i have a '55' 264. the engine was rebuilt about 11 years ago. the cam was put in wrong and was trashed with only 3000 miles on it. the guy parked it in a barn for 10 years before i bought it. i installed a new cam and lifters last fall and got running. it runs smooth and sounds ok, but smokes at startup and if i let idle for more than about 5 minutes. i was told it could be the rings from sitting for so long, and was told to try racing fuel and take it out and run it for an hour on the highway. what do you think. thanks bryan
It's more than likely valve guides. It could be rings, especially after sitting so long; - they could be gummed up a bit, or the engine was never properly broken in, and the rings never seated properly. More often than not if this was the case it would smoke constantly. Another consideration is the carb. If the smoke is black and smells like gas, and blowing black soot, then you're running too rich. My old 46 does this; - it smokes black until the choke comes off, then it runs clean. I know the carb needs an overhaul. If the smoke is blue, then it's oil, check the guides. If the smoke is white, it's probably a head gasket or a cracked head. Another way to check for guides or rings, have someone follow you on the highway; - accelerate to highway speeds, and then back off the gas. If it smokes blue, the guides are worn. When you accelerate again, hit it hard, if it smokes blue, then the rings are gone. Hope this helps.
First, run a compression or a leak down test.... the numbers will let you know the general condition of the engine.... Marc is right, with an engine that has set for a long time,, I would suspect, valve seals first and stuck down rings.... but with a fresh rebuild just before it was stored,,,,,, I think , if it was running good , and the test numbers are good,,,I would drive it for a while and see what happens.....Follow good break in procedure and drive it slow and easy for 500 miles, then change oil and filter and drive it another 500 miles and change the oil and filter again....keeping a sharp eye on the oil pressure and the temp.... How in the world can some one put a nailhead cam in wrong???? it has tapered journals and the dist gear is on one end of it.... btw, be sure,sure, that you put some zinc additive in that engine before starting it up ,,,,because this modern oil will not protect the cam and lifters without it.....and be carefull here because a lot of the additives dont have enough zinc to really do the job..... I am lucky because I can get the good stuff here locally.....
when the timing gear was put on they forgot the flat washer thar holds it on. the gear worked out about 3/8 of an inch. the cam worked back and forth and destroyed the cam and distributor gear.
That will do it,,,, I just went thru a engine that was built and started knocking ,after running 20 minutes.... I found no 2 rod cap completely loose..... people need to double check the work when inside of an engine....
Measure twice cut once... I think that is what carpenters say. Something similar should be said by all mechanics. On the bench some time ago we had a lively discussion about engine oil. Shell Rotella does contain enough zinc to keep flat tappet cams happy. I contacted Shell directly about the subject after the builder of my 425 insisted that I run Rotella (10W30) for the first few oil change intervals. (He said I could either continue to run Rotella or switch to a fully synthetic such as Mobil 1). The Shell engineering dept. did respond to my request for information and confirmed the zinc content. A few folks posted that this was not true - but I would like to believe that Shell knows what is in their oil. 10W30 Rotella is available, but it is not easy to find. I deal with a very good speed shop that can get it by the case in gallon bottles. It is packaged in quarts according to Shell, but I was unable to locate any Rotella packaged in that manner. BTW: I loved the 264. Put a 322 4bbl manifold and carb on it and get a bunch more ponies and probably better gas mileage as well!
Wonder what else those bozos fouled up. Check to be sure the rocker shafts are not installed upside down...the oil holes for the rockers should be on the bottom. Otherwise too much oil is showered on the valve guides which did not originally have seals. Willie
