Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

I have been trying to tune the straight 8 in my '53 Clipper, and I cant seem to get the timing right. It idles ok, but at high RPMs under load it seems to flutter out. I have it set to 0 degrees right now. Would advancing it solve the problem?

Check Packardclub.org that does not sound like the correct setting. I think it should be something like 6 deg

Ye.s, confirming Packard1949's comment, 0 degrees is very severely late; about 6 degrees BTDC is a good starting point though you might want to fine-tune from there a degree or two.

There appears to be only a 0 mark on the balancer, but with the advice of an old man down the street I advance the timing until it idled rough and then backed it off til it smoothed out. This seems to help a bit, but still doesn't solve the problem completely. Could it be a problem with the vacuum advance? It seems to work fine, but perhaps it doesn't perform as good under load?

NEVER seen a front vibration damper on one of those vehicles with just a 0 mark; they typically have a range from about 15 degrees BTDC to a couple of degrees after. I suggest you try cleaning off the old paint which should reveal the individual degree marks.

That failing, you can quite easily establish a 6 degree BTDC mark yourself using the 0 as a reference, assuming the 0 mark is truly TDC. Measure the OD of the damper, multiply by 3.1416 to get the circumference, and divide that by 360. That will give the decimal parts of an inch which represents each degree of rotation. Multiply that by 6, and mark off the distance from the 0 and you have a point for 6 degrees BTDC.

Old thread, but new motor...

I am now putting a 180hp 327 into my car. Is 6 degrees BTDC still a good start for this motor? This one has all the timing marks on the damper...

Thanks in advance!!!

Yes, 6 degrees BTDC is still the best starting point. If you haven't already, you should download the Service Manual located here.

Quote:
"There appears to be only a 0 mark on the balancer..."

I don;t know about the 53 engines but my 2262 (1948 288cid) has timing marks that are very UNacceptable faint. There has been atleast one other report of faint timing marks too at this forum recently. More fine eng'ring from the master engine builders of PMCC.

Need to clean the area around the "0" mark and inspect closely.

Disconnect the vacuuum advance and draw on the vacuum dashpot with lung power to see if it is working or not.