[guyslp]

Above is the firing order for all of the V8 engines prior to the 1987 Turbo R, so it does apply to your car.

See Chapter U4 in the Workshop manual for all the details on setting ignition timing (and, yes, it's done using cylinder A1).

Very often the timing marks get hidden by dirt, filled in by crud, or both. You very often need to clean the crankshaft damper with degreaser and then, afterward, if you don't want to make yourself crazy, get a solid paint stick and fill in the timing marks with a light color like white or yellow so that they are very clearly visible during the timing process.

 

[guyslp]

Also, I just looked more closely at your photo, and it looks like someone has once "polished" your crank pulley (sometimes incorrectly called the flywheel, even by myself) and that it is completely silver in color, which is unusual.

The timing marks are still almost certainly there, but if you do have a silver background you might not want to use white paint crayon, as the visual relief between white and silver will be poor. I'd think about something darker, like red, if you do have a crank pulley that has no black paint on it anymore.

 

[guyslp]

The timing marks are impressed into the crank pulley and, when they were originally clean, were then painted in with white paint on the black pulley.

You should be able to feel them with your fingertips if you feel along the entire circumference carefully. If they are not there then I have no idea what to tell you. I have never encountered a car where these are missing, and given the way they're initially applied, should never be able to "go missing" just become very hard to see.

 

[guyslp]

Alan, enlarge the picture and you will see the top surface of the inner pair is shredded and the inner cords are exposed.

And for complete clarity (as I did "only half measures" initially) that means using the "magnifying glass with the plus icon" even after you've done the usual pop-out enlargement of the thumbnail.

Only after having done that could I see what Jim has described. And only after having done that can I see, clearly, that someone has taken something abrasive to that pulley and even to the very tip of the timing indicator arrow. I just hope that they didn't do it for so long as to "grind off" the actual timing marks. While they're not really-really deep, they're also not just surface scratches, either, so it would take quite a bit of wearing down, and intentional wearing down, to remove them.

 

[guyslp]

@OVD385P

Also, in the end, lightly clean that pulley (as in use a plastic scrubby and maybe Barkeepers Friend or Simichrome polish, neither of which will grind off timing marks) and repaint it. You do not want it to continue rusting because bare, mild steel is spinning around in the open air (and it's the slop that will invariably hit it that's worse). If you find the timing marks, then if you want to stick with something that looks original, that's black paint on the pulley and white paint stick in the marks. If it's easier for you to see dark on light, then I'd paint the pulley in white and fill in the timing marks in something dark, whether it's black or red or dark brown or blue, such that they can be seen with ease when you are shining your timing light on the pulley.

 

[guyslp]

You are judging the condition of my car and level of maintenance performed on one image showing worn belts which were already planned into this years maintenance😒

This happens far too often in my opinion. Most of these cars, even if "slightly neglected" need quite a few things done to them some of which are way more critical than others.

I've still come nowhere near to tackling every blessed thing I ever wanted to tackle on my cars, but my first priority is to make certain that they are roadworthy. The rest can (and usually does) wait.

We're not all collectors. Some of us are just enthusiasts who want "driver grade" cars. I'll never win a concours because I never want to do the amount of work necessary to do so (and I also have a very strong aversion to "Trailer Queens." Cars were meant to be driven, which means they'll show signs of that having been the case.)

 

[guyslp]

I would consider going back to points.

His car never had them. The Lucas Opus ignition model was introduced on the SWB Shadow at chassis number 22118. (It was 22673 for the LWB - later to become the Silver Wraith II).

Repairing and Modifying the Lucas Opus Ignition 35DE8 Module

If you don't have the OEM Lucas unit I would leave well enough alone. If you do, I'd file the above article as eventually, it will fail. The electronic modules (if installed correctly) last decades.

 

[guyslp]

Pertronix is a much better solution especially the later versions that are self protecting.

Agreed. I'll admit that you can generally do a "roadside repair" on points that will get you home, but I don't prefer them. I'll also admit that most electronic ignitions work until they don't, with no warning of "don't" coming, but since they most often work trouble free for periods on the order of decades, I'll still take 'em!

 

[guyslp]

When the Opus went on my '81 Wraith at a local intersection, which was on a grade, I was able to roll it to the shoulder and after awhile it re-started. I can say after installing it, the idle was smooth and the acceleration was better.

The story of my FTP with my Silver Shadow II was recounted here: A Christmas FTP!! . . .

All sorts of theories but the problem was a failing Lucas Opus ignition system .