make your own timing marks

missing timing covers and need to tune? no problem.

step one: find a source of some carbon, like a handy exhaust pipe.

step 2: find some self adhesive label paper with removable adhesive. smear the carbon onto the face of the timing gear and then stick the label paper to it, like so.

step 3: peel off. oooh look what we have here, actual size impression complete with teeth!

step 4: do the math. number the teeth or cheat and use some graph paper like i did. just remember this: the circle represents 720* of crank movement, and advance is clockwise from the mark, and retard is counterclockwise. you might notice some of those items pwning me in the following photos.

cut out your little ghetto newly made degree wheel and glue it on the front of your cam gear. transfer the marks as you have them by punch through or cutting through (scribe) with x-acto knife. in my drawing there, it's numbered off and backward but i flipped it over and did it both ways.

cinch down a piece of stiff wire under one of the valve cover bolts and pray it doesn't start a leak. mine didn't.

now index your motor to TDC by hand, and make sure the indexes all appear where they are supposed to. you can string the crank to double check the cam index. now bend the stiff wire and line it up with the cam index, this is your TDC.

those marks i made that were 10 actual degrees apart, represented 20* of crank timing. i later set it to just past halfway to the first mark clockwise from the index.

DONE!!!