I have recently replaced the points and condensor on my Westy with the Compufire electronic ignigtion system (since it has worked so well on my '78 ).  Don't worry, you bone-stockers...I will carry around a new set of points and condensor in the camper...just in case.

I set the timing statically in order to start the engine so I could then time it with a strobe timing light.  When I put the light to the timing mark, I couldn't see it.  So I re-lined up the timing mark on the fan with the mark on the indicator (with the rotor about to fire on #1).  I made sure the mark on the fan was the correct one and tried to time it with the timing light again.  I still could not see the mark on the fan!  I checked again to make sure that the timing mark on the fan was the only mark...no scratches or gouges mis-interpreted as a timing mark this time, David!  So I re-did what I just described, scraped away the White Out on the mark on the fan, re-painted it with the White Out, and tried to time it again.  I STILL COULD NOT SEE THE MARK!  Just out of curiosity, I moved the strobing light around the fan to see if I could see the mark elsewhere on the fan.
Sure enough, there it was, about 180 degrees from where it shoud be.

Whassup wit dat?  The distributor cannot be inserted wrong, the vaccuum advance flapper housing makes sure of that...as well as the offset gear at the bottom of the distributor.  So, I am only assuming here, that since there are no other marks on the fan, and I am using the correct one, and the timing marks line up when the rotor is about to fire on #1 cylinder, and the engine runs great...is the timing gear set in the case 180 degrees off?  I've never messed with that gear, but I have had a loose distributor clamp allow the distributor to dis-engage from the drive (resulting in no spin on the rotor = no spark) but surely not enough to let the gear jump up and set itself to a good 180 degrees off.
Ideas anyone? :?

Ok, so I'm an idiot.  You know when you know that you know what you know and what you know is supposed to be correct?  But that thing that you can't find, that thing that is so elusive, that thing that is staring you right in the face...is hidden, yet so obvious?

Plug wires from the distributor that go to the right side of the engine (right is right) go to #s 1 and 2 spark plugs.  See how they meander over there, sometimes crossing each other, sometimes going in a straight line over to their targets.  How easy would it be to, say, get them mixed up when you hook up the timing light?  Well, in my case, very easy.  I had the timing light hooked up to the #2 spark plug.  You can't get the notch to line up and the engine keep running no matter what you do in that situation.

That being said, with the timing light hooked up correctly, setting the timing was a breeze.