You should invest in a dial indicator with magnetic base. They can be used for all kinds of things and pretty inexpensive.
http://www.amazon.com/inch-Dial-Indi...+magnetic+base

I have one - that is how I determined that there is zero end-play. I was using the mic to figure out why.

I guess the way to correct this would be to mill about .007 from the cam retainer.

just my worthless opinion but you dont want zero endplay because although the torrington bearing can carry the load, the step of the cam would be forced against the retainer which would be steel on steel and with no clearence it would push out any oil and heat up quick. I try to stay away from the house brand stuff for timing sets as they have been all over the place on measurements. also check the retaining plate to make sure that it is perfectly flat on both sides and you dont have a burr or deformation causing a tight spot.

I think thats an option that you can do, Make sure that the inner edge of the bearing is not thicker than the rest of the bearing surface, is what i have fond on mine and is what cause the zero endplay before i work on the cam retainer.

I solve the problem by openning up a litle the cam retainer plate hole diameter to clear the (inner edge thicknes of the bearing).

If you put a strait edge on top of the bearing can you see if you have a thicker part on the bearing?

Be very careful when using your caliper to measure the step as you are. If the caliper isn't held perfectly perpendicular, then your measurements will be in error. A depth mic would be best. Unless you have a base that mounts to your caliper, that'll work too when using the depth rod. Or use the other end if possible. Thatl'll give your a larger surface for a more accurate reading

Exactly what I was thinking. No way measuring with a caliper will be trustworthy. What I'd do at this point is get some .005 shim stock and put it under the gear/cam interface and see what you have for end play when tightened up. Then you can make an accurate judgement on how much to cut the plate.

FYI. If needed you can run the thrust plate under a surface grinder to reduce its thickness. You might also try another thrust plate I have seen them vary as much as .003 pretty rare though.

Just for grins, last night I ran over to my buddy Tim's with my gear and cam retainer and did a little measuring and mock up on a step nosed cam that he had laying around. I installed the cam retainer and gear on his cam, and torqued the cam gear down as specified, and immediately noticed that it seemed to have a little more room around the retainer. Sure enough, we were able to shove a .003 shim between the retainer and the face of the cam, so .003 end play with that setup, just like it should be. I measured the nose of Tim's cam, and came up with 0.238, versus 0.234 that I got on my cam. On my billet cam, you cannot get any feeler gauge in there.

I stacked the retainer on top of the face of the thrust bearing as it would mount in the block, and measured the depth back to the gear face where it rests on the stepped nose of the cam, and after several careful measurements, concluded that I have 0.235 in this dimension. I verified that by measuring the thickness of the retainer (0.121) and the distance from the thrust surface to the gear face (0.1314). My cam measures 0.234, which means I still have preload on the thrust bearing. I can confirm this by the fact that with the cam removed from the engine and the retainer and gear installed on the cam, I can feel some drag and stiffness when I rotate the retainer against the thrust bearing on the end of the cam.

I am wondering if it would be better to shim the gear off of the nose of the cam with some .004 or .005 stock, or have some material removed from the retainer. FWIW, when I pulled the retainer off the block yesterday, one of the ears broke off, so I will need to get a new one anyway. I am leaning towards the shim - anyone know where I can find some stock this thin?

Dont know if you can find the shim to do what you need , let us know if you find that shim.

I might just try to find three 0.005 thickness washers that have an ID close to the cam gear retainer bolts. Also thought I could even cut up an old shim gauge and stick the pieces in there.