Cam degreeing help me understand!

What I would just to see if you are even in the ballpark is roll the engine to TDC firing, and then rotate it 180 degrees so you are on overlap.

Then look at the lifters. If the exhaust lifter is higher than the intake, the cam is retarded. If both lifters are the same height the cam is installed split overlap, or straight up. If the intake is higher, the cam is advanced.

Also, I’m not sure what you have the dial indicator riding on, but I would find an old pushrod or something and cut it off above deck level and get the DI up away from the block like that.

The other thing is I look at the intake centerline first. Once that is correct, I verify what then at .050 number is.

Cam timing is simply doing nothing more that putting the cam in the correct location relative to the crank.

I care way more where the cam is at max lift than I do what’s happening at .050. They should both match the cam card, but lifter bank angle anomalies can affect that .050 opening number.

Some guys were themselves over that number. Some guys claim their lobes are so different that the ICL doesn’t matter. It does matter.