I then turned my crank clockwise in the natural engine rotation and watched as the piston began to sink in the bore.  As the dial indicator began to measure the distance of drop I slowly advanced it to .050.  Then I read and recorded the degree wheel at 14° After Top Dead Center.  Next, I rotated the crank in the counter clockwise rotation back past TDC and continued until the piston was going back down in the hole and watched the dial indicator measure the drop.  This time I went past the .050 reading and then rotated the crank clockwise until it came up to .050.  Again I read and recorded the degree wheel and found it to be at 16° Before Top Dead Center.  Why past .050" and then clockwise back to .050"?  It's possible the timing chain will have some slack and this procedure eliminates that.

Now the math and the adjustment in the wire pointer.  This is simple math and even common sense tells you the pointer needs to be moved 1° to the left.  The math is adding 14 and 16, getting 30 and dividing by 2 gives you 15.  Which means the pointer needs to be 15° from each reading.  Then I moved the pointer to 1° Before Top Dead Center and it was 15 degrees from each reading.  The last thing to do is loosen the timing wheel and rotate it to align the pointer to TDC and tighten it securely.  That was it for me.


Charlie Burns Laton, Ca (South of Fresno)







BurnsRacing981@gmail.com

The slack in the chain is a problem, there are YouTube videos from Comp Cams that help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cNoVRLb73c

Thanks,Cliff.  I understand and like your method.  I'm sure I will use it if I do this again.


Charlie Burns Laton, Ca (South of Fresno)







BurnsRacing981@gmail.com

If you are still with me and have an understanding of what I have done, it's time to say we have done nothing yet to actually degree in the cam.

Now that I was confident that I had found TDC, it was time to explore the dimensions of the cam shaft.  The three measurements I had an interest in was duration at .050" lift on both the intake and exhaust lobes, total lift on both intake and exhaust lobes and lobe seperation.

These three dimensions when checked against the cam card gave me total confidence that this was the correct cam, it was installed correctly and ready to perform. 



Charlie Burns Laton, Ca (South of Fresno)







BurnsRacing981@gmail.com

Hi, Charley, it's good to check 2 cylinders (1 and 6), look at the Comp Cam video in the link above.

The readings on the dial indicator came from the rise of the lifters.  This is a bit tricky to get the dial indicator placement so that the leg of the indicator is in contact with the lifter firmly and squarely.  I fabed up a guide to allow a shortened push rod to come up squarely above the deck.





Charlie Burns Laton, Ca (South of Fresno)







BurnsRacing981@gmail.com

With the #1 cylinder exhaust lifter not showing any lift, I set the dial indicator at 0° and continued to rotate the crank clockwise until the lifter started to rise.  Assembly lube may have the lifter just a little higher that you would like, so I used a screw driver pressed on the lifter to resist the lift to be measured.  When the dial indicator read .050", I read the degree wheel and it read 72° Before Bottom Dead Center.  Checking with the cam card, it was right on!!!  (Note) You are reading the bottom numbers.






Charlie Burns Laton, Ca (South of Fresno)







BurnsRacing981@gmail.com

Nice, I like to check mine with oil, it doesn't add to the lift or duration much. I'm still stuck on the intake manifold for my car so I quit for a little wile and am doing other work on the car (making brake pedal, gas pedal and other small stuff), it makes me happy when I build something and it turns out good the first time, I'll get back to the manifold shortly (I think it's trying to beat me) 

You can get indicator extensions to lengthen the dial indicator.  It makes this job much easier.

https://www.mcmaster.com/indicator-extensions/



Lawrenceville, GA

The articles on how to degree in the camshaft that were originally published in the Y-Block Magazine in 2015 are on my website.  Here’s the link to Part 1 of those articles that may help.
Degreeing in the camshaft – Part I – Finding TDC – Eaton Balancing 

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)