isthere a rule of how much play is allowed for the distribution chain?

i have inspected the chain  and teeth ( all fully metal)  but can't notice any wear.. the chain is not really used much.. my guess is about 20000 miles... but as yuo can see on the pics i can push the chain quite a bit in/out  ( the other side is tight though)  the play is not that much that the chain can run off the teeth... but is kind of play  normal/acceptable? .. a local chevy garage told me i shouldn't worry but they hadn't seen the pics and i wanna be sure  :)

thank you

 Art, The timing chain from the factory used a plastic tooth gear on the camshaft. The metal gear means that it has been replaced at one time. I've changed plenty of them and the plastic gear will give much more slop which caused problems with performance. What you have there, looks acceptable to me.

Dave

thanks,

now i can put the cover  and oilpan back on....... another step made in getting my vette back on the road :)

 

art-corvette

Art,

I agree w/ Dave, just make sure that there are no fresh marks on the inside of the timing cover that would indicate a problemm with the chain.

Anthony

Well, I hate to be the a-hole here, but......I think that's way too much slop for a stock-type chain. There should really not be hardly any side/side movement there. A full roller chain, yes, but not a stocker-rocker. If it were me(and it's NOT), I would go ahead and stick a roller set-up on there while it's apart, especially if it's a 4spd car. Now would be the time, and....it ain't gonna get any tighter!!

hmm.. before reading this last reply (adam's) i already have put the cover and oil pan back on ...sealed .. 

btw.. i have an automatic transmission maybe that makes it less bad

 

art-corvette

DOH!!
The reason I said that about 4 speeds is, when downshifting to slow the car down, you put a lot of stress on the chain. It puts the tension on the opposite side of the chain(momentarily) as you use the engine as a "brake".(engine on "over-run") This eventually causes the chain to stretch more than normal. This is also why I replaced the chain on my '74 at 40,000 miles, due to what I felt was too much slop, and it was less than what I see in your pic.
If you can turn the crank more than a couple of degrees without the cam moving, that's slop. It means the valve and ignition timing will be off, in relation to the crank/piston position. In theory, there should be no crank movement without a corresponding cam movement. This, of course, would be in a perfect world. In our world, tho, there will always be some amount of wear to deal with. My opinion, for what it may be worth, is it would be a good idea to replace the chain/gears before the engine is installed. That's just me, tho!

75,000 miles!!!
Geez, Ron, whatta ya do, DRIVE that thang? Shame on you!