1968 318 water pump?

That or time it off #6! Try it.....

Timing off #6 is fine (on a 6 cyl too),, it's being able to see the marks, which the lower hose may hide..

No1 and no6 time off the same timing marks, IE "normal" TDC. I've no idea how far offset the marks are when mixing / matching early / late timing covers, or if they even line up with anything.

The issue is seeing the timing marks through the mess of belts and hoses, not which cylinder the wire is hooked to.