Will the thinner head gaskets require shorter pushrods? I'm hoping to pull the motor this weekend and want to have everything covered for reassembly.
Depends what you change or remove from heads or block. See if you have steel head gaskets now when you take apart. I run annular boosters, walts72 runs them also. Excellent right now response. I have a 308 ratio 8.5 posi carrier & GM gearset in for sale section if you need it.
Sweet. I can't wait to get my build completed. As of right now there is no plan to deck heads or block. I'm assuming the pushrods will be fine then.
Any cheap stone that is flat to knock down any upsets on head & block surfaces. Harbor freight or Ace hardware.... I've never had gasket failure using steel gaskets and checking mating surfaces well for nicks, scratches, etc. Be anal about flat, straight, & clean.
I do think the results with your cam choice would be better if you did mill heads some. Even with cam advanced . Gaskets should be about .020 thinner, so another.020 off head should not affect pushrods I would think. And roughly get a 53 cc head net 8.82 compression. Comes up with 6.89 dynamic with cam advanced 4. Should be ok on 87 octane toowhen you get it together and running, check your vacuum. If it has a lower vacuum signal, it can affect your carb.
I'm hoping I have the pistons with less of a dish. I'm okay running higher octane gas. I am not completely opposed to getting the heads decked. Its just that I'm on a budget. I have 4 kids and a wife to provide for...this cars importance is down on the list a bit. But ultimately I do want my combo of parts to work with good efficiency. I am a little bit frustrated that the guy at TA did not mention that the engine most likely does not have the advertised 9 to 1 compression. cuz it would have affected my cam choice. He thought I would be close to 10 to 1 compression with the thinner head gaskets. No mention of compression being over rated on these cars. Other than that they were awesome to deal with.
Just talked to the local machine shop and for approximately $350 I can get the heads milled and valves reworked. I can afford that if needed.
After talking with my brother who is a Gearhead and my good buddy who is a Buick gear head they both encouraged me to go ahead and get that head work done.
Yes it is a good idea. You should be able to mill 40 thou off the heads and then use 40 thou shorter pushrods. That is what I would do anyways.
there is a chance I have the 9 to 1 Pistons and I wouldn't want to end up with too high of compression.
You can always do it later or hold off a few months when time allows since warm weather isn’t gonna be allowing much driving( depending on your area) . or maybe hold the thin gaskets until you do get the time/money to do the complete setup. or do torque converter in first, timing recurve. Other tuning before diving into engine. Plenty of ways to work this. But ultimately, trying to get you as much information so your results are decent. Take a picture of the piston then. I have yet to see a different piston then the 2 I pictured previous I would not worry about a to high of compression, I run 70 engine. With heads milled .025 and the ta 310 cam advanced 4 degrees. 9.78 compression it adds up to at last check. Was really weak down low without the head work and advanced cam, converter.
If you are going to take the heads off, just measure everything. Then you will know. Ask the machine shop to cc the chambers. Then you need the piston dish cc, and the amount the pistons sit below deck at TDC. Get your brother to help you.
The parts are in. I'm pulling the motor this weekend. I will take the heads to the shop next week....that's if I can get the manifold bolts out cause i'm sure they'll break. Lol
definitely money well spent to have the heads done. I highly recommend a converter from Jim, really compliments the engine work. I have a 350 built as these guys on here recommended, 2.93 posi rear and it will light the tires anytime I want.
I appreciate the recommendations but now that I've decided on machine work I'm Definitely stretching my budget. I looked into the $200 converters and read a few negative reviews. I decided against those as well.
Run the stock converter, nothing wrong with that. You can always change the converter down the road when more funds become available. So what cam did you go with? I see a Crower box.
I looked at the reviews on converters. What comments made you decide against it? I read one review claimed didn’t help his sluggish engine and dropped rpm from 1100 to 600 in gear . Which is a sign of a very huge cam with low vacuum or low vacuum because of poor build. I run the up to 2700 converter in my convertible. Launches are hard. I just can’t drive hard as the rear disc brakes are not right. And the tech line keeps thinking it’s an 8.2 Chevy axle.
