Cam angle sensor?
 

After months of it already happening, I just now realize that by exposing my cam gears, I have chopped off my cam angle sensor. I still have the sensor, but nowhere to mount it. I assume, because it was mounted where it was, it probably should have stayed there. My engine bay will be pretty much completely tucked, I don't suppose I can just tuck it away somewhere with it plugged in... can I? Not sure how these sensors work. Most places I've read just talk about them going bad and just replacing them.

You need a new valve cover. There's some precision as to where the sensor is mounted. You can find pictures of how people have cut the cover to expose the gears and not lop of the somewhat critical sensor.

Yea its not some emissions solenoid that the motor will run without, or something like that. It is a critical sensor. You either need to make a bracket for it and put it pretty much exactly where it was, or get a new valve cover and not ruin it.

It was mounted on the front of the valve cover so it could read a set of nubs on the intake cam pulley as it rotates . Kinda an important thing for the ECU to know , so like your engine can run......

As I mentioned, a bracket will work the same, assuming the sensor is put pretty much exactly where it was. It needs to be spaced from the cam gear fairly accurately. If its anything like a VVT, itll need to be within 20-30 thousandths of the tooth it reads.

Yes you could do a bracket. Or you could weld the cam angle sensor portion of the valve cover back on. Or you could get a new valve cover. Or you could do away with the the cam sensor completely and install a FM 36-2 crank trigger wheel and a Megasquirt standalone ECU and run batch injection wasted spark ignition using the crank position alone. There's many different options on how to proceed.

https://c5.staticflickr.com/4/3912/1...e0563269_o.jpg

https://c6.staticflickr.com/4/3895/1...fd171182_o.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5297/2...ec4fc4c6_o.jpg

https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5471/1...c3a8bb41_b.jpg

You could also run a CAS from an NA on the exhaust cam too.

Lol at tucking away a cam sensor.

Or you could not cut off things that's function is not understood....

Yep, pretty much the reverse process of everyone who is putting NB motors in NA chassis. If you go this route I think you need to ditch the factory NB ECU and run Megasquirt in 4G63 mode to use the NA CAS on the back of the intake (1.6) or exhaust cam (1.8).