I'm working on repairing my '79 400 after an engine fire melted a whole bunch of things in the front of the engine. I decided this was the time to swap distributors, since I had a known distributor issue. I cleaned as best I could around the base of the distributor before pulling it, but despite my best efforts, a small pile of dirt and fire extinguisher residue fell into the hole when I lifted the distributor clear. How screwed am I? Is there anything I can do to clean up this mess without pulling the engine and disassembling it?

 

"..a small pile of dirt and fire extinguisher residue fell into the hole..."
You said small amount, so I'd just take a shop vac with a small suction tube, suck out what you can, assemble everything and run it. If it makes you feel better, install some new oil and a new oil filter ahead of time and possibly change your oil somewhat sooner than you normally do after you get it running.

 

I agree - clean as best you can. But, I would wash the stuff you can't get down into the sump with a squirt can of engine oil so it won't get onto the cam gear or timing chain. Then, after starting it and letting the engine run for a bit to ensure the stuff does get washed down into the sump, drain and refill the oil and replace the filter.