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Rossiz's l28 had more kick with max advance 36-38 degrees so you are in the region.

Your TDC location method is a little bit imprecise. There's play in the bearings and the piston barely moves at all as it goes over the top. The best way to locate it precisely is with a piston stop or a dial indicator with the head off. But it looks like the mark, and the crankshaft and the cam marks are all within a few degrees. Certainly not 20 degrees off. You can see by the distributor picture that the points of the reluctor are not close to aligned. When those two points pass each other that's when the spark happens. So your timing measure of 34 degrees seems in the ballpark. Still odd that so many parts are right but the timing is off. The one picture you don't have is of the #1 cam lobes, confirming that they're fully closed. It's a puzzle. You might put the sprocket back to number 1 hole, recheck everything and see how it runs then.

nice! ok, so all of us that were feeling bad for you are now starting to feel envious ;}

The cam timing issue dose not have any affect on the ignition timing. You need to verify TDC without using the marks on the crank pulley to validate the timing marks on the pulley. Try using a long thin rod O(screwdriver) placed through and held by hand in spark plug hole in #1 cylinder. Turn the cracnk by hand slowly and feel the piston movement. Stop when the piston is at the top then look at the timing marks. This is not a super accurate method but should get you within a degree or two if you are careful. If the timing marks are off make a new mark and then check the ignition timing with your new timing light. Also, if the marks are off it indicates a problem with the harmonic damper. Place a mark across the damper/pulley faces that spans the rubber layer. Monitor the line over time to see if the inner and outer parts move and cause an offset in the line indicating a failure of the bond between the rubber layer and the metal parts.

Thank you everyone for your concern. Okay, after taking some time to calm down and having a few drinks...I called Dave at Rebello. Apparently my block that I sent to him wasn't usable due to the cylinders needing to be bored to far. After being bored out the cylinder walls still had pits in them. So he made the decision to replace the block. Which I am ok with, I just wish he would've called and told me. He also emailed me my receipt and dyno sheet. He assured me that these carbs were used during the dyno, just with a different intake manifold. That would explain the loose nuts. I can also smell fuel in the carbs. So I may have over reacted a little, he was and has been friendly on the phone he just seems like hes always in a hurry. This is also the first motor I've sent out to get rebuilt so I didn't really know what to expect. I guess all I would complain about would be the lack of communication and the time it took but as long as its a good product in the end.....I will be happy. Here are the specs. L28 with N42 head 3.0L Stroker 89mm Cast Pistons L24 rods with ARP bolts Turbo oil pump 63DI 109 Hot B Cam Triple 45 DCOE Weber Carbs Port & Polished head Port matched intake 11:1 compression Dyno Sheet: So...... nice solid torque from 4200 to 6500 and a peak HP of over 300. I'm beginning to get excited again!

sorry to hear this story... sucks to have something like that pour cold water on your build, especially since you were making such great progress. at this point, we can only hope that you get it running well enough that this experience quickly fades. i've built a couple custom bikes, and it seemed there was always a roadblock right when i started getting momentum up. parts would take crazy time to arrive, service providers would flake out, things wouldn't fit like i thought, etc. and i would get all worked up about it. a buddy with a few more years of experience kept reminding me that the setbacks are part of the process, part of the struggle. he has a real zen-like approach to projects, and gets great results with supreme patience. i'm not there yet... still get antsy to get it done, and none of this really helps you at this moment of frustration, but in a few months when you're laying 11's up and down the block in your badass z it'll be hard to remember this little hiccup

Yeah Yeah Yeah!!! We (kids) did that too!! Awesome. It's those kind of tricks that you wonder if it was a regional phenomenon or if other people were doing the same thing. Clearly it wasn't that regional! Ahhhh.... The good old days. Stupid kid tricks. Popping the Styrofoam labels on the soda bottles. Popping leaves on your hand by slapping with the other hand? Building lighter fluid powered tennis ball cannons out of soda cans. Making little match rockets with tin foil over the match heads. Making firecrackers out of cap rolls with a needle and scotch tape. Had to be real careful when you pulled the pin out? Harvesting the black powder out of your dad's shotgun shells for... well... for whatever you needed gunpowder for, which could be anything!! Heating hot dogs through electrocution with an extension cord. Some of it was clearly Darwin in action.

Your experience with Robella really sucks! I'd be pissed too. Definitely ask for a refund on the dyno and tuneup. If having the original block is important enough to you, I'd ask for a refund, ship it back, and get your old engine back if possible. At least let him you're mad enough to consider it. I'm surprised he's still in business. Sounds like there's a void for another Z engine builder to step into, one that can type emails and take care of his customers that pay his bills. Your car looks awesome! Nice work. Ken