So my 40 year old Sun Gun timing light finally quit. Need a new timing light, what is the consensus on what to get?

I was thinking go to Sears and get the Craftsman. Needless to say, it has been a bit of time since I shopped for a timing light. Any groovy new features or things to watch out for?

 

Depends on what you need it for. A basic cheapo timing light is fine. If you want something awesome, get a Snap On.

 

that is what I was thinking, but if they are all made in China, will it matter that much?

 

Not really....just get one with the features you want/need. If you don't need advance and other features, the cheapo ones at vatozone are just fine.

 

i don't even know what a timing light is.

 

What about 8 track tapes, ever heard of them?

 

yes.

 

timing light has a deal you clip around plug wire #1, and with the car running, you point the thing at the timing marks. You can then see if the ignition timing is right, when the light flashes, it will appear to freeze, and you will be able to tell if the spark is happening at the correct time. If you need to, you can loosen the distributor and rotate it to advance or retard timing. In olden days there were things called "points" inside your distributor that open and close, and there was a thing called dwell that you would also have to check, I am not even getting into that one.