Project Snicket, Timing Marks

This is just a quick little post regarding the timing marks on older Minis

There isn’t a lot of information on exactly how to read the timing marks on these older engines, as unlike the newer engines they didn’t have timing marks on the crank pulley or even a pointer at that end.

So how do you read the timing marks then? The flywheel.

On the clutch cover, or Wok as it’s called, there is a little plate that when loosened swivels on one of the two bolts to reveal a hole in the Wok

This hole is for reading the timing marks on the flywheel. Inside the hole at the top there is a timing pointer. The marks can only be read using a mirror and light.

I turned the engine over by hand so I could find the marks, just so I knew what I was looking for. The 0 degree mark is actually identified by the 1|4 mark on the flywheel. I’m not sure why.

The other marks are standard, 5, 10, and 15 degrees (maybe 20? didn’t check that high).

My flywheel has a coating of surface rust on it, so I needed to use a small piece of sandpaper to clean up around the numbers to make them more obvious. You can see in the above photo I also used a dab of white paint on the 10 mark to make it more obvious. The 5 mark already had an old white paint mark.

So that is how you read the timing marks. Sure, the normal crank pulley marks are a lot easier, but where is the fun in easy?