I cannot get the slot for the dist. at vertical as shown in the manual. Crankshaft is at TDC, Cams are properly set up. The slot for the dist. drive is oriented either slightly CCW or slighty CW when I reorient the pump drive. Will these positions work OK? I am not seeing how it would make a difference if the dist. is timed properly.
You're right: it won't make a difference as long as the dist. is timed properly. However, it's a good thing you asked, because you are reading the manual incorrectly. The slot should be oriented horizontally - not vertically - at #1 TDC. The rotor should be pointing (approximately) straight ahead, toward the radiator.
Note too that the "foot" at the base of the distributor is a few degrees off from where the rotor points. So the slot will need to be a bit off from horizontal (I forget in which direction) to orient the rotor exactly horizontally. In other words, while installing the oil pump, you need to temporarily insert the distributor to verify that things are as you want them.
The only reason to get this right is so that the next person to work on the car won't get confused when the plug wire positions don't correspond to what the manual shows. But sure, as long as #1 spark plug gets fired when the #1 piston is a bit ahead of TDC on the compression stroke, the location of the oil pump slot can be anywhere.
