I made one of these for myself a long time ago from billet. Lots of people have asked me if I would make more of them but I never did since they were so expensive to make. The other day I hit on a way to do the same thing that costs a lot less to mfg so I cranked out a small production run.

The plate bolts to the deck surface and it holds a dial indicator in line with either the intake or exhaust lifter. This plate only fits big block engines. You have to supply your own dial indicator.

You also need to fabricate a short pushrod to make it all work. I thought about selling short pushrods but there are just too many combinations. Flat tappets need a different pushrod than roller lifters, RB and B need different lengths, etc. I'd have to stock about 6 different lengths and it just gets too confusing and expensive to deal with.

A 2" dial indicator has a long stem, and if needed a screw in extension can be used (indicator with screw in tips). You just need a lifter with a contact spot (or something sitting in the lifter).

I have a roller lifter & a solid lifter that has a bolt welded to it with the head of the bolt used as a flat surface for the dial indicator.Now if that plate is thick enough,you could also have another hole in the center that could be used as a piston stop for TDC calculations.Will be degreeeeeeeeeeeein a cam in GREEN MOPAR's roadrunner this week and I'll take some pics

I have made these plates with an extension so they'll hold a dial indicator over the piston. But then that adds cost since you need to make the plate thicker, or else use spacers to clear a piston dome. I also decided over the years to use a piston stop rather than a dial indicator to find TDC. The dial indicator method has problems when you have a long rod motor since there is so much dwell time at TDC.

Nice piece Andy. How much are they?

Andy, turn the plate around and put a bolt in one of
the holes, bolted down in the same holes and now its
a TDC stop