I'll eventually get a timing light but does anyone have a good procedure for timing by ear? I was able to get it idling well by adjusting the distributor and no pinging at all when I rev the engine up to 4000+ rpm. Also the adjustment I made cured my cold start problems.

I assumed that when the engine was warm (with vacuum advance disconnected and plugged) I could adjust the distributor to get the smoothest idling and this would at least be close to the correct timing.

You can do it with a vacuum gauge too. Highest STEADY vacuum.

Good Grief. You need a timing light to set timing. Smoothest ilde aint it. HIghest vacuum aint it. This isn't something you set "close". Without a light you are gonna be lucky to get within 10 degrees.
What next??
You don't need a feeler gauge to set valve adjustment.
You don't need a torque wrench to torque head bolts.
You don't even need a tire pressure gauge, just fill em til they look right.
Dipstick?? nah, just add oil, that's close enough.

RRoller123 wrote:You can do it with a vacuum gauge too. Highest STEADY vacuum.

If you do that you'll have ~30 degrees of advance at idle. With the low stock compression it may not even ping.

Yep.hoping to borrow one or look for a deal. Right bow only one I can get is 50. I see habourfreight has a xenon one for 19. Just not sure about delivery to canada.

Timed my carbed 79 X1/9 by vacuum for 135K trouble free miles, but you are right, once you get to the highest reading, you need to back off a little to get it really steady, as in no jumping at all. Otherwise you are a little too advanced. But it works well.

I didn't put the timing belt cover back on my '81 FI. But I see the timing marks on a metal bracket that is bolted into the block and angled into place (and tightened) after replacing the timing belt. My timing belt cover didn't have timing marks on it. So I assume this metal piece indicates the timing? I'll try to white-out the marks on the crankshaft and the indicator because it looks like it might be tough to see the marks way down low on the engine.

Nice I'm learning a lot about this engine. When I started... no knowledge of cars except oil changes and brakes. Now I'm rebuilding the top end of my engine, replacing the timing belt, diagnosing electrical issues, rebuilding the interior, replacing fuels lines, etc... I think this car is the perfect car to learn this on... along with the advice on this site!

majicwrench wrote: You don't need a feeler gauge to set valve adjustment.

I didn't have one 40 years ago when I changed a head gasket on a Fiat 1500. I just adjusted them till it felt right (pushrods are easy to adjust). And it was ok, as it wasn't my car, but belonged to a friend who traded it to another friend one month later, after which it was smashed into by a drunk driver. He told the insurance adjuster it was a very expensive Italian car, and got a decent amount of money for it.

And I didn't have a torque wrench either.

Hey Richard, I am pretty sure Partsource can loan you one

when engine gets hot, meaning that radiator fan has turned on and back off, adjust the distributor untill you get highest idle revs and smooth running.

can you adjust the timing withouth proper tools? sure you can, if you have experience.
also, sometimes the engine is not runing at it's best at factory settings. maybe you don't have the fuel the factory had?

can you tighten head bolts without torque wrench? sure you can. after tightening enough fiat heads, i've done it for a bet and was within 10% of specified torque on all bolts

can you adjust valves vithout feeler gauge? sure, a matter of experience and trial and error. when you don't hear them anymore while engie is at idle, you got it right

4uall wrote:Hey Richard, I am pretty sure Partsource can loan you one

I tried them. No loaner... but they sell one for $150!

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/induc ... 2vAzfldVyw

$49.99 Canadian Dollars, and it's in stock in Aisle 10 of Canadian Tire at 330 COVENTRY ROAD Ottawa, ON K1K 4S3.

Essential tool a timing light....

Good grief again. Experience?? At what, doing shade tree work?? That's fine I suppose, it's your car. I've been doing this professionally for 35+ years, and I wouldn't dream of trying to set ignition timing wo a timing light. I might be able to get close, give or take 10 degree. Maybe I'm not experienced enough....

Take a chill pill. His original question was whether there was a way to get the timing close without a light, and the answer is yes. Simple as that. Not the preferred method, but it works. Geeesh, this at times is starting to sound like the VW GTI forum.

I think that we're probably more in the camp of "Please don't try to set it yourself, either buy a cheap timing light or find someone with one that you can borrow for 10 mins". Given there's a budget of $50, and there's one available nearby for that - definitely worth doing.