Ok, I've been working on my '84 GSL-SE for approx. 8 months now and I really want to hear it start. It's got a brand new 13B from Atkins Rotary and numerous other upgrades. Last night I got the thing almost ready to start when I ran into a brick wall, puting the distributor in, how do I do it? I need to find top dead center (or it's equivelant) right? the problem is I sand blasted and painted my pulleys, and even if there where timing marks on them it wouldn't matter because I transferd them from my old motor to my new one so they would be at a diferent orientation to the e-shaft. Am I thinking allong the right lines here?
Is there a key way or something some where that I could use as a referance point?
Any advice on this issue and getting the thing timed for the initial start up would be greatly apriciated.

Thanks and sorry for the long post,
Alex

 

Hmm the only way I can think of is to take out the trailing spark plug on the front rotor and turn the engine by hand until you can feel the apex. Now what is that compared to TDC, I don't know. I'm sure somebody who has done it that way will know though.

 

Interesting, the bottom plug is the trailing corect?
and the point at wich any of the three rotor apexs passes bye this plug hole is the time to insert the distributor?
is it really that easy?

 

If Aktins assembles their engines the same as Hayes then there is a alignment mark under the concentric shaft pulley that was put there as part of the assembly process. That's your clue for TDC.
Worked for me.

 

Ohhh, don't remove the center bolt, just the 4 bolts holding the pulley! Just incase......

 

No no is not that easy. What I meant is at the point where the apex goes by the trailing plug hole, it will be X degrees ATDC. As long as you know the value of X, then it could be calculated how much of a turn you have to give the pulley to make it 0 degrees (by measuring pulley circumference and dividing by 360 you would have the degree value in distance of the pulley, i.e. 1 mm = 1 degree and so on) and then you can make a mark in the pulley. The method is not necessarily that accurate but is my best.

Trailing plug is the top one.

 

Sorry the mark is on the front cover under the pulley, kinda on the shaft (depends on the assembler) if you do find it, file a mark on the pulley do you don't lose it again. Check your pulley and see if the mark is still there, it will make life a whole lot easier for you. The file mark will line up with the assemblers mark on the shaft.
Man I talk to much!

 

I don't remember seeing any marks before I bolted the pulley on but I will take it off and check. the mark would be on the flange type thing that the pulley bolts to, right

 

Yikes! Well, I'll try to help out. Rotate the engine clockwise until the first mark is under the pin sticking out of the front cover. Then rotate the dizzy shaft until the flat section (where the rotor fits) is pointing forward. Then set it down into its hole in the front cover.

Since the gears are curved, the shaft will rotate a little as the dizzy housing is fully seating (there is an O ring on the outer shaft that fits down inside the front cover). Just observe which direction it turns and pull the dizzy back up, rotate slightly, and push it back down to correct for the rotation. You'll notice that one of the four reluctor tips is near the leading (front) pickup. That is good enough as far as 'static timing' is concerned and should be close enough to fire up the engine. It has always worked for me, even with the dizzy shaft 180º rotated (flat spot pointing rearward) because the rotor is basically a mirror image of itself (spins at half eccentric shaft speed, so this arrangement makes sense).

I've read stories where people have said their distributors have accidentally been installed 180º out. I've never had it happen accidentally, nor has it caused me any problems, and frankly, I don't know exactly HOW it could happen the way they've all described it. Now 90º out, on the other hand, I can understand (it would cause the plugs to fire 180º after they normally would due to the 2:1 dizzy vs eccentric shaft gear ratio). So I guess you should try to keep an eye out for this phenomena, lol I guess.

 

Oh, it looks like my post above doesn't help with pulley installation. Sorry.