I have recently had my generator rebuilt and after I installed it I noticed that the car just didn't run right. It lacks power and I hear under the right conditions (low rpm in 3rd gear) popping noises almost like a backfire but it was popping through the carb. I never looked inside the front of the engine but I assume there's a chain that wraps around the gear that drives the generator and it's the same chain that maintains the timing between the cam and crank. My fear is that I've somehow messed up that alignment and have to take the front cover off the engine which probably requires me to remove the hood and radiator which is no easy task. If I didn't lean on the generator enough to tighten the chain properly, could that have caused the chain to skip on the gear(s) and misalign?
I live in FL and it has been extremely hot the last couple of days when I took the car out so there might be some other explanations but it just seems to me like this is the most plausible given that the car was fine before I messed with the generator.
I also thought perhaps I cracked the distributor cap with all this heat. I haven't looked at it yet because my mind is so focused on that timing chain. I did have a Mini Cooper once and rainwater hit the distributor cap and cracked it with similar results on engine performance.
