Follow up on Taylor's advice: You can tell the cylinder is on the compression stroke by looking at the #1 rockers through the oil fill cap, and then watch the crank balancer to get the timing mark at aligned at TDC. It is fairly easy to move the crank to the proper location by first removing the plugs so the engine is not working against the compression of the cylinders. You may then be able to roll the engine using the accessory belts, or if not, try using a strap wrench wrapped around the pulley. It is tight in there. You can get a nice set of strap wrenches at Sears or Home Depot for about $15. They are plastic, won't take a lot of abuse, but will work nicely. Make sure you rotate the engine by hand in the same direction the starter moves it. Don't try to move it backward.

Once you have the crank marks aligned, you can drop in the distributor with the rotor pointing at the #1 spark terminal. Ensure you have fitted it in so that the lock bolt will fit into the slot properly, about in the middle of the adjustment slot so you can swing it equally in each direction for setting the timing.

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