Ya ; if I was in junkyard I would be thinking I came across low mileage Eng. I would take heads. I hadn't considered import fee. A new timing chain cover would be nice. What we are looking at now is upgrade to70 style rockers. That means oil holes in lifters - pushrods with oil holes and rockers to match this system. No more 68 style pressurised rocker shafts
nah.. definitely not going that way changing the rockers to match the pushrod oiling system. it worked back in 68... it should work now. I'm not going to be trashing the engine and I do something like 2000 miles a year..considering I don't see myself owning this for the next 5 years, will sell before, I don't see the advantage of such investiment. I'm already on about $900 worth of parts. Only reason I'm doing it is because the truck was cheap, even with the money invested in the engine, when it comes time to sell the truck I'll still be about 2000 in profit...
Hi this is oil management for 68 The oil passages that feed the lifters are the main arteries that feed the engine. The shafts for the rockers have specific dimensions +/- a couple thou. Similar to bearing fit on crank. Just a couple thou oil clearance on crank and similar clearance rocker arm to shaft. Thus design doesn't allow for things like universal lifter cups The liftercup has to be solid for this system to operate.
This engine as you describe with open pushrods+ open lifter cups *68 style rocker arms When assembled and fitted with a dummy oil shaft will fail to provide adequate oil to feed the rockers. ALL YOU have to do is spin oil pump with electric drill to see
Mike.. no one is using open lifters and cups? I'll be using all 68 parts. Rocker arms, solid pushrods and solid lifters.
OK later on this week ill show u the tools I made to remove the bottle cap at end of rockers. That grey material that you see in various parts of you engine often accumulates inside the tubes
Been working on my parts list again. Need to call TA to ask what size pushrods to use... hopefully they'll be able to advice seeing as I'm getting the cam and all rest from them. Is it possible at all to order online in TA? I can see there's a cart option, but when you are in parts there's no option to 'add to cart'? Use old ones - Spring retainers and keepers FEL-MS96006 - Valley Pan (summit) CCA-504-16 - Valve seals TA1521B - Timing gear kit TA212-350 - 212-350 cam TA1436 - Valve springs for 212 cam TA1406 - Hydraulic lifters 68-69 TA1419A - Stock pushrods (still to confirm with TA) TA1507 - oil pump rebuild kit TA1502 - oil pressure regulator TA1510 - booster plate TA1550 - 0.010 Main bearings TA1540 - 0.010 Rod Bearings TA1559 - High Perf cam bearing kit TA1705B - full gasket set with neoprene TA1520D - 5/8 oil pickup tube
Hi all... getting close to putting this order in... could anyone advise if this gasket kit is suitable? there's a cheaper one but not sure if as good? is this one worth the extra money? http://www.taperformance.com/proddetail.asp?prod=TA_1705B or will this one be enough at half the price? http://www.taperformance.com/proddetail.asp?prod=TA_1705
TA_1705B has header gaskets. Use TA_1705. Also, probably from your local autoparts store, grab a rear main seal kit from a ford truck/van with a 460 big block. 1994 is the year I use. Fits right in place. The TA kits come with rope rear mains which always end up leaking. Front will be fine with rope as long as you remember to put the oil slinger back on.
Looks good. With the pickup tube, id bevel the pickup hole in the block to flare out to the 5/8 so it doesn't have to make any hard turns. They make bits specifically for that you can chuck in a hand drill.
Actually I would drill ou the entire passage for the pickup screen. And get a long round carbide Die grinder tip and round off the 90 degree turn as it causes some kind of turbulence which slows flow. Drill passage to 1/2 . That will increase supply to pump making Less strain on pump gears. Bevel isn’t a bad idea. But gasket material is getting thin at that size. You may need to open gasket hole up slightly. I use the melling 20IS5 pickup. Probably the same as TA unit. And the 460 seal is a better seal, just watch direction when installing.
Install the rear main seal with the lip (crevice) facing towards the rest of the engine. Install it offset too, one end above the surface one below, opposite on the main cap. I put a smidge of rtv (grey or black are best) on the ends of the seal, and i use rtv for the side seals. Goop it up, and you're good to go. Picture "borrowed" from TurboBuick.com. After all, the 3.8 is 3/4 of a 350.
Thank you very much for your advice gents!! Going to the local parts store would definitely not get me a seal for a big block tough, I'm in the UK, so I'd probably get something for a Land Rover or a Morris,...hahahahaha I'll try find that seal on some online company in the US and see if they can post it to where all the truck parts are going to, Oklahoma.. I'm not sure what oil slinger is, but when time comes to put it all back together (january) I'll ask about it.. and I'll definitely do the mod on the oil passage.. afterall it has been oil starvation that has caused all this damage and hassle. Sounds pretty easy and I can probably use my friend milling machine to do the work if I can't make it work with the milling attachment on my lathe. Milling machine.. now that's something I have been meaning to buy for a couple of years now! Parts list update! Use old ones - Spring retainers and keepers FEL-MS96006 - Valley Pan (summit) CCA-504-16 - Valve seals TA1521B - Timing gear kit TA212-350 - 212-350 cam TA1436 - Valve springs for 212 cam TA1406 - Hydraulic lifters 68-69 TA1419A - Stock pushrods (still to confirm with TA) TA1507 - oil pump rebuild kit TA1502 - oil pressure regulator TA1510 - booster plate TA1550 - 0.010 Main bearings TA1540 - 0.010 Rod Bearings TA1559 - High Perf cam bearing kit TA1705 - full gasket set with neoprene TA1520D - 5/8 oil pickup tube again.. I can't thank enough to all of you guys who have helped through this ordeal.... the end is near... the parts will be ordered this week, shipping to Oklahoma and then in a shipping container in January, together with my 1951 harley panhead!
To be honest, you don't have to do the oil mod at all. It helps sure, but its not necessary. I don't think it was really oil starved, but the stupid plastic gear bits clogging most of the pickup didnt help. The oil slinger is a little metal disc that goes on the crank snout before the timing cover to splash oil on the timing gears, distributor gear, and fuel pump eccentric.
Actually the factory oiling system using just factory parts is marginal at best. Adding performance parts especially a cam that raises peak RPM from the factory intended 4,000 RPM max to 5,500 to 6,000 RPM, the oil mods are more of a necessity if you want your engine to have any kind of longevity. The more performance orientated the sbb 350 engine build is the more the need for more of the oil mods. Seeing how easy the mods are to do its a good idea to just do them all for the piece of mind that your engine won't be starving for oil whenever you feel the need for speed or when your foot is feeling heavy. GL
I did notice when I forgot mine on my '76 it did get a lil mist now and then on the cover after I'd romp on it.