Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Would love to confirm the correct ignition timing on my Six, but alas, there are no apparent timing marks on this engine. There is a pointer installed on the front of the block, hovering over the harmonic balancer, but there are no marks on the outer face of the balancer, just a paint chip. I have learned that there are timing marks on the flywheel, and that there is a viewing port on the flywheel housing, underneath the starter. Not on this engine. I removed the left front wheel/tire and the inner fender skirt and found the port, but on this engine the "port" is just an indentation in the housing surface, and made of the same material as the rest of the housing, apparently. Next option, I had hoped to be able to find TDC by the "removing spark plug #1 and inserting a rod to sense the position of the piston, and then crank the engine by hand" method, but of course the spark plug holes are aligned over the valves, not the pistons. I do not desire to remove the top of the engine - surely there is a gasket under there that will require replacement, and are replacement gaskets actually available. Had to rebuild a badly leaking Carter WA-1 carburetor, and need to know the ignition timing is set properly. Any insight would be appreciated.

It's supposed to be just below the starter mounting flange lower bolt. It may be covered with a stamped steel cover that can be swung out of the way. According to the 1938-39 shop manual, there is an access hole under the starter and there are timing marks on the flywheel. The shop manual is available for download on this website in the Literature Section.

Good morning. Some of us remove the plugs and then put a penny over the number one plug hole. Turn the engine over by hand and when the penny jumps up, you are at top dead center. I suspect someone has done this with your engine. The pointer and the white spot on the balancer are to help the timing light confirm your setting. Ernie in Arizona

Thanks for the replies to my post. I like the idea of making a penny jump, seems very direct. My interpretation of the presence of a paint chip on the harmonic balancer perhaps in the vicinity of TDC is that if someone wanted to go to the trouble of marking TDC, why not draw a line, instead of chipping the paint with a blunt object- who knows. Another of the oddities of this engine, like the lack of a viewing port in the flywheel cover. I appreciate the insights.

I would carefully recheck the area where the hole in the bell housing is supposed to be.

Good Evening...Just a point to consider...On our 1949 -- 288, we had to really clean and polish the harmonic balancer, in order to find the timing marks, which were lightly stamped into the harmonic balancer...I allmost gave up, and then lo and behold...there they were. Ernie in Arizona

I’m not sure if it’s the same on your ‘39, but here are a couple of pictures I took a while back of the flywheel timing marks on my ‘37 138CD. I’m assuming it would be similar for your car. This viewing port is just below the starter.




To make it easier to see the correct timing, I painted the pointer white as well as the 7 degree BTDC.