When I set my 283 in I made sure I could still get my fingers in behind the fat old cap. Worked perfectly when I was 180 degrees off on the initial fire-off: Popped the cap, lifted the shaft assembly up enough to rotate and stabbed it in the right place.
The worst that might happen is you might have to loosen the trans mount and jack the back of your transmission up to give your HEI that extra inch or so of room.
Mac.
