In some cases the marks on some Mazda and aftermarket front pulleys seem to be gibberish. So in order to attain the correct ignition advance one must find a TDC mark. After that you can measure the pulley diameter and divide by 360 degrees to find degrees per inch. Then identify other marks on the pulley or install your own. 

 

In this picture you can rig this up from junk parts and mount a degree wheel on the crank nut with a temporary pointer, or mount one on the face of you crank pulley with a wire pointer. In any case, this rig will get you inside of one degree accuracy , and that is more than accurate enough to set timing with a timing light. Mount the front cover you plan to use to see if the stock pointer will work for you. When looking at the pointer it should appear to be centered on the crank.

 

Actual timing is not that critical from a safety of the engine view. Tracy's controller needs a mark at 35 degrees. You need the TDC marked to get a starting point to measure from (without a degree wheel) or use the degree wheel on either end of the crank to mark your pulley. Typical timing is between 20 and 27 degrees BTDC. 

 

When marking the back of the aluminum angle, I use a transfer punch. The important part of this rig is that the angle needs to be parallel (90 degrees from the oil pan mating surface) with the side of the iron. 

 

Now you can have a dead on accurate set of marks for your pulley. 

 

Lynn E. Hanover