Mike C.

I think the dowel normally stays in the crankshaft. I suppose it is possible that during the conversion the dowel got lost along the way. There is a mark on the edge of the flywheel that says 'OT' next to it. The number 1 piston should be at TDC when this OT mark is aligned in the clutch housing hole (close to where the reference sensors mount). There are photos of this in the manual. You have to have a good light and rotate the crank slowly to see it but it will show up. Once it is aligned, the cam sprocket timing mark should line up with the pointer in the hole on the cam sprocket cover. If it doesn't, you may have bent valves. Also, you can check if the number 1 piston is close to TDC by looking in the spark plug hole with a flashlight- you should see the top of the piston. Rock the crank back and forth a bit and watch the piston top. You should be able to tell when it stops and reverses direction at TDC.