Bought a $200 timing light kit and it was a total waste of money

I thought I needed the fancy digital one with all the bells and whistles to set timing on my old Chevy 350. Turns out my buddy's $35 gun from Harbor Freight works just as good for checking base timing. Has anyone else overspent on a tool you barely use?

2 comments

2 Comments

daniel5111mo ago

Man, that "fancy digital one with all the bells and whistles" line got me. I did the exact same thing with a timing light for my old Ford. Spent like $180 on some Snap-on digital thing and honestly it just sits in my box. The harbor freight one my buddy has? Does the exact same thing for setting base timing on a small block. Those high end models are nice if you're doing some really wild stuff with timing curves and data logging. But for 90 percent of guys just trying to get their carbureted V8 running right, it's a total rip off. I feel your pain on that wasted money, for sure.

oscar_hunt611mo ago

Question is, how long did that Snap-on last you versus the Harbor Freight one? I've seen guys burn through three cheap timing lights in the time it takes to wear the lens on one quality tool. You're paying for the warranty and the fact it'll still be working when you hand it down to your kid. And really, the high-end ones have that adjustable advance dial, which I've used plenty on old points-style distributors where you're just guessing at the total advance otherwise. Is it overkill for a base timing set? Sure, maybe. But there's something to be said for not having to rebuy a tool every few years because the plastic housing cracked or the inductive pickup gave out.