American V8 Firing Orders
There’s nothing more frustrating than finishing up a build late at night and not remembering the firing order so you can install the plug wires and fire that baby up. Most of us naturally know the firing order for engines we are familiar with, but that doesn’t make much difference if you’re a Chevy guy and you’re helping a buddy finish his ’57 Caddy build and you’re hoping to hear it run before your wife makes you come in from the garage at 1:00 am. This handy chart should help you out so feel free to copy it and tape it in the top of your tool box.
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ENGINE | Distributor Rotation | Firing | Cylinder Banks, FRONT TO BACK |
AMC V8 | Clockwise | 18436572 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Buick V8 | Clockwise | 18436572 | Left:1-3-5-7, Right: 2-4-6-8 |
Cadillac | Clockwise | 18726543 | Left:1-3-5-7, Right: 2-4-6-8 |
Cadillac | Clockwise | 15634278 | Left: 2-4-6-8, Right: 1-3-5-7 |
Chevrolet V8 | Clockwise | 18436572 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Chevrolet V8 | No Distributor | 18436572 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
GM LS V8 | No Distributor | 18726543 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Chrysler V8 | Clockwise | 18436572 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Chrysler V8 | Counter- | 18436572 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Chrysler | No Distributor | 18436572 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Desoto V8 | Counter- | 18436572 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Early Ford V8 | Counter- | 15486372 | Left: 5-6-7-8, Right 1-2-3-4 |
Most Ford V8 | Counter- | 15426378 | Left: 5-6-7-8, Right 1-2-3-4 |
Ford 5.0L | Counter- | 13726548 | Left: 1-2-3-4, Right 5-6-7-8 |
Most Ford Modular V8 4.6/5.4L | No Distributor | 13726548 | Left: 1-2-3-4, Right 5-6-7-8 |
Ford 5.0L | No Distributor | 15486372 | Left: 1-2-3-4, Right 5-6-7-8 |
Ford Flathead V8 | Clockwise | 15486372 | Left: 5-6-7-8, Right 1-2-3-4 |
Hudson V8 | Clockwise | 184436572 | Left: 1-2-3-4, Right 5-6-7-8 |
Lincoln V8 | Clockwise | 15486372 | Left: 5-6-7-8, Right 1-2-3-4 |
Lincoln V8 | Counter- | 15486372 | Left: 5-6-7-8, Right 1-2-3-4 |
Oldsmobile V8 | Counter- | 18736542 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Oldsmobile V8 | Counter- |
18436572 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Oldsmobile V8 | Counter- | 18436572 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Pontiac V8* | Counter- | 18436572 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Pontiac 307 | Clockwise | 18436572 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Packard | Clockwise | 18436572 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Studebaker | Counter- | 18436572 | Left: 1-3-5-7, Right 2-4-6-8 |
Note:
All American V8s have offset cylinder banks to accommodate side-by-side rod pairing on the crank throws. In the absence of published information, the number one cylinder will almost always be the one that is farthest forward regardless of which bank it is on.
* The exception to this rule is the Pontiac V8 where the forward most cylinder is on the passenger side. The number one cylinder is still on the front left side, but it is not the most forward cylinder on the block.