I will offer my opinion but please know I'm a novice and this is my
first time too.
I have to say that I disagree with what Lancer76 said. Let me also
say that I might be completely wrong and Lancer76 completely right.
I just built my engine and put in a Piper hot cam. I went to do the
timing and had brand new sprockets, so of course there's no punch mark
to align. Now IF I understand correctly, and THIS IS A _BIG_ IF, you
align the crankshaft so that the large notch mark in the cam (it's on
the Piper I got) is pointing to the LEFT, as you're looking at the
engine from the front (which you are if the engine is sitting up looking
at you on your living room floor.) Next, you take the crank and turn it
so that cylinders 1 and 4 are at just past TDC - the notch in the
crankshaft facing you will be just past 12 o'clock, maybe 12:05. Align
the timing chain so that the sprockets align in this position.
Now this is how I timed my engine, and I haven't tried to start it yet,
so time will tell if this was the right way to do it! I followed the
Haynes manual and it sure looked like this was the right way.
By the way, your valve clearances will be all off if you put in a new
cam. Make sure you go through the procedure to reset your valve
clearances to 0.25mm using a feeler gauge. If you don't have a feeler
gauge go out and buy a set. It's easy to do, easier with two people but
you can do it on your own.
e
-- ___
__.o,\____ * Eric Mumford * ('v') -> BA-KUK!
/__ \ / _ ) * mumford@rpi.edu * (( ))
(+)`---(+) * http://travolta.stu.rpi.edu * --"---"--o
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