Yeah, I did check my compression a bit lower than the first test, but still in the 160s. This is the motor's original cylinder head, I did not swap that "other" one I bought...yet.


This hotspark is making me nuts. The dizzy has a full 360 degrees of rotation and I seem to be able to get a spark in at least two places. That makes no sense, I must be missing something...


I usually find #1 TC, but rotating the engine (in normal direction) until I see the intake valve open and close... one more spin up to TDC, timing mark at 15 btdc, and the rotor pointing to #1 spark. I usually double-check by removing the #1 spark plug.

But, I did just try that thumb trick and dang! that's failsafe correct. I like it.

I reset the timing mark to 0 TDC I did get it running briefly but very badly. It fired up when I released the key (usually indicates something is "OFF." It ran rough, and died when I tried to adjust the timing.

What is weird is that the timing light suddenly stopped picking up the pulse from my spark plug wires... but I still get a spark when I try to set the static timing.

It's nutty. this whole operation should be relatively straightforward yet it is posing a real challenge.