Set timing 1980 Accord

[80AccordDrake]

How on earth do I set ignition timing on my 80 Accord. I don't see timing marks on the flywheel or anything. What am I missing???

[2ndGenGuy]

There should be marks on the flywheel. Might try sticking some degreaser on a brush and cleaning the surface of the flywheel. I had that problem with my 84. Had a leak over the years that wound up coating the flywheel, and filled in the tiny little unpainted marks. I had to set the timing on that car by ear until I replaced the flywheel with a new shiny one. After I cleaned the old one, I found the original timing marks.

[sapincher]

I am having a hard time with this too. I am just installing the distributor, not setting timing, and my Haynes manual appears to be giving me the wrong information. It's telling me to set the rotor in one initial position and then as I install it the rotor will rotate counter-clockwise 30 degrees to its final position. The problem I'm having is that it rotates clockwise as I install it, so I have no idea where to set its initial position. Can someone clear this up for me?

[Dr_Snooz]

Someone who's actually done this can correct me, but in general, with the crank and cam at TDC, you want to end up with the rotor pointing at the post in the dizzie cap for the #1 spark plug wire.

[sapincher]

Someone who's actually done this can correct me, but in general, with the crank and cam at TDC, you want to end up with the rotor pointing at the post in the dizzie cap for the #1 spark plug wire.

Oh yeah, that's a good point. I guess I'll make sure to set it just a little before the post, to make sure it doesn't spark when the piston's on the way up. Thanks!

[Dr_Snooz]

It's how I did it on my truck. Just get it close and the timing light will get you the rest of the way.

[sapincher]

I have another question regarding timing... I finally got my engine put back together (had to buy a new carburetor, too) and started it up. With some difficulty I can get the engine started, but it runs super rough. Like the timing must be way off. The ignition timing seems reasonable, with the rotor hitting cylinder 1's point on the cap at TDC (I didn't rotate the distributor in its housing) however since the Haynes manual gives me false information all the time I would like to double check my timing belt. Haynes says to install the timing belt when the pointer on the crankcase is pointed at the white TDC mark on my flywheel, and the bump toward the outer edge of the camshaft sprocket should be pointed toward the arrow on the cylinder head with "UP" near the top. Is this really correct? It's how I have my accord set up now but it actually backfired out the intake in the brief time it was running.

EDIT: Nevermind, it seems like the cause of my problem was that my best guess for initially setting the timing was to make it way too retarded. I pulled it off and advanced it another notch on the camshaft gear and it runs amazingly well now! However now I don't have fifth gear or reverse since I replaced the synchronizers x_x