Hey guys,
I went to adjust my timing last night and had a very knowledgable friend with me.
We were using a MAC timing gun and when we hooked it up to cylinder 1 and tried to take a reading, all we got was a 0 reading. I then took out the paper clip from the relay but nothing changed.
Does anybody know why this might be? Should I be worries?

THX

 

Is it an advance timing gun?

If so, that 0 means that the strobe is in synch with the engine. If you want to advance the timing you click it to the desired advance and set the timing normally by using the notch. It works by delaying/advancing the strobe light so that the mark lines up to the notch correctly.

 

I honestly couldn't tell you if it was an advancing gun.
My problem is if it was one, how do I know what degree my timining was originally set to, and then how do I advance it to 18 degrees?

 

Does the gun have any place to make adjustments? If so, follow the directions above.

 

To set it to 18 degrees you don't need a advance gun at all. You can use the 0 setting.

The center mark on the belt is 16 degrees. The two ticks to either side are two degrees each. Just line the tick on the belt that is closer to the back of the engine bay up with the guide notch on the side of the motor and you'll hit 18 degrees.

The timing advance feature is used for adjustments beyond the + or - 2 degrees indicated on the belt.

 

Or what I do is set it to 18 degrees and use the TDC mark. It's easier for me to use that one mark instead for some reason.

 

Yeah if you're only advancing to 18 degrees, the marks on the belt are easiest to use.

IMO, the forced induction crowd has much more use for an advance gun than the NA crowd because a lot of us have to go all the way down to 10 degrees and there's no way to set that accurately without a advance gun.