Cary:
You must remove the distributor to remove the cam, there is no
way around it. The dizzy is driven by the cam so the two are meshed
together during operation.
Mark the spark plug towers with masking tape and a felt pen
indicating which towers connect to which plugs. Remove the drive gear
underneath the dizzy, the lifters and then remove the cam. I used a
magnet to lift the drive gear, which can be seen in the dizzy hole in
the block once the dizzy itself has been removed.
When you install the cam, you will need to rotate the engine to
TDC on the number one cylinder. Note which plug tower on your dizzy is
number one, then drop in the drive gear, making sure that it is oriented
so that the slot points to where the number one spark plug tower will be
located when you reinstall the dizzy. IMPORTANT: Even though it looks
like the drive gear will work in either of two positions (180 degrees
apart) in fact it will work only in one position because the slot in the
top of the drive gear is NOT symmetric. If your dizzy will not seat
fully in the block, your cam gear is 180 degrees out and you will need
to lift it and rotate 180 degrees.
The drive gear is helically cut, so as you lower it into the
block it will turn approx 1/4 turn before it seats. You must take this
into account when you reinstall it so that the resting position of the
drive slot is pointing where you want the number one spark plug tower to
be.
Cheers,
Vance
P.S. Do NOT reuse your old lifters when you install the cam, use
new lifters ONLY. Your cam will fail within 500 miles if you reuse your
old lifters or do not break it in properly.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-6pack@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-6pack@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Cary Henry
Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2006 5:49 AM
To: 6pack@autox.team.net
Subject: cam install and distributor timing
I am planning on installing a performance cam since I have my head off
and
am getting it milled 0.125. I have a question about the install,
though.
How do I install the cam without disturbing the distributor timing? I
know
this is adjustable, but the distributor can turn only so much before the
cable runs out of slack. Surely, there must be someway to keep the
timing
relatively undisturbed while doing the swap. Also, the two cams I am
most
seriously looking at are the goodparts gp2 and the tsimportedautomotive
s2.
The car will not be raced but street driven only. Thanks for your help!
Cary
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