Used to guess at my 72 Chevelle's timing by ear, finally bought a $35 light and feel dumb | Classic Car Maintenance

Ivan Grant · 2026-10-01T15:25:04.905592+00:00

For about 6 months I set the timing on my 72 Chevelle by ear, just turning the distributor until it sounded right and taking it for a spin around the block. Last month a guy at the parts counter in Springfield asked what I was running and when I said I just eyeballed it, he looked at me like I kicked his dog. So I grabbed a basic Innova timing light for $35 and checked it, I was sitting at 16 degrees initial when the book calls for 8. Car idled smoother right away and stopped pinging going up the hill by my house. Now I check it every oil change, takes 5 minutes with the light. What's your go to method for setting timing on these old small blocks, light or vacuum gauge?

🐿️Pinecone Attack

Loading…

Used to guess at my 72 Chevelle's timing by ear, finally bought a $35 light and feel dumb | Classic Car Maintenance - Pinecone Attack