1965 Int. dump

[sturner]

I have a 354 v 8, what is the firing order, and which cylinder are numbers 1 thru 8. And where do I start, is it true #1 cylinder has to be at top center etc. Thanks for any help. Sid

[Bill Bennett]

The fireing order of the IH engine is cast on the intake manifold. The cyl number is indicated on the intake manifold about 1 inch from where the manifold bolts to the head. The timing is set using #8 = rear on the passenger side.
The IH engine 'ignition rotor' rotates backwards compared to the big 3 engines because the IH does not use a timeing chain. All 'gear driven'.
Bill Bennett

[sturner]

Thanks Bill for your speedy reply and please bear with my gross lack of knowledge. Now where do I start rewiring? Does #8 need to be top center on the compression stroke and the spark plug wire from #8 run to the distributor cap hole that the rotatory pin is pointing at? If so, do I continue following the firing order shown on the manifold in the direction the distributor is turning? Thanks Sid

[Allan E.]

Yes, that is correct.

IH used number 8 simply because when they balanced the engine, the fat part of the balancer ended up there. It wasn't just to be different. Simply turned out that way.

Set the timing on that truck at 0 degrees BTDC with the vac advance line disconnected and plugged. When you plug it back in, you will get full advance all the time. This is to make starting easier. I have actually had good success using the vacuum cutoff switch from an old jeep wagoneer to eliminate the vac advance for starting on cold days. Naturally, you can use the hand throttle and hand choke as well if your carb is in good condition, but that's really the major use for a well tuned carb on a gas truck that big, since you run it at WOT while you're going through the gears. Unless you're cruising around in city traffic, throttle response doesn't seem to make a lot of difference.

Max continuous duty rpm for a 304 is 3900. For a 345, it is 3700. You can run up to that rpm all day, fillup to fillup, but don't go over it for more than a short time. The valve train really doesn't like it, and neither to the pistons.