So very stuck...

It doesn't really matter where the rotor is pointing as long as the tower in the cap has the spark plug wire going to #1 cylinder. Having the rotor pointing a little more towards the #1 plug will give you more clearance for the vacuum advance running into the firewall. If you move the intermediate shaft so the rotor points more towards the #1 plug, you will need to pull the plug wires off the cap and rotate one tower. Like I mentioned, the rotor could point towards the firewall as long as the plug wire over the tower on the cap is running to #1 plug while at TDC and you follow the 18436572 firing order. Hope that makes sense!!