Doing my first Chevy rebuild. I have an 83 Trans Am with the 305 HO motor. Ordered a new timing cover as the original is a bit chewed up and the timing marks do not line up with the original. The original has them spot welded on and the new one I put has a seperate timing marker that bolts on. Has anyone ran across this and what did you do? Can you buy a different timing marker somewhere?

 

Pretty much a universal experience.

The tab that bolts on, puts 0° (#1 & #6 TDC) at EXACTLY 1:30 viewed from the front; EXACTLY 45° from "straight up"; EXACTLY in line with the #1 bore in an imaginary perfectly machined block (don't ask) of the era (a unicorn). That tab was used from the introduction of the SBC in 1955 until around 1980. The change in frame designs in the various body styles, one after another in a sort of sequence, around that time, necessitated relocating the power steering pump, to a place which put it RIGHT DIRECTLY ON TOP OF the old-skool timing tab. So, in motors for various different chassis in different years around that time frame, they switched to the spot-welded on tab you speak of, in about the 12:15 position. Not something you can easily "see" by eye, unlike the old 1:30 position. Of course, they changed the location of the mark on the crank damper too. But, not to worry... the mark ISN'T located on the ACTUAL crank damper, rather, it's located on the outer inertia ring, which is only dimly vaguely remotely approximately associated with the motor, by a blob of SPOOOOOOJJJJJJJE. So it's NEVER right anyway, except by raw unforeseen ACCIDENT. None of them are. EVER. Except the ones for 265 & 283, which didn't have the blob of spooge; their crank damper was little more than a pulley flange, so it was all steel. No rubber.

So ummm, .... ,,,, .. ,, .... yeah, you just ran into the UNIVERSAL STOOOOOOPID problem of aftermarket timing covers. So far as I'm aware, there is NOT ONE SINGLE ONE of them that is compatible with an 80-ish or newer small block Chevy.

Throw the STOOOOOOOPID crap useless POS in the trash. Buy a stock one.

 

Thanks for the info.....and the creative message!!