Going through my drawers, I came across my old Sears Timing light. I got it on a trip to the US in the late 1990s. It was well used when I drove around in gas-powered car. Then it got put aside when I started driving a diesel-powered car.

This was a useful tool in tuning your car if it had a distributor. Usually, if you had to change your spark plugs you would also need to change your contact point and condenser. There would some who would set the crankshaft timing marks to zero degrees or at TDC (top dead center). By doing so, that would also put the distributor rotor point to indicate it at spark plug No. 1. Then you could make alignment marks on the distributor body and engine, so that after you are done removing the distributor, it would be easier to return it. I would remove the distributor so it would be easier to replace the contact point and set the point gap. I would use a feeler gauge to set the correct amount of gap recommended by the manufacturer. If the gap was not to specs, the car either did not start or the points would burn quickly giving the car bad performance. After setting the points, it was time to install the distributor and hopefully everything is still aligned. If the engine didn’t start, then chances are the distributor shaft moved and was misaligned. I remember doing this a couple of times on a Saturday afternoon rushing to make sure I have a ride for the night. Greenhills “standy by.” And true enough, I did something wrong and the car wouldn’t start.

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