Thread: Static Timing for Electronic Ignition

What year is this dissy out of? If it is post '93 it won't have the amp fitted. It also won't have the drive dog for the oil pump. So an all round bad idea. Check under the dissy before proceeding! You need a dissy from a vee belt model, having the amp screwed to the side of the dissy with a 2 or 3 wire plug on it.

The Lucas 35DM8 was one of the first of the electronic distributors fitted to the Rover V8. It had a separate amp that lived in a box under the coil. It must have been a good system but for some reason they changed it to a different type of amp that was attached to the side of the dizzy and when those failed due to heat and vibration, they came up with a kit to move the amp away again!

Ah yes, I remember now. I have replaced those ignition amps too. Around '82-85 RRC had them?

You can't use anything to static time one of these except your eyeballs. Look inside the clear cover under the rotor arm. you will see when the central star rotor lines up with the point of the magnetic pick up. Then your timing is close enough to fire and retune.

Link to my dissy repair pics here: Lucas ignition amplifier replacement by Bosch 024

Hope you find something of use in there...

Yes, I remember that thread of yours now. Nice work!

This dizzy is from 1985. It will be going into an '83 Rangie that has an "Optospark 500" system on it, which works well, but if - when - it dies then I'll be stuck. I'll look for that Bosch amp you use the next time I'm in a big town.

I thought that when the workshop manual said to do the static timing without actually saying how it sounded a bit Dodgey Brothers. Thanks for that!