Here is a real simple question for you all.
 

450sl. Standing in front of the car, looking down in front, locate timing marks on balancer, locate timing pointer. Now if 0 is TDC and the pointer is right on the 0. The # of degrees on the left side are ATDC and the #s on the right are BTDC. This is what I assuming. I know I'am real stupid at this but maybe some day I will have something to offer back at ya.

And the question is ???.:confused:

I would agree with your assumption: the crankshaft rotates clockwise from the front-numbers "before" 0 = BTDC, "after" 0 = ATDC :cool:

What you said is correct. If you look at the DIY Wiki here on the site at my Timing Chain article, you can see pics of the indicator and markings.
http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/M117TimingChain

With my little silver mark for setting timing on 5°ATDC