Got half way to the farm, lost power, and ba-boom out the exhaust. Pulled over, cranked to restart, starter turned the engine freely, then another ka-boom.
I pulled #1 spark plug and bumped the starter until the rotor was lined up with #1 spark plug wire. I then stuck a big ziptie into the #1 hole to confirm that the piston was at the top. It was not even close to the top!
Could there be anything else wrong other than a chewed up timing gear? The distributor shaft does turn when I stomp the starter pedal. It has a fiber gear with 20,000 miles on the total rebuild of the 235 high pressure '53 engine. Will the crank gear still move a partially chewed up cam gear, resulting in turning the distributor shaft?
I am looking for a simple fix which I haven't thought of before I go to all of the trouble of taking the timing cover off (as well as the oil pan, yad, yada, yada.)
Carl
