timing cover oil seal

The open side always faces the engine, as far as I know. That way the front (outside) will be smooth metal. Another thing to check is that the slanted grooves face the correct way so that they direct oil back towards the engine as the crank rotates (cw, viewed from front of engine). Of course, flipping the seal around would still have the slanted grooves facing the same way, so if wrong direction the seal is for a "reverse rotating" engine (some Lincolns?) or for a rear seal.