Alco Featherweight making a start

Hi all, well making a start with this Alco, whoever put this together left a few things out, timing chest off yesterday and find NO gasket, tappet cover off and again gasket problems it was broken so looks like I have more to do that expected, better give it a good going over.
Has anyone done valve timing on one of these engines before if so HELP please.
Don

That's a nice looking engine.

Regarding valve timing: if there are no timing marks on the crank and cam gears, just make sure that: at the point where the exhaust is almost closed and the inlet is just opening, the piston is at tdc.
If the gears are keyed onto the crank and cam shafts this should do the trick. And if it needs to be altered and you do it by turning taking the cam gear off, to turn the camshaft; then it will not change the mag. timing in from its current relationship to the crank position.

I hope that this makes sense; and that I'm not trying to teach granny to suck eggs.

Many thanks for the info. and there is no way are you doing what you say in my mind you can learn from others many times in a life time this being one of those times. Regards Don

If the crankcase and timing case are both alloy, there is the possiblity that there is no gasket and the joint is just metal to metal (like Norman engine joints).

Blue cat, there is the remains of what seems to be a thin paper type gasket on removed timing chest cover and looking at Steamwallys youtube videos he did make one for this area, some of the other needed gaskets are on order from Villiers Parts.

Don