cam timing

I have a 74'z1 out of storage by a old hotroding friend who sadly past away , while checking the cam [after market ,hp, adjustable ] timing I found the exhaust cam dead nuts on ,#1 tdc carrot level with base, but the intake was on #27th pin the carrot was clearly 1 pin above base line advancing , say 25 degs or so ? yet the adjustable sproket was set all the way retarding as much as possible , Coud this have been a old hotrod trick or clearly a mistake , The bike has a hotrod history 1100 kit, 16'' harley rim , lowered 1'' ,,,, most likely i will degree the setup for exact #s, just curious if anyone ever heard of setting the cam chain on the 27th pin ?