We seem to have lost a couple of posts here, probably when KZQ was repairing the site. So the following is a repeat of what I had originally posted
If you time the pulse coil housing at the "T" mark when the crankshaft is at the "T" mark lined up with the half joint of the crankcase, that will set your basic timing +- 2-3 degrees from where it needs to be and that should get you running.
You can confirm the crankshaft "T" mark at the half joint is top dead center #1 and #6 by pulling out the sparkplug of #6 and then placing a screwdriver down in the cylinder and feel the piston while rotating the crankshaft. the piston should be at top dead center when the crank "T" mark is at the half joint.
(Ideally, this would be done with a dial gauge but not everyone has this type of indicating measuring tools. When you do this check with a dial indicator, you need to mark the rotor at .050" before top dead center and then .050" after top dead center, then split the difference. The reason for doing that is that there's a flat spot at top dead center of anywhere from 3 to 8 degrees where it seems like there's no movement of the piston. This is dependent upon the length of the connecting rod to the stroke of the crank. Basic engine blueprinting)
Just as a side note- The relationship of the "T" marks between the pulser coil and the crankshaft will change with the growth of the primary chain and the growth of the water pump / pulser coil drive chain which will retard the timing. If the pulser coil housing is not periodically checked for proper timing to the crankshaft, then any strobe light checks of the timing which is done at the pulser coil will be falsely indicated. It's a system that I REALLY don't like but understanding this phenomenon is important to getting the correct basic timing. This only relates to the 1979, 1980 and 1981 model years which use the pulser coils in the housing on the back side of the engine. When they moved the pulser coils to the crankshaft in 1982, the timing check is done through a window looking at the timing mark on the crankshaft, which is a more definitive indication not affected by any chain growth.
