

I know the firing order on my 216, but where does the #1 wire start on the top of the distributor cap? thanks.

with the motor at TDC on cylinder #1.the wire will go where the rotor is pointing

starsfan,

BC52 speaks the truth. While a factory engine would have #1 located in a specific tower of the cap, it can actually be anywhere you want....as long as the rotor is under that tower on TDC.

If a person were to bring #1 to TDC and stuff the distributor in however it fit, the location of #1 would be pot luck, and perfectly acceptable. The location isn't an arbitrary thing, only the firing order from that location. Does this make sense!

Stuart

But the stock location would be with the rotor pointing perpendicular to the engine and toward the passenger side.
DG

Denny,

I never knew that about a 216. What about a 1954 235?

Tim

Not sure about that Tim, but I would imagine they all used the same datum. But like Stu and BC said, you can if you choose, point it anywhere as long as you pickup #1 and follow the firing order.
How they came up with the position that I mentioned probably has something to do with the best lie of the Hi-tension wires. You can look at a bunch of factory illustrations and that seems to be the starting position of choice.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny,

Would the best lie of a 216 be different from the best lie of a 1954 235? I have always seen the rotor pointing to about 5 o'clock (as it would be at the link I posted above).

Can you find/post a factory illustration of a 216 (on tocmp, for example) that shows a different configuration from the 54 235 illustration that I linked above?

Thanks,
Tim

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/electrical/50dr5022/50dres18.html

SOOOO, I'm off by 30° Tim, picky, picky. Maybe I'm starting to let down my guard and get sloppy with my workmanship. I even (he shudders) installed a Sony stereo and a RediRad in the old gal this past year. Well I guess if I'm gonna live up to my reputation I better put that distributor back where it was originally from the factory.
Ok, back at the distributor, it's still pointing to the passenger side, almost perpendicular to the engine, and yep, I yield, 5:00 o’clock is, a better description. I think I’m probably off a tooth on mine now that I think about it, and in your illustration that five o’clock position does balance out the length of all the wires perfectly.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Don’t forget when you drop that distributor in it is only going to fit in two positions. No mater how many teeth are on the gear it still has to drop all the way into the oil pump drive slot and it can only go in two positions 180 degrees apart

Good point, Kip

For those who really care where the rotor points at #1 TDC, you can rotate the oil pump drive slot to any position with a long flat-blade screw driver.

Tim

So, the distributor can fit into the engine in as many different positions as there are distributor drive gear teeth...and that's a fact Jack!

Stuart