MG Car Repair: engine, atdc, btdc

Question
hello
i have been doing work to restore my 1975 mg midget. i was confused when i was timing it nd timed it 10 btdc when it was supposed to be 2atdc. it wouldnt turn over anymore becasue it was timed wrong so i put the car in 4th gear and pushed it back and forth and moved the distributer until it was off timed again and it would turn over. i went to work on it again yesterday and the engiine would turn for about 3 seconds and then stop. so i turning the engine manually by pushin it in forth gear and it still did the same thing. what do you think is going on?
                                    thanks,
                                        wes

Answer
Hi Wes,
If it is a US version car it is suppose to be 2deg. ATDC at 800 RPM unless the sticker under the hood says otherwise. The sticker always over rides what any book says.

You should not alter timing for any reason unless the engine is modified and then you need to know what to do to alter timing without putting the engine at great danger.

If the timing is correct and it doesn't turn over, something else is wrong. Confirm that firing order is correct too.
Howard