Q&A WHAT FINE TIMING

Q Following on from the advice given in the October issue of MGE, what more can our go-to expert Roger Parker offer us for setting the timing on the B-series engine?

First, remove the vacuum advance line from distributor end and temporarily plug the pipe end. Use the timing light to observe timing marks mounted to the timing chain cover next to the crankshaft pulley. These timing marks, which look like teeth, are in different positions for early and 1968-on MGBs: six o’clock and eleven o’clock respectively. The first tooth the notch in the pulley passes will be at 20 degrees before top dead centre (BTDC) with the remaining teeth at 5-degree intervals, so the last tooth the notch passes will be at top dead centre