Low buck degree wheel for cam timing

If you only build an engine once in a while and you don't like the tiny 8" degree wheels or you don't want to spend the big bucks for a large diameter professional one, you can build one for next to nothing yourself. If you search Google Images for degree wheel you will find lots to choose from, the site I used was http://media.beta.photobucket.com/us...g.html?filters[term]=degree%20wheel%20template&filters[primary]=images#/user/sh0rtlife/media/1958%20lloyd/lloyd217.jpg.html?filters%5Bterm%5D=degree%20wheel %20template&filters%5Bprimary%5D=images&_suid=1358 52244575103749104168313744 . This is the image


Take the file to Kinko's and have them blow it up and print it in a 24" diameter on some heavy paper. Use some spray adhesive to mount it to a piece of masonite or MDF and cut out the circle with a scroll saw. Drill a 7/16" hole in the middle and mount it with some large washers to the snout of the crank. If you dn't have large washers just drill a 7/16" hole in the middle of some scrap pieces of plate.

At 24" diameter the distance between the degree lines is .210" or about 7/32" so it is very easy to measure to 1/4 degree - very accurate. If you do a 30" wheel the distance between marks is over 1/4". make your wheel a convenient size for engine you are working on. When I was assembling my engine I checked the cam that came with my ported heads and discovered that the timing did not match the card and there was as much as 4* variation in phasing between individual cylinders. I sent the cam back to the head porter and he had it verified by a NASCAR engine builder and he confirmed what I had found. The porter changed cam grinders and sent me a replacement that checked out OK.

Moral of the story is you need to check everything to make sure you are getting what you paid for. <!-- / message --><!-- attachments -->