Morris Minor Owners Club

when fitting an alternator on my 1098 I fitted the 1275 crank pulley
that came with it, how can I set up the timing, the engine is pinking a little
I also think I bought new duff points as the points gap starts to decrease quite quickly, vac advance works fine.

well you can stick a screwdriver in the bore and mark where TDC is on the pulley? Then use a strobe to set the timing?

If the engine is pinking a little I would just retard the timing slightly

I'm sure the timing could be knocked back by just loosening the dizzy and using the knurled nut. That's if it moves. I've never had one that isn't seized solid.

If it's pinking - that's ideal, because now you know it needs to be retarded slightly ! Just take it back v slightly until the pinking 'almost' disappears. And yes - some of the modern points do wear v quickly - a spot of grease on the little heel may help.

minor_hickup wrote:I'm sure the timing could be knocked back by just loosening the dizzy and using the knurled nut. That's if it moves. I've never had one that isn't seized solid.

You don't need to loosen the dizzy before turning the fine adjustment knob. It has quite a small range though.

Just give it a wee spray with wd40 or a few drops of 3in1.

I tried plus gas, duck oil, wd 40 and a mix of engine oil and parrafin and nothing! Not even with mole grips and as much force as I dare.

Hmm - tried in both directions I presume ?? If it won't move - then simply slacken the two hold-bolts and that gives you a wee bit of adjustment since the holes in the fixing plate are slotted. If that's not enough - then slacken the pinch bolt and gently swivel the dizzy in the fixing plate.

Yeah I just gave up and moved the dizzy then checked with the timing light that my alterations weren't too severe. To be honest the second one wouldn't budge with a bit of wd 40 so i pressumed it was as stuck.