Cam Degreeing I set out to degree my cam in tonight.I'm using TA's 284-88H cam which calls for for .460" lift and 223* dur.@.050" on the intake and 230* on the Exhaust and a 110* lobe center.The cam must be already ground 4* advanced since it came up with a 106.5* intake lobe center line.I checked more than a few times and came up the same every time.I'm calling the cam installed and will work on the rest of the short block tomorrow. Don't make fun of my ancient 3" travel indicator,it's consistent and always comes back to zero,it's perfect for doing just this.For a lifter I used an old Chevy lifter that I modified years ago by inverting the cup and epoxy it back,it acts as a solid one and gives a good surface for the indicator's tip.
Two steps forward and one back I set out to install the heads and the more I looked at them and the shim gaskets the more I tought that something wasn't right.There are two holes for coolant on the heads that are not on the block,altough the block will support the gasket in that area,the gasket is not embossed to seal the holes ou: .I specified that my engine was a '79,I made all my calculations assuming the use of these gaskets to achieve a 9.479:1 CR and a 8.125 DCR.I didn't panic :Brow: , and convinced myself to go ahead and use the Felpros and settle for a calculated 9.012CR and a 7.786DCR.I've been using Keith Black's site calculators,I've used Pat Kelly's DCR calculator before but I couldn't get it to work this time.I'm somewhat dissapointed with this but I really don't feel that bad about it,since I keep wondering what this car would do with a 50-100 shot of instant gratification and the 9:1 with the dished forgings may be the ticket. Here's some pictures of why the gaskets don't fit and some short and long block pictures.
Pushrod length checking This past week I was off from work and stayed around here working around the house and the yard but I managed to work at night on the engine.I set out to figure what I needed for pushrods as far as length.I checked every valve/lobe with two brand new TA lifters and with two new Crane Chevy lifters.With the TA lifters I measured a low of 9.516" and a high of 9.554",I'll call that a range of +/- .038".With the Chevy lifters I measured a low of 9.568" and a high of 9.602" with a range of .034".I used two old pushrods that were modified to act as "checkers" with 1/4-28 threads with a lot of care to keep concentricity altough 100% concentricity was not achived.I feel confident to say that the recorded measurments are within +/- .005".I even tried two old lifters vs. the TA's on cylinder #1 and the measurments were 9.513" EX and 9.516" IN with the old lifters and 9.516" EX and 9.519" IN for the TA's,that told me that my "feel" wasn't bad.I also measured the old pushrods to see what range if any was there.The low for the original 32K miles pushrods was 9.678" and the high was 9.689" for a range of +/- .011".When I bought my heads I got some other parts to go with them and I have a new set of replacement pushrods made by Pioneer,I measured four of them and they went from 9.681" to 9.685".I tried to do all my measurment the same way every time to limit the errors.I would really appreciate if anyone is using 3/8" pushrods would reply here as to the feasability to use them on my build.I would really like to use solid pushrods and the thicker the better,this is a loooong pushrod(+9.5"),I don't have a lot of lift and I hate to lose any of that to pushrod deflection.I will also would like to ask the veteran Small Block Buick people to please chime in on this thread since I'm flying solo and blind here(I don't personally know anyone who has built or is contemplating building a Buick).I'm trying to give this engine my best shot and your input will be appreciated(it really is ok to discuss and bench race the small blocks :laugh: ).I understand that there is still some lenght missing for the pre load and I will discuss that once I order the parts,but I would really like to go with the solid pushrods if I can.Any opinions??
http://www.taperformance.com/ Non - Adjustable Pushrods TA 1420 350 3/8" Adjustable Pushrods TA 1425 350 3/8" I have used them but I use 5/16 in my car because you have to drill the pushrod holes out bigger in the heads. Dan
Thanks for your reply Dan,I did talked with Dave at TA today and discussed the issue.I really would not like to run the adjustables and I consider them my last resort.I will need for sure a custom lentgh pushrod,what motivates my thinking on this issue is the fact that these are very long pushrods and I believe that some amount of of lift is being lost to deflection.I'm not building a racing engine,but I think that anything that can be done to the valvetrain to make it beefier or stronger may surprise a lot of people including myself.I believe that the stock configured valvetrain is leaving a lot on the table with the pushrods being the first offenders :Smarty: .Does anyone share this logic or don't o No: ? Maybe I'm making an issue out of nothing but I'm really pulling hairs over this one.Let them rip :Comp: ,share your toughts or observations on this issue,you're killing me :grin: .I'm using Comp's springs that are spec'ed for the 254-260-268 cams,very similar to the TA's that most use as replacements.Dave verified that only by enlarging the holes on the heads a 3/8" pushrod can be used.I will go with 5/16" but will really like to get the heavier wall pieces.I'll do some more calling around the next couple of days.Later
Here is a idea. THe chevy lifter I believe has the push rod cup higher in the lifter. This would allow for a shorter push rod. Check it out and let me know what you come up with because I am not sure how much shorter. Dan
A little progress I went ahead last night and worked some on the engine.Installed the timing cover/water pump and the oil pan.I'm still working on my test stand in order to fire this thing on it.I should finish the gas tank next week,it will be sweet.
The fitment of the intake manifold is very good,it took the machine shop a while to get it right as far as sitting square between the hads and block.Now,since I asked to whack the deck +/- .080" the mounting holes are a little too close for comfort .I figured that I could use a round file and massage the intake holes so the bolts have plenty of clearance but decided to do it on the mill,I'll do that this weekend.While waiting for the weekend I decided to make some plugs for the heat cross over holes,I've already plugged the manifold but I convinced myself :beer that there's no need for that "extra" exhaust chamber on the center ports.I checked the holes and they are not trully round nor are they tapered so it was hard to get a true measurement.I ended up making some plugs instead of using the freeze plugs,by the way,20mm should do the trick if going that route :TU: .I made the plugs out of AL and made them stepped (4) in .015" increments and drove them there with a brass drift and a hefty sledge with a stubby handle :Brow: .The pictures show the top and bottom view of the plugs installed,I tapped the tops in case that removal is needed later on and a slide hammer could be used.Filling and blending the ex. port with the passage would be the ideal way to delete the exhaust cross over but that is beyond my skills,this is my attempt at it.
Hector, Your heat crossover plugs go clear down into the dome?! I would like some like that in the worst way. Could I convince you to mill me a set?? :grin: Your project is looking great!!
She's a beauty. I have a 1977 Regal, 2dr but it's gold. I've always wanted to know how it would look in black. I'm planning to paint it soon but if I do go with black then the upholstery would have to be redone -- black too. Nice wheels! Food for thought....
Thanks for the comments :TU: .It's been slow coming on this thing,working too many hours :ball: .I realized that I never updated the pushrod information.I used TA's heavy walled one piece 5/16" rods of two different lenghts (8-8) and the preloads were measured in the .030"-.060" range with only two of them at .072".
