New One on me

[frnkeore]

Is the dist hole also off or just the lower guild hole?

It could be fixed on a mill, now that you know what the error is, by boring and sleeving it.

[blykins]

It seems that the gear on the camshaft, the teeth are maybe too thick, compared to an older Engle camshaft I have here. I don't know if there is anything that can be done, to correct this. I did see a post on Yellow bullet  where a gent with an Olds engine had a similar problem, the cam was replaced, and problem solved. Yes, I hope, that this block doesn't leak, it was pressure tested, but that was water jackets. Thanks for the feedback.

Wow.  You never know what you’re gonna get. 

[Katz427]

The  whole bore for the distributor hole is off. It would require what Blair is suggesting, unfortunately.  The bore for the distributor, is 0.016" closer to the machined front surface, where the camshaft thrust plate is attached, than the measurement I got from the NOS 428 block.
It would be nice to have a drawing  of block showing the factory dimensions.

[CaptCobrajet]

Just a thought……..you could turn .016 off the face of the camshaft so it can move forward the .016, if you are confident in the number.  The .016 won’t hurt anything else.  The lobes are wide enough, and the bearings are wide enough that it should fix your problem, if that is for sure your problem.  I doubt the .005 you mentioned on the other axis would hurt you.  That would be the least painful fix. I think if I were you, I would try that, and just for a little help, take some Emory cloth and take .002 off whichever half of the distributor body would move you the right direction. Put moly lube on the cam gear and the whole mess will probably wear in and make itself a home if it turns free on the stand.

[jayb]

You could also test to see if that works by putting some shims behind the cam retention plate, to space it out .016", or .020" or whatever.  If the cam turns like that, then cutting the face of the cam would definitely work.

[bill_396]

It's been a while so the details are fuzzy now but I had something hitting a cam lobe with my BBM block. I put a shim behind the retainer to move the cam forward slightly and it's been fine since.

[Katz427]

I will give it a try. I did allow the cam to move forward, it did allow the distributor to set all the way into the counter bore at the top, ( I have removed the intake manifold) , but, no luck, still locked up. The camshaft moves fine, even moved forward, but install the distributor and locked up. I can see "witness " marks where the camshaft gear is hitting the root of the distributor gear, on the drive side.
Someone directed me too some drawings on the 332-428 FE site, too get some dimensions used to locate the distributor bore. The 428 block, everything just goes together, and rotates easily, the distributor drops right in, camshaft turns.

[CaptCobrajet]

To test it, you would need to do as Jay suggested and shim the thrust plate, and put the cam gear back on it and pull it up.  With no thrust plate, it will not keep the cam located while you try to turn it.  It will just push the cam until it locks up.  Try it with your thrust plate and top gear in position.

[Phil Brown]

Sounds like the camshaft gear may be cut wrong, try it with another old cam known to be ok. might be the cam AND the block dimensions stacking up ? 

[frnkeore]

I believe these are the dimensions that you need.

Correct me if I'm wrong but, I believe the "Front Mfg Hole" is the forward, large hole on the bottom of the block.

The nominal dimensions are .58 x 1.619

[Katz427]

I'm still at it, shimed out the thrust plate, tried a few thicknesses,  did allow me to get the distributor seated. However still would lock up. The camshaft gear is hitting the root of the distributor gear. So I took my pattern files and worked on the root of the gear teeth. I finally got the whole shebang to turn. It's a bit rough, but it did make 1 revolution, so I could get a gear pattern to look at. Then I decided to try and old camshaft and the Mallory dual point , and locked up tight. This old camshaft and Mallory distributor turn nicely  in the 428 block. I did get a couple drawings, and that distributor hole, is off , closer to the front surface and slightly off the vertical plane IMO. SO that's it. I really have not removed any material from the face of the distributor gear teeth, it's all been at the root, where the camshaft gear has been contacting.  I keep looking at the 428 block, maybe I should change to katz428.

[Katz427]

And a big "Thank you " to Frank for the drawings!

[MeanGene]

Just a thought, if I was going to take the .016 off the front of the cam, I think I would try it with an old junk cam first to see it it works

[frnkeore]

Also, I would take a few thousands of the OD of the dist gear, to make sure it isn't bottoming in the cam gear.

[Katz427]

Still at it, a .010 shim under the camshaft thrust plate, and removing material from the root of the distributor gear, plus taking the sharp edge off the camshaft gear, adds up to the whole,shebang WILL rotate. Still, IMO the lower, pilot hole is off about .005" though that is a tough measurement to get right.