On the job deal, have you considered or tried some practice interviews with someone you trust? Maybe something simple you are overlooking. Maybe have someone video you answerin questions or speaking about yourself....trust me, it goes along way.
Engine Miss.. rounded lobes?
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just an example... 7.990" (diameter of small block chevy "400" dampener...) multiplied by 3.14(pi) equals circumference of that dampener in inches.
divide that number by 360 degrees to give you the distance across each degree in inches.
multiply that distance by 12 for your initial timing start point... or 10, heck! make it whatever amount of degrees you want...mark that set point.
multiply that same 1 degree of distance by 36 to get a "distance" from your "calculated" ZERO mark (important!) for a sensible "total" timing mark.
paint your marks in colors that mean something to you. that way, you won't need a fancy shmancy dial back timing light.
just make sure your marks are on the right side of zero...a pencil and paper still work when batteries don't.
when you have more time than money, run what ya got! many ways to skin a cat eh?
when you are using these methods... using 3 decimal points is a good standard. .125=1/8, .063=1/16, .625=5/8... i wouldn't hesitate to call .132 "one eigth" because your paint marker needs to be seen to be effective. a good eye will let you place that mark in the right spot so "you" know what it represents when you see it lit up...
divide that number by 360 degrees to give you the distance across each degree in inches.
multiply that distance by 12 for your initial timing start point... or 10, heck! make it whatever amount of degrees you want...mark that set point.
multiply that same 1 degree of distance by 36 to get a "distance" from your "calculated" ZERO mark (important!) for a sensible "total" timing mark.
paint your marks in colors that mean something to you. that way, you won't need a fancy shmancy dial back timing light.
just make sure your marks are on the right side of zero...a pencil and paper still work when batteries don't.
when you have more time than money, run what ya got! many ways to skin a cat eh?
when you are using these methods... using 3 decimal points is a good standard. .125=1/8, .063=1/16, .625=5/8... i wouldn't hesitate to call .132 "one eigth" because your paint marker needs to be seen to be effective. a good eye will let you place that mark in the right spot so "you" know what it represents when you see it lit up...
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Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm confident I know how interviews go. I've had quite a lot. Half the time the people interviewing me are surprised at how well I do during the process. Yes, that sounds very cocky, but it's happened.
Ever do any fillow-ups and see why you did not get selected or what you could do to increase you marketability?
Like, what would it take or what should I do to make me more of a viable prospective employee or candidate?
Look bud, I am sort of a big guy, I have a heavy voice, so I have to consciously remind myself to come across extra nice and polite or I am the guy with an angry sounding deep voice.... it helped me get the jobs I wanted. Have to have someone that will be honest with you watch said video.
Like, what would it take or what should I do to make me more of a viable prospective employee or candidate?
Look bud, I am sort of a big guy, I have a heavy voice, so I have to consciously remind myself to come across extra nice and polite or I am the guy with an angry sounding deep voice.... it helped me get the jobs I wanted. Have to have someone that will be honest with you watch said video.
if your eye sight is great, or better than most of the "old farts" you know... and you have a predisposition for perfection (as good as you can get with the tools you were given...) and that paint marker line may seem too fat to be precise, make yourself some form of straightedge that you can line up with... say... a broken hacksaw blade, screwdriver for uh... glasses, and scrape some of that fat paint mark line so the "thin" unpainted section becomes "highlighted" and then you can really get precise if you run a thin black line on the timing pointer.
i had a muffler shop whip me up a set of dual exhaust for my car just before i installed a 383. i could set off car alarms with that thing within a 1000ft radius. now as "cool" as that may be, it didn't take long before i couldn't hear myself think... it was BRUTAL!!! how in the world will you ever hear a spark knock with noise like that! i hacked that exhaust system up into tiny little pieces then took a big dump on it. haha just kidding! seriously though, get your exhaust as quiet as you can make it while you are dialing in your timing. those little pings and spark knocks are more diagnostic tools at your disposal and you have to be able to hear them. once you are satisfied with your tune-up, you can run your noise makers instead. with the home-made dual exhaust system i just whipped up for mine with drone-free mufflers, i can hear my injectors pulsing now. food for thought is all that is... it is your car.
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if your eye sight is great, or better than most of the "old farts" you know... and you have a predisposition for perfection (as good as you can get with the tools you were given...) and that paint marker line may seem too fat to be precise, make yourself some form of straightedge that you can line up with... say... a broken hacksaw blade, screwdriver for uh... glasses, and scrape some of that fat paint mark line so the "thin" unpainted section becomes "highlighted" and then you can really get precise if you run a thin black line on the timing pointer.
Been there done that. If it comes down to it, once summer comes I'll just end up working where my dad works making 17 bucks an hour to start. EFCO is where he works. Construction and manufacturing type deal.This thread is getting wayyy off track lol. So, to close this off I suppose, make sure your timing is right before you do anything to your engine. 😀
I see that Advance Auto has a bunch of locations near Des Moines. They carry Actron timing lights and multimeters. They continually offer discount codes if you do some hunting on the internet. Today you could pickup an Actron dial back timing light (CP7528) for $56 + tax or the standard timing light (CP7527) for $35 + tax with a 25% discount code. I picked up both a timing light and multimeter at a local Advance almost 10 years ago and still have them - they work great. I have a Harbor Freight vac/fuel pressure gauge that was $20 and functions just fine. My Mitivac was purchased for less than $35 online. Compression tester is also an Actron form Advance for less than $30. I have more tools than these, but keep in mind that I didn't go buy them all at once. Start picking away at them and in a short period you'll find you have all of your bases covered.
Short story about 'following up' on interviews and applications. I started my present job as a truck OEM service manager 5 years ago. A young man stopped in to check on his application that he had dropped off 4 months prior (before I started). He seemed smart, spoke concisely, and answered a few questions well, but had no formal experience or training. The previous management told me he had no experience - meaning no opportunity. I gave him a shot at entry level wages, in 5 yrs his wages have gone from $12 to $25/hr. He applied himself and is now a lead tech and one my 3 top producers. He will make much more than he is making now in the next 5 years. He's 27 years old.
Good luck - Jim
Short story about 'following up' on interviews and applications. I started my present job as a truck OEM service manager 5 years ago. A young man stopped in to check on his application that he had dropped off 4 months prior (before I started). He seemed smart, spoke concisely, and answered a few questions well, but had no formal experience or training. The previous management told me he had no experience - meaning no opportunity. I gave him a shot at entry level wages, in 5 yrs his wages have gone from $12 to $25/hr. He applied himself and is now a lead tech and one my 3 top producers. He will make much more than he is making now in the next 5 years. He's 27 years old.
Good luck - Jim
You don't really need a dial back timing light. I still have/use my plain old Actron regular timing light that I bought 25 years ago.
Harbor Freight sells a dial advance timing light for $30, plus they always have 20% off coupons for single items. I have one and it worked great setting the timing on my old tractor.
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