In the middle of a rebuild - doing a roller cam conversion on my Gen IV BBC.

Question:

Is the cam supposed to be "pushed back" all the way to the back of the block against the plug? Is that the correct location/position of it such that the distributor gear meshes correctly? Or, is it suppose to be at some distance from the back of the block?

I will be installing one of those cam buttons & thrust bearings to keep the cam gear tight against the block - so the cam won't be "walking". I've got that covered. I just don't know if the distributor gears will be meshing correctly.

I can just assume they are but how do I know for sure? I don't like "assuming" stuff like that. There must be some way of knowing that.

I also have to make sure the roller lifters are riding 100% on the cam lobes too right?

Lee

Well, with the cam bolted to the timing gear ,and the thrust riding on the block the cam is back as far as it can go .After you install the thrust button and install the timing cover its basically stuck form moving at all . You can use some kind of gear marking stuff (just like doing a rearend) and rotate the engine over ,then check to see if the gears are wearing evenly. iF it isn't even your only option is to get a slip collar distributor, different thickness gaskets , or machine the intake.
ONCE the cam is in you can see that the lifters should be real close to center on the lobes .

Cam gear rides against the thrust surface - cam won't go any further back.