The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Timing issue

I apologize for posting another timing related post because there are already so many, but after searching I did not find a solution that I understood.

When I attempt to time my '54 1/2 ton, I reach the limits of adjustment (retarding) of the distributor before I get to the timing ball. My flywheel is marked with a triangle, and then with the letters IUC, the embedded ball, and then the number 2. When I tried to time the engine, I initially saw the triangle, and then turned the distributor CW until the IUC entered the viewing window on the housing. At that point the distributor had reached the limits of its adjustment and I could not retard it any more.

I do not have a lot of experience working on cars, so this could be a very simple issue. I have read, printed out and followed a bunch of advice from these forums already – thanks everyone!

Is there a chance that the distributor is off by a tooth?
Is there another way to change the relative position of the distributor to the adjustment plate?

Here is a synopsis of what I have done so far to troubleshoot this:
The vacuum advance is disconnected and taped over.

I have adjusted the points (.016) and recently bought a dwell meter. The dwell is at 30. The RPMs are at about 800.

I cranked the engine and confirmed that the rotor is pointed toward the correct wire at roughly TDC and that all the wires are connected in the correct order.