Can someone please help me with this

[79elky454ss]

the worst part about installing a distributor is getting the key to line up....removing the cap and raising the distributor a little to rotate it 180* which means the key is lined up is easier than reversing the wires

I guess I maybe underestimating the extreme effort involved with unplugging/replugging 8 wires.(sarcasm)

I don't know what the engine compartment looks like on your car but my plug wires are nicely bound in place and I'd have to take them apart in order to relocate them on the cap. Also if the distributor is 180* off then not only do you have to lift the distributor to turn it you then have to change the wires once again and then I'd have to tie up the plug wires again. I can turn my distributor 180* in about a minute so I think that is alot quicker and less work. I like to do a job just once and to do it properly. I have never heard of changing the wires around to correct an issue with the distributor and that's probably cause I have never met you....no sarcasm

Here's the thing. I don't claim my "trick" is superior to your idea of spinning the distributor. I'm already assuming that the distributor is in the right way if I did it. Because I'm always right 😀 . But on the odd chance that I may have been distracted while installing it,and if, upon trying to fire it up,the symptoms point to a 180 out condition, the switch of wires across the cap will confirm/rule out that problem.Now, the wire switch is not to correct the problem, it is to diagnose the problem. At this point in the process of firing a new engine I rarely have the wires in their final harnessed position, cause I'm probably going to be swinging the distributor for timing purposes. Now for me the idea of spinning the distributor,without knowing for certain that it IS out 180, may lead to having to do that job again. Now my opinion of this job is based on a Chevy v8 with the distributor right against the firewall. and the hold down bolt and clamp tucked neatly under the distributor. It also seems to me,that if your wires are so neatly harnessed that they can"t be maneuvered the 3-4" straight across the cap,they are most certainly going to need unplugged to clear the cap out of the way to spin the distributor. The plug wire switcheroo trick is one I learned in my youth from an old timey gear head, One thing I have learned, is not to be too quick to dismiss some thing I have learned from someone with gray hair or no hair.He also taught me how to shim a flathead Ford fuel pump with a piece of your belt. I've never had a chance to use that one!Finally, you can't even see the plug wires in either of my car's engine compartments.

 

[pontiacgp]

I'm running moroso ultra 40 sleeved and they are routed to each plug with not much to spare and secured neatly in place so in my case it is a pain to move #1 and rap it around the cap to the # 6 position if it is possible. I have the e-curve distributor with the wire retainer screwed in to place so if I really wanted to I could just unscrew it, lift it and turn the retainer 180* but I'd even rather take #1 plug out to check the set up before I mess with the wires...

and talk about leather belts I knew a guy when I lived in Florida that was known for doing the old jeep engines that used leather for bearings...some of these old guys sure have some tricks up their sleeves...