1967 Johnson 6hp timing plate retaining ring

[20king05]

New member here on the site. Tons of great info here but having a problem I cant find an answer to.
Under the timing plate plate on my 1967 6hp Johnson there is the brass colored ring and then the retaining ring that the timing plate actually screws to. On the retaining ring there is a notch cut in it but I do not know what direction it's to be facing when reassembling or if it matters and what is the notch for? The part number for the ring us 303277. Thanks in advance for any help

 

[racerone]

The notch simply does not matter.-----Just line up the 4 screw holes for the plate to attach.

 

[F_R]

Much mystery about that notch, I think it serves as a "keyway" in a holding fixture for machining the flat surfaces, That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

 

[20king05]

Thanks to the both of you. I'm very careful and observant when taking something apart, checking for wear, etc and when I flipped it over and seen the notch I hadn't paid attention to the orientation in which it came off and couldnt find any info on it and didnt want to just throw it together if it mattered. I just picked this engine up with an old sea king 12ft v bottom for next to nothing and the engine had never been taken apart before or had anything done to it. Everything was original to the engine so I figured I'd go through it completely and the whole notch thing was throwing me for a loop