What's a good brand/ type of timing light i should look for.
This is the self-powered (2 D Cells) Sun Strobe timing light I bought in the '70's to time the hot-rodded VW aircooled engines I built. Its been with me ever since. So easy to use: just clip on the spark plug lead and press the button. No longer made by Sun, but you'll find 3 companies selling something similar today. $40 - $70.
Look closely and you'll see marks made by many a spinning pulley when the light fell in the engine bay.