ww2dodge.com Forum

Hi folks,
A buddy of mine has a CCKW that he is restoring. He now has the engine back in chassis and was asking if the ball embedded in the flywheel is the ignition timing mark or the TDC mark?

What is the factory setting for timing, and what is an "ideal for 91 octane gasoline.

Thanks

Ian

According to the TM, initial timing is 5 degrees before upper dead centre which is where the steel ball is situated. This is done with the manual adjustment or octane selector in mid position. The TM then states that the final setting is determined by test driving and adjusting so as detonation or pinging occurs at low speed under full throttle.
My experience is that the octane rating of the fuel today is so high and the engine compression ratio so low the forgoing test is meaningless. Some people are of the firm opinion that using a vacuum gauge and adjusting the timing to a point that coincides with the highest vacuum gives optimum performance. That is something I have not determined.
Initial timing gives good results and you can decide yourself where you take it from there.

David

Thanks Dave