Triumph Repair: 1981 TR7 spark plugs, crank pulley, distributor shaft

Question
I know the firing order is 1342 but I don't know which one is which on the distributor and on the engine

Answer
Hi Tim,
You can't depend on the location of the distributor shaft being where the factory put it so you need to use a standard method which works on any engine.
Pull the plugs and the distributor cap and either put a wrench on the front crank pulley or just put the car in 5th gear (brake off) and have someone push the car forward while you put your thumb over #1 plug hole. as soon as you feel the pressure of compression stop and insert a coat hangar or welding rod in the plug hole and slowly roll or bump the car forward until the piston is at TDC. If you pass it just push the car back a little. You are then at TDC of the compression stroke and the rotor in the dist. is pointing to #1. Then just plug the rest of the wires in the firing order around the cap in the direction the rotor turned when you were pushing the car forward. Then set the ignition timing. This works on all engines that use a distributor.
Howard