I seriously doubt any issues with surfacing the cylinder head or block
deck surface causing any issues related to what it mentioned.
Typically, there was enough extra metal in those areas to allow for
resurfacings of that nature. Taking a .010" off of the head surface
would mean the valve adjustment nut might not be tightened to the same
location on the rocker arm (or whatever) as it was before the surfacing
was done, but it'll still allow for proper adjustment without causing
any issues to starting the motor providing the valves are adjusted
correctly.
Knowing the distributor rotor's direction of rotation is im****tant to
knowing if you're advancing or retarding the basic timing position. To
advance the time, you turn the distributor body "into" the direction of
rotor rotation and retard it by turning the distributor body "with"
rotor rotation.
If the dual point system on that vehicle is as with other later model
systems, getting the points adjusted to the correct point gap is what
"phases" them and gets to the correct point dwell readings. In essence,
the second set "does its thing" as the first set gets ready to conclude
"doing its thing" such that "dwell" readings for the combined point set
is greater than it would be for either one individually OR one set with
enough point gap to get to the same point dwell value. IF they were
correct to start with, they probably still are. What you might do is
make sure the point contacts are clean and not gunked with accumuated
stuff from sitting around during the rebuild.
If the distributor has a bottom-of-the-shaft piece that indexes with the
drive gear either "in" or "180 out" (as a B/RB Chrysler V-8 does),
rather than having a gear on the bottom which also has the oil pump
drive on the bottom of it (as a small block Chevy V-8 does), then how
the oil pump drive gear is positioned and indexed is highly im****tant.
In the case of the small block Chevy distributor, it has the drive gear
held to the bottom of the main shaft of the distributor. On the bottom
side of the gear's "neck" is where it indexes with the oil pump drive
shaft on the oil pump, as the distributor assembly is dropped into the
motor. If you've done something like this, you know that as the
distributor is removed, the rotor turns a particular direction and does
opposite when it's put back into the motor. So what might have been
done initially, but not thought about then, was to take the engine to #1
TDC and mark the rotor's position on the distributor body in the "as it
used to run" situation.
On the Chrysler B/RB engines (i.e., 383-413-440), how the distributor
drive gear is indexed with the camshaft as it also drives the oil pump,
too, is highly im****tant. In effect, it's the same thing as having a
two-piece distributor shaft on a Chevy V-8. As the drive gear spirals
down and engages the oil pump drive shaft, the final position must be
"right on" if the distributor is to be "in time". There are pictures of
how that slot is positioned at final assembly in the Chrysler service
manuals. Once that drive gear is in the right position, then the "in"
or "out" set-up for the distributor works easily and "bullet-proof".
IF you have the base timing set correctly (with respect to the
crankshaft/flywheel position), yet it runs better and starts easier with
turning the distributor a distance of what amounts to "one spark plug
wire away from the perceived-to-be correct setting", that usually
indicates "one tooth off" in the distributor gear to camshaft gear
interface. It can ALSO mean "one tooth off" in the basic camshaft
timing gear area too.
One time in the middle 1970s, I was at a local Chrysler dealer****p when
a State Trooper Plymouth was brought in for running poorly (which it
was). In order to get it started, they had to move the distributor
around some. Then they put a timing light on it to see where the timing
was. At the stock base timing setting, it ran like crap, with backfires
and such with any throttle input, but once running, the old-line
Chrysler service manager turned the distributor about one notch advanced
and the engine ran much better. A quick diagnosis for a
jumped-one-tooth timing chain which was accurate.
In later years, when I was around more shade tree mechanic friends, you
could tell those that knew now to drop a distributor in a Chevy small
block as to how the vac advance can was aimed. Or in later years, how
the cross bar on the HEI coil was not aligned parallel with the
vehicle's cowl structure.
Therefore, if you've got to move the distributor around that much to get
it to run correctly, you'll need to check ALL of the indexes for
everything below the distributor itself. If the distributor indexes
with a slot in an oil pump drive gear, which is run from a gear on the
camshaft, then that will need to be completely accurate for the
distributor to be correctly positioned at #1TDC.
One other thing to be cognizant of is that on a small block Chevy V-8,
when the timing gear indicators are "dot-to-dot", #6 cylinder is firing
rather than the suspected #1 cylinder firing. When the "dots" are in a
straight line, but not together, then THAT's when #1 cylinder is firing.
Whether a similar situation exists with your engine, I have no idea, but
it's something to consider in your diagnosis situation.
Similarly, it's also easy to miss the "dot-to-dot" situation, too, so
making sure that is correct on the timing gears/chain is im****tant, too,
even if you thought it was correct to start with.
To find "real" #1TDC, using the "probe" is a good idea. The 'best next"
thing would be using a dial indicator with the cylinder head off, but
for what you're trying to do, a straw or something similar might work as
well. There are some special tools for this sort of thing, in the hot
rod aftermarket, but careful use of a proper "soft" probe can work just
as well. I suspect that if it's anywhere close to what they should be,
things will be assembled "as desired", but that could be a little
variable.
So, you can check the valves for correct settings (which should be done
anyway), but I highly suspect you'll find your real issues with the
indexing of the distributor drive gears with respect to the camshaft.
If that checks out, then look at the camshaft drive gears/chain sproket
area. If the front side things need adjustment, then double check the
distributor drive gear settings after that front side repositioning to
make sure the TOTAL situation is positioned as it should be.
Just some thoughts . . .
C-BODY
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