Hi folks, Running a T/A 288-94 cam w/ the billet timing gears. Even at +8 setting, I need another coupla degrees advance. It is at a 111* centerline right now. T/A recommends 110* and Jim Wiese says between 106-108* I know I could play around with skipping a tooth and retarding the crank gear, etc., but at this point the fastest way would be to install an offset key. Back in the day, Kenne-Bell (and possibly others) used to sell 'em. Anybody still selling them? Thanks! Regards, Ranger
Ranger, I've seen these in the MOPAR section of the Summit Racing catalog. Maybe they'll work. FYI: they're also referred to as woodruff keys. Type "woodruff key offset" into your internet browser search engine and find a plethora.
Brad, thanks for the reply. Yea, I saw them on Summit's website but they didn't list one for a Buick--only Chevy, Mopar, etc. They may or may not fit. That's the problem. I am hoping that someone can tell me for sure. Regards, Ranger
I took one off a 440 I have to use in my 300. But I used it for the cam. I asked about these offset keys before and was told it would throw the balance out if used for the damper. However I can check tonight if you don't get a reply. Ray
I've used the offset key way back and the problem is that it will actually move the balancer the amount of degrees that it is offset for so when you time the engine you have to remember to add that into your numbers when you are timing the engine with a light. It will also throw the balance off slightly because of this movement. I've aligned the timing gears off one tooth to get a cam into the correct postion and it works fine. You just have to calculate how many degrees each tooth is worth because depending what gearset you have it may be worth 20 or 16 degrees I believe. Count the number of teeth on the big gear and divide into 360 and that does it. Then you use the retard side of the lower gear to back it into the right spot. Is it just me or are more and more cams coming in with the timing just plain off? I also know about the billet gearset being "off" so that doesn't help.
