How to drop in distributor on 77 231 odd fire buick?

77 buick odd fire.which timing mark on balancer do u use to drop in distributor?magnetic or regular timing mark.Piston 1 is up both valves r closed.Can get both marks on scale when i turn it, while keeping both valves closed. Checked timing chain travel between timing mark and rotor movement.About

half inch travel. What to do?How to drop in distributor on 77 231 odd fire buick?It should be on 0 degree timing mark and the rotor should be pointed to #1 spark plug terminal after the distributor seats completely. Sometimes you have to "bump" the starter to get it to mesh with oil pump and cam gear. A half inch of slack isn't bad for an older engine.