49 geezer - This may be a stupid question, but why does it matter what direction the distributor is facing just so long as the plugs all fire in the right sequence and at the right time for each cylinder? When I pulled my distributor a month or so ago, I just put it back in (making sure that the oil pump was engaged) and set it up so that the #1 plug fires a few degrees before TDC on the #1 cylinder. The #1 position for the rotor is not facing the right fender, as a matter of fact I don't think that it was facing the fender when I pulled the disributor in the first place.
LGriffin - I also have a shop manual for the 58 Chevy Truck and read that section, but I don't think that I will be checking the balance of my engine any time soon.
