what's TDC on a 2001 Protege?
 

10 deg. TDC on a 2001 Protege ES?

it means that the spark plug ignites the fuel when the piston is 10 degrees away(as seen on the crank) from the Top Dead Center viz end of road of piston travel in upwards direction.

so is it correct that 10 deg. is TDC?

TDC is TDC on a Protege or any car. 10 degrees BTDC (before top dead center) is approx. where the base timing is set at. TDC is top dead center when the piston is EXACTLY at the top of the bore.

There is a TDC mark on the timing cover that will line up with a notch in the lower pulley. That's where TDC is. Also, if the pulley is removed, there is a notch in the lower timing gear that lines up with a point on the engine case that also indicates TDC. This is used for setting the cams up properly when you change them or change the timing belt and the pulley is removed.

Thanks. Imeant BTDC. I wanted to know what the stock timing was when I put everything together after installing the cams.

As long as you install the cams with the marks lined up, and the lower cam gear lined up, then everything should be peachy. As for ignition timing, you can't change it or adjust anyways. One thing you need to pay close attention to is which way you put the cam gears on. They will both work on either cam as they have two possible ways of mounting them on the cams. Make sure you have the cam pin in the correct slot for the cam position. if that's done correctly, then there is a mark on each one that needs to point towards each other. Make sure you use the correct marks as there are two of them on each cam gear since they are interchangeable.