[E-Type] Degreeing the flywheel, was: Oil to my Cams

E-Type
1

Dave,

I forget what year your car is, but here’s a nice upgrade
you can do while the engine is apart. Only useful if you
have an early car with the window in the bell housing
back by the dipstick.

First, make sure the factory TDC mark on the flywheel
is aligned with Cylinder 1 TDC – the flywheel can be
installed 180 degrees out, no problem, but then that mark
is not there to find TDC accurately. Use the TDC check
to verify that it is exactly accurate for TDC.

Second, align the damper with that TDC mark, then turn the
engine to 10 degrees BTDC, and mark the flywheel at that
position with a chisel.

Measure flywheel circumference and divide that by 360, to get
the width of a single degree. Then you can use that to mark
individual degrees as far out as you like. I have 40 BTDC
and 20 ATDC, just to cover any eventuality.

That way you can check timing from the top of the engine
rather than laying down on your back. Also, you can be
assured of accurate TDC. You do have a lot of parallax there,
but it’s not to hard to find where to position your head to see
the right mark.

I know, modern timinng lights allow you to dial in degrees BTDC,
and electronidcs are very accurate for that – but the mechanical
switches for seting the advance are very tacky, and I don’t
really trust them. This way I can be sure.

Pretty easy to do while things are apart, impossible once it’s
buttoned up.

Jerry

Jerry Mouton '64 E Type FHC “Laissez les bons temps rouler!”
Jaguar Owner’s North American Tour - http://jonat.org
April 15, 2004 - July 4, 2004----- Original Message -----
From: “David Ahlers” david.ahlers@brp.com
To: e-type@jag-lovers.org
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 4:33 AM
Subject: Re: [E-Type] Oil to my Cams

In reply to a message from Ray Livingston sent Wed 31 Mar 2004:

I have that same tool Ray. Amazing amount of money one can ‘‘waste’’
on Jag trinkets.
I was going to borrow a degree wheel and double check open & close.
Stared at the vernier adjustment in the sprockets for a while. Do I
really want any of that loose near the ‘‘elavator shaft’’ to the
bottom end? Hmmmm. Could be driving in October again!

Dave

David Ahlers
Skaneateles, NY, United States
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2

In reply to a message from Jerry Mouton sent Wed 31 Mar 2004:

Jerry,
Not sure what you’re referring to here? You mean the switches
on the timing light? Mine is digital, and increments/decrements in
exactly one degree increments, with an accuracy of a few PPM. I
also use the mark on the flywheel to adjust timing, but only need
the TDC mark to do it, thanks to the adjustable timing light. The
one I have is only $100, made by Equus.–
The original message included these comments:

I know, modern timinng lights allow you to dial in degrees BTDC,
and electronidcs are very accurate for that – but the mechanical
switches for seting the advance are very tacky, and I don’t
really trust them. This way I can be sure.
Jerry

–
Ray Livingston - '64 OTS Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz, CA, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

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3

Mine is a flimsy rotary knob with a pasted-on
gauge underneath. Mike Moore’s too.
Sears…

Jerry Mouton '64 E Type FHC “Laissez les bons temps rouler!”
Jaguar Owner’s North American Tour - http://jonat.org
April 15, 2004 - July 4, 2004----- Original Message -----
From: “Ray Livingston” rayl@atc.creative.com
To: e-type@jag-lovers.org
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 9:33 AM
Subject: Re: [E-Type] Degreeing the flywheel, was: Oil to my Cams

In reply to a message from Jerry Mouton sent Wed 31 Mar 2004:

Jerry,
Not sure what you’re referring to here? You mean the switches
on the timing light? Mine is digital, and increments/decrements in
exactly one degree increments, with an accuracy of a few PPM. I
also use the mark on the flywheel to adjust timing, but only need
the TDC mark to do it, thanks to the adjustable timing light. The
one I have is only $100, made by Equus.

The original message included these comments:

I know, modern timinng lights allow you to dial in degrees BTDC,
and electronidcs are very accurate for that – but the mechanical
switches for seting the advance are very tacky, and I don’t
really trust them. This way I can be sure.
Jerry

–
Ray Livingston - '64 OTS Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz, CA, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

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4

In reply to a message from Jerry Mouton sent Wed 31 Mar 2004:

Jerry,
That’s what I thought. You should get to see mine when we put
my head back on. It’s really nice. I think you’ll like it.–
The original message included these comments:

Mine is a flimsy rotary knob with a pasted-on
gauge underneath. Mike Moore’s too.
Sears…
Jerry Mouton '64 E Type FHC ‘‘Laissez les bons temps rouler!’’

–
Ray Livingston - '64 OTS Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz, CA, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

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5

In reply to a message from Jerry Mouton sent Wed 31 Mar 2004:

Jerry,
Thankfully the engine is in the car (1969 BTW), but a great tip
nonetheless. It is a puzzler that one must put the car up on a lift
to check the timing. That was my other reason for the degree wheel:
Make new marks on the damper to time from the top. So I can twist
the distributor while shining the light down there. Thanks
D–
David Ahlers
Skaneateles, NY, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

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