Axles are about the only thing I don't have laying around.... well, except for the Dasher as I expect to break them
Timing is super simple, but super simple to do it wrong and not realize it until it won't start, this can be a fun and rewarding experience if you've never done it before [/sarcasm]
1. Turn crankshaft until #1 TDC (verify BOTH your mark on your flywheel and if possible through the sparkplug hole... flywheels have been known to be marked wrong)
2. Turn Camshaft until the inside "dot" on the front leading edge of your valve cover (or just slightly below as it actually aligns to the surface of the head and not the VC)
3. carefully slide the timing belt over the sprockets, check, did the sprocket move? check again??
4. turn the tensioner clockwise to tighten the belt, the belt is tight enough when you can just barely turn the long straight of the belt 90 degrees
5. tighten the tensioner bolt (remember its not a stretch bolt, only needs about 30ftlbs of torque)
6. turn the engine over by hand a full 360 degrees (I like a 1/2" drive with a 19mm on the crankshaft bolt) verify the dots wound up back where they should... remember only 180 degrees of crank = 360 cam, so you need to watch "crank" rotation)
-don't be surprised if you missed a tooth and have to re-do the belt
7. put all your other pulleys belts etc back on
8. with the engine still at TDC
-remove your distributor if you installed it already, 'cus now you need to set your ignition timing
9. look inside the distributor hole... see the "bar", this is the oil pump drive... turn it so its parallel to the engine block
10. turn the rotor to point at the notch in your distributor housing, actually slightly to the left of it
-with the rotor pointing toward the engine insert the distributor straight down, you will notice the rotor turn slightly to the right and you should fee it side over the oil pump and go all the way in... if not, double check the pump "bar" and the orientation of the notch in your distributor... getting this in can be frustraiting
11. once in, rotate the distributor until the rotor is pointing at the notch... tighten down the distributor clamp only slightly
-at this point you still need to be able to grasp and turn the distributor to set the base timing
-do not connect anything to the vacuum canister at this point
12. Hook up all your plug wires/electronics/etc
13... try and start the car, 10:1 it won't start the first try
14... whip out a timing gun and verify what your cranking timing is... move the distributor to get approx 8 degrees of timing (this should align with a notch in your flywheel through the timing hole, though it may be somewhere around 6-10 degrees)
15... if all the above is good, it should start and run
