We were starting up a rebuilt 350 and while it was idleing the exhaust manifolds started glowing. Is this normal when starting a new engine? Prabably not:) So what could be the cause? Thaks for any input.

Dwain

I've heard of retarded ignition timing causing this on headers before.....might be worth taking a look into.

retarded timing or lean fuel mixture due to carb or vacuum leaks.

Thanks guys,

The timeing was way off so we adjusted it but then ran out of time. I will run the engine for awhile and see what happens.

One basic question. The timing tab has an A and a R, the book says 4B. Which side do I go on?

Thanks again
Dwain

A = Advance, R = retard. 4 B I would assume is 4 Before top dead center so I would try to put it at 4 R.

69 softy, go with 4 degrees ADVANCED, and you'll be much happier. ;)

DWAIN,I AGREE WITH 4B (before) BTDC(ADVANCED) NOT 4A (AFTER),TOO RETARDED FOR A STOCK OR ESP A PERF CAM.

B means (Before/Advanced) which is above the zero mark on the timing tab/plate and A means (After/retarded) which is below the zero mark on the timimg tab/plate as is R (retarded) below the zero on the timing tab too.

But,a question i have for you is you stated the book(Stock timing) is supposed to be set to 4B (btdc)advanced,are you running a perf cam and not a stock gm or stock replacement cam for the 350 motor your runnig?

If your running a mild to fairly hot perf cam you will need anywhere from 12-18 deg BTDc (Advanced)
intial timing not including your mechanical & vacuume advance and 4B would still be way too retarded with a perf cam. Make sure your vac adv is unhooked & pluged and your motor is idling fairly low like 5oo rpm (ensures mechanical advance does not start to come in)when you set your intial advance. This will be a trial and error thing going for mult test rides to find the best mix between power,ping (detontation),and ability to start hot after a short shutdown like to fill up with fuel. Total advance with mechanixcal but vac adv still pluged should be approx 34-36 deg btdc.

after you get your intial(12-18 Deg BTDC) & mechanical advance dialed in (total of intial & mechnical advance added together for approx 34-36 Deg BTDC. After you done dialing in the intial & mech advancey you can then hook up your vac adv to a ported or full on vacuume port (Depending on setup & cam/trial & error again for this)to see where that leads you at that point which may work well or cause a ping at light throttle cruise or under heavy throttle which opens up other tining things to be done.

So with that said it seems like your a little sketchy on the timing issues so your best bet is to do a search in team chevelle on timing and tons of stuff will come up that will explaine it better than i have from more experienced folks.

But i did go over the basics well enough to get you on the right track. Than as time allows you can read the timing posts that you search out & then spend a few hrs dialing it in better after that.

But again,if your running any type of non stock cam the factory timing setting of 4B is NO GOOD,you must set the intial timing to somewhere between 12-18 deg BTDC for a perf cams or you will be running way too retarded which will cause the motor to run hot,loose power,and use a lot more fuel. Let us know how you make out.

One other tid bit is that if after you get your timming squared away chk your idle vacuume and if its below approx 14-15 iches of vac at an approx 800-900 rpm idle in neutral/park your cam may have enough overlap to be causing some idle vacuume loss. This would result in a needed for a power valve (Holley) or power piston spring (Q-jet/Carter AFB/Edlebrock) adjustment/change to keep the power enrichment circut for comming in too early at or just above/off idle casuing fouled plugs,fuel waste,etcso search out idle vacuume,power valve,low idle vacuume,etc to get info on that too.

Scott

Originally posted by barryward:
69 softy, go with 4 degrees ADVANCED, and you'll be much happier. ;) We are talking about ignition timing not cam timing.

Dont set ignition timing 4 advanced, follow Scott's advise and you'll be fine.

Dwain,
I do agree with Scott, but I stand by what I said. For starters, stick with 4 degrees advanced. Once you get things squared away and start driving the car, you can dial in your optimum setting.
Scott, Rob, here's a couple of initial timing specs for small and big blocks:
1968 275 horse 327- 4 deg BTDC (auto trans)
1969 300 horse 350- 4 deg BTDC (auto trans)
1969 375 horse 396- 4 deg BTDC
1970 360 horse 350- 8 deg BTDC ( LT-1)
Now I don't run these settings in my cars,(I have my 396/375 set at 10 degrees initial), but like I said, it's a good place to start.

Barry

Shade tree mechanic timing. Advance until stumble at idle, back off a little. Drive around and listen for knock under load, retard timing until knock just goes away.

Thanks,

I'll check with the cam specs but it should be close to stock.

The majority says advanced so I'll go with that.

Thanks again
Dwain