'just changed timing gears in a 65 122. The fiber gear was shot, but was still held in place by the steel center hub. The car was driven into the driveway and worked o.k., but made a real racket. The remains of the timing gear came from the cam without a lot of work. The new gear was put into place carefully and, since the car was running before I took the cover off, I assumed there had been no movement of the crankshaft without movement of the cam.

Now the car won't start. Since we had one our rare rainstorms while I was working on the car (a rainstorm here is anything more than a mist), I checked for moisture in all the wrong places. No moisture problem.

There's spark to the plugs, and I've tried starting fluid as well as gas in the carbs to see if I dislodged something and got crud in the gas line. Incidentally, the fuel filter is pretty nasty looking right now. It has chunks in it. I've cleaned off the grounding strap and replaced it. What are the chances that I've let the cam move relative to the crankshaft and screwed up the valve timing? Is there anything else I should check before taking all this stuff off again? I've never had this kind of problem before with one of these engines.

Thanks, in advance for the help.

Jim Hampton