knuckle cam gear installation

[shovelnik]

when installing the cam chest gears, shouldn't the marks be lined up with the crank positioned with the front piston at TDC?  Just got my motor back from the shop and the marks line up with the piston at the bottom of the stroke after TDC.  None of the marks line up with the front cylinder at TDC or at the timing mark (35 degree advance?).

[harleytoprock]

When timing the gears in the cam chest, it has nothing to do with piston position. The marks are lined up and thats all.

[shovelnik]

Thanks.  Having problems getting the timing right and I had to ask, but you confirmed what I heard elswhere.  Thanks for the input!

[harleytoprock]

If your having trouble with ignition timing, maybe this can help. After your gear chest gears are all lined up and the cam cover on (so no gears pop out)
put the front cylinder on compression stroke with the flywheel timing mark centered in the hole. At that point,  the points should just start to break on the small lobe.
Keep in mine that the circuit breaker shaft turns in a clock wise direction.  You may have to remove the 2 circuit breaker bolts and lift the circuit breaker and reposition
the shaft to align the lobe if its  way off. I also forgot to mention that the points gap should be set at .020 at the highest point of the lobe
before attempting to time the points. If more info is needed, just ask. I hope this helps. Good Luck