When I bought my Maverick (76, 4door, I6) a few months ago he guy who sold it mentioned that he advanced the timing 2 degrees to get more power at lower speeds or something like that. I was thinking that that might be bad from a gas milage standpoint and have been thinking about moving it back. So will it make a big differnce actually to move it back? And is there a good guide somewhere to help me figure out how to do it right?
buy the shop manual. It will explain how to properly set the timning. A couple of degrees will provide a bit more pep, not such a big gas issue.
Advancing your timing will give more power AND fuel economy AS LONG AS you don't exceed a maximum of 38 degrees total with the vacuum disconnected. After you check the timing you can and should reconnect the vacuum advance. It helps with cruise economy. If you are unable to check your timing at 4000 RPM then remove the breaker plate assembly and look at the advance limit arm. On it there are two numbers - the one on the side with the stop is the number of DISTRIBUTOR degrees in your mechanical advance. you have to double that number to find out how many CRANKSHAFT degrees it makes. Then you take that doubled number and subtract it from 34 - 38 degrees depending on how you drive (less for high performance and more for street). Lets say the distributor is marked "13", doubled that is 26. So we take the middle number to be safe: 36 and subtract 26 from it. 36-26 = 10/ You can safely set your initial advance to 10 degrees before Top Dead Center (TDC). It is easier if you have a good timing light and you can see the marks. With the timing light connected and on start the engine and rev it to 4000 - dial in 36 degrees on the light and turn the distributor to line up the marks at TDC. You have the timing set at 36 degrees before TDC.
