NH 268 Needle replacement issues

So I bought a one-owner 268 and it's ugly but mechanically very good condition. Been parked for 2-3 years in a barn.

I'm new (just off the turnip truck last night) to baling hay. I saw it run, ran it - all seemed fine.

I starts to hay...and the needles get broken. Now i've got 40 years as a shade tree mechanic and 20 years as a professional (cars, motorcycles, watercraft, atv, etc).

The knotters were gummed up (for lack of a better term) causing them to seize up part way thruough a knotting cycle, with the needles up..well, they took a fatal hit.

I got 2 new needles (not cheap...have hay laying in the field so you do what you gotta do). INstalled, I know they can be (need!) to be adjusted for how they enter the knotter.

Well...the right needle enters about 1.5" before the left one..and adjusted for as much clearance as possible (at the needle mount) it hits the knotter which is adjusted all the way back..so I'm suspecting the needle mount(s) are tweaked..hey, it's 40 some years old afterall.

So is it acceptable/common/not rare to have to 'adjust' the needle mounts via bending? And if so..how do you suggest I do that considering I need to keep the tabs in alignment to hold the needle and the total mvoement might only need to be 1/8" or 3/16? Better to grind the needle mount area?

Is there a measurement from some point to the needle tip that would aid me in getting the tweaking done right the first time in stead of trial and error?

NH 268 Needle replacement issues