#1 post on distributor

[dajsdart]

Can anyone help me figure out the number 1 post on distributor for a 1973 Dart with a 318? I have read that it should be marked, but it is not. I have read that it is the one in the middle closest the the fan, then I read it is the one facing the driver's side headlight.

 

[70aarcuda]

number 1 cylinder is on the driver side...closest to the radiator...

the rotor should point at the front intake manifold bolt on driver side...

is that your question?

you need to bring your engine up to number 1 cylinder firing...check where the rotor is pointing ,,,,the rotor and number 1 on the cap should line up

 

[crackedback]

You can pick whichever post you want provided the rotor faces that one when #1 is at TDC compression and the rest are wired in sequence.

Most people tend to select the one you describe, sort of pointing towards the drivers headlight.

 

[smartken22]

Facing the firewall from the front of the car, looking at the distributor cap, the plug wire at six o'clock is #1. It's the second plug in from the left latch that holds the cap on.

Chrysler Small Block:
Rotation: Clockwise
Firing Order: 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2

 

[Bulldozer]

not unless the distributor drive gear has been moved, the number one could be anywhere. crackedback said it exactly. if the distributor drive gear has been out, there is no specific spot for the # 1

 

[dajsdart]

thanks, what you show is what i have, now it sounds like I just need to make sure the rotor lines up.

 

[krazykuda]

Line up the timing marks on the vibration damper and timing chain cover to TDC. Take off the dist cap and see which position the rotor is pointing to (make sure that you are not 180° off).

Once you have determined which is #1, put the #1 plug wire on that position of the distrbutor cap and then follow the timing order around the cap in the direction of rotation for the rest of the wires. 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2

 

[BillGrissom]

It is easy to remember which cylinder is #1 in almost any engine. It is the cylinder at the front of the engine. In a V-8, the cylinders are not exactly across from each other. Only one connects to the crankshaft first. Look at the block closely. In a transverse engine, the "front" of the engine is where the pulleys are. The transmission bolts to the rear. There are a few V engines where the connecting rods share a single rod bearing and are thus exactly opposite each other. I once designed for a large stationary piston engine like that, and I think some V-twin motorcycles are like that.

Re your original question, many Mopar V-8 distributor caps have a "1" with rotation arrow. Actually two 1's with two arrows for small-block & big-block, resp., so you must know your rotor rotation to know which "1" applies to your engine. Of course, as others mention, the marked post will only be #1 if your distributor drive gear was inserted with the slot pointing correctly (at #1 intake bolt when TDC).

 

[67Dart273]

It is easy to remember which cylinder is #1 in almost any engine. .

"Any" engine covers a lot of ground. Some engines, like the old IHC V8s, used no8 to set the timing. So for adjusting the timing or plugging in the dist, you "have to pretend" that no8 is no1, even though it's no8, except when setting the timing, when it is no1, except that it isn't........................................................

(WHY in 'ell did IHC do that? It's a LOT harder to get to no8 than no1!!!)

Also, long ago, in a different life, I won a sizable bet from a guy who explained to me that "the reason" Ferds sound different from Chivvies is that "the firing order is different."

So I told him to draw a diagram of a Ferd engine, IE 289/302/390/ etc with 15426378, and then I proceeded to draw a diagram of a Chivvy/ Mopar and all you have to do is examine the actual numerical order, and they are the same

So if you start with the Ford engine/ Mopar order, it becomes 21843657, or if you use the Ford order on a Mopar, it becomes 54263781

Years ago we had a customer overhaul a Ferd Y block in a boat. Know where this is going? We don't get much of this up here on our inland lakes. He could not get it to run, and it turns out it was a reverse rotation engine, and the rebuilder didn't check, and installed a standard camshaft. Took awhile to figure that one out.

But it gets worse. This got a reground crankshaft. What this means is, somewhere there's some poor farmer with his Y block Ford truck that leaks oil out the main seal, because the slinger grooves on the crank "he ended up with" GO THE WRONG DIRECTION. And of course the crank in this reverse engine suffers the same fate -- the slinger grooves on the boat engine now go the wrong direction, also.