Just going with a stock replacement for now since they're cheap and it's a temporary thing...

Anyway I've never changed a lifter. I assume I pop the valve cover and side covers off, loosen up the rocker nut, rotate or remove the rocker, pull up the rod, take off the side cover, use a magnet to pull out the old and then drop in the new and put it all back together.

Is that right?

Darn things are making a heck of a racket at start up. Also engine isn't smooth. I think my #6 lifter is shot.

Yes, that should work. However:

If you find the lifter face is worn which it probably is I would not replace with a new lifter. Could cause more damage. You really need to swap in a new cam and all new lifters.

I recommend you check lift first. Remove rocker arms and place a dial indicator on the pushrod. If there is more than a few thousandths (0.010") difference then your cam is likely trashed. Intake and exhaust may have different nominal lift. Check #6 first might save you some time...

Assuming that you are not having problems because the cam is shot, in order to have the best chance of successfully using new lifters on an old cam, you have to treat the whole thing as a new motor, that is you have to coat the new lifters with cam break-in lube, fresh oil with the zinc additive, BradPenn or some equivalent, would not be a terrible idea to preoil the motor, and then break the cam in just like it was new, 2000 rpm for 20 minutes or so. This does not guarantee you will be successful, only that it is what you need to do to have the best chance of success.

Thanks guys. I'll give it a shot.

I'm pulling the engine this winter anyway (probably January) and will likely put in new rings, pistons, cam, bearings and rods. Maybe a new oil pump as well. This is more or less a temporary fix.

The lifters will "break in" to the old cam, and will have the old worn cam "imprint" on them, if the cam holds and doesn't get worn away by the new lifters that don't match it yet.... Then when you put a new cam in there later, the now already broken-in lifters will not match the new cam, and both will potentially be ruined. So... when you put the new cam in, use new lifters with it AGAIN.

The lifters can be taken apart and cleaned. I would do that rather than waste a new set of lifters.

As a sidenote, my #6 cam lobes were REALLY worn. Lost maybe half the lift. So yea, measure the lift before doing much else.

Jan

Look, as long as you're taking it apart anyway, why not have the cam reground and then put in the new lifters? I sent my cam to Delta...Great service, a week turn around and very reasonable price. Get it done and over with.

Paul

The only reason I'm hesitant to do that is because I don't see any way of doing a cam swap without pulling the engine. If I do that I fear it might not go back in and instead an LS might fall into it's place. The more I look at things the more the LS is calling me. I can swap one in for about $7k. If I sell the intake, carb, headers and exhaust I have now I figure I can get about $700 for them. That'll cover a 4L60E swap and then some. The next weak link will be the rear end so back to the junkyard for that...

I'm at a crossroads now...

I'll try pulling the lifters and cleaning them. I have a new stock set coming in anyway so I can gut and re-build with the parts from the new ones if needed.

Like I said above: they're cheap so it's not a big deal money-wise.

You can't lose much by throwing a set of lifters at it. Be sure to run break in lube. It will be just like breaking in a cam.

Kinda my thoughts as well.

Talked to one of my buddies. Since I'm not down on power and it only makes noise for 3-4 seconds on start-up he thinks it's just a collapsed lifter. Hopefully it won't be too difficult to fix.

I pulled them out last night and replaced them. Haven't fired up the engine yet. Just lubed them with assembly grease. I'll turn the engine over for a bit before I hook the fuel line back up or re-install the carb (also putting a shorter carb space in so the carb is off the engine right now).

Pics of what I took out:



old vs new:



Up close:







As you can see there's not much wear. They didn't seem worn out internally either. They were, however, a realy PITA to get out so rather than risk using lifters with marred edges I put in the new after letting them soak in oil and coating the bottom and sides with assembly lube. I also cleaned up the pushrods and ran a piece of weld wire down them. Every one had gunk either closing off or nearly closing off the hole near the bottom. Hit them with degreaser and then lightly sanded them. Now they spin freely.

Also the lifters turn freely in their recesses now. I can remove them with a magnet instead of a pair of pliers and a chissel to knock them up like I had to do with the old ones.

Lots of crud in this engine. LOTS. It's a ton better than it was when I bought the car but it's still absolutely full of it. I think this was the last of the really bad stuff though on the top end. All the passageways are now clear. I don't know about the passages around the crank though. Since I've driven it about 6,000 miles since buying the car I have to assume they're not clogged. No spun bearings yet.

The plan now is to put the spark plugs and distributor back on it, leave the valve cover off (side covers are back on), keep the carb off and fuel line to the fuel pump disconnected. I'll crank the engine until I see oil coming up into the valve train. That should indicate the lifters are primed, right?

At that point I'll set the valve cover back on without the screws, re-install the carb, and fire it up. Adjust the lifters so there's some clanking during break-in but not a ton of slack. Just enough to not stress the lifters/cam contact point. Run the engine for 3 minutes at 2,000 RPM's, 3 at 1,500, and idle for another 5. refine timing (I was smart enough to put tape on the distributor and valve cover so I can pretty much set it without a light before I crank the engine), and re-set the valve lash to normal (0+1/2 turn in).

Does that sound right?

Anyone see anything majorly wrong here?

We'll see if that fixes the noise problem on start-up.

The basics are correct. Only one thing I think I mentioned earlier: the cam has already been broken in and work hardened to the old lifters long ago. It won't do it again, at most you can get the lifters to break in to match the cam, if even that. They are hard. This is why cam and lifters should always be replaced as a set.

OK except for cranking the engine to see oil. Likely to take a LOT of cranking. Low speed cranking not good for new cam/lifter interface.

Much better to prime by spinning the oil pump with a drill motor and a screwdriver bit if you don't have an extra distributor to make a primer with. You don't need the distributor body like you do with a Chevy V8. Spin the pump for a bit, turn the crank 1/3 turn, spin some more, repeat a couple times. Then just keep spinning the pump until you see oil out the pushrods or tire of trying. Then fire the engine.

If all that is too much trouble just fire the engine right away and don't let it idle.

Put a paint pen mark on your pushrods so you can tell if they are spinning or not. If you see the pushrod spin then the lifter is probably also spinning which is what you want.

FWIW, I would not do what you have done here. I would have replaced the cam and lifters as a set. This might work, or it might send more metallic shrapnel through your engine...

Anyone notice the lifter stroke witness marks in the next to last photo? The one with the worn face also appears to have significantly less stroke based on the witness marks. If this is true your cam is shot.

I hadn't noticed that. The cams do seem to go up and down evenly but I'll measure them tonight by turning it by hand and using one of these on the lifter:



That should at least tell me if one lobe is shot.

Darn. I don't want to replace the cam. That likely means pulling the engine. I might be able to do it in the car if I remove the grill but not likely.

Another pic with all 6 from the side (sort of). Best I have on me.



Looking more and more like that #6 cam lobe is done...

I was hoping to not pull the engine for a while.

It's always had a rough idle. I've seen videos of other 6's and mine just seemed rougher. Slight shake. I can pull the #6 plug wire and there's little change in how it idles.

At speed, however, it was always OK.

Assuming I bite the bullet on the cam what do you guys recommend?

I'd purchase another stock cam for now since I believe you mentioned your pulling the engine soon anyhow. Stock cams are pretty cheap. And you won't be too much money behind.

a cam is a cam, same price gets you a wide variety. I NEVER put a stock cam back in anything if the old one has to be replaced. To ME, it would be dumb not to take the free horsepower that comes with a smarter, more modern grind, that can make more power and torque without hurting mileage or longevity. Some like everything bone stock, I just see no point. You can get a mild cam that improves everything and runs well with everything else being stock.

Oh and also my #6 lobes were worn out. Sounds like similar symptoms.

So.... what mild cam do people recommend?

You might be able to remove the engine mount bolts then lift the engine enough for a straight shot for cam removal out the front of the car.

I prefer to remove the engine and transmission as a unit. More work up front but a whole lot easier to do the engine work, get pan gasket sealed properly, etc. without crawling under the car. Pick your poison...

Nothing with more than .450 lift as that would be the max the stock springs can take. I recommended a stock cam because I thought I remembered you are going to be going through the engine soon anyhow, but I guess I don't know what I'm talking about. Comp makes a couple of good Just above stock cams you can check out on their sight.

Thanks.

Just confirmed the cam is shot. #6 intake lobe is toast. So is #2 exhaust.

I also suggest to use a small cam to work with the stock springs for now. Something like a compcams 252 or 260.

Ordered a Comp Cams 260H:

http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/cam-specs/Details.aspx?csid=60&sb=2



I know it says it's for trucks but I wanted just a bit more aggression than stock. Not a lot. Also ordered the recommended springs for it and new valves seals.

If I made the wrong choice please let me know ASAP so I can call and change the order.

I think I also have a leaking valve seal so it's a "while I'm in there" thing on that bit. Going to try the rope trick: Feed a rope into the spark plug hole to fill the piston. Hand rotate the crank until it stops on the rope. The rope will take up the space and keep the valve from dropping. Compress the spring, remove, and replace the seal then spring with new.

That will be fine for the stock-ish type build you are describing.

You may need to upgrade to the Z/28 valve spring. The stock spring is only good up to .450 lift last I read. Course I have Also read that the stock spring is good up to .500 lift. Something you may want to look into. But for a stock engine all around that cam will do nicely.

I am upgrading the springs. Also doing valve seals while in there.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-981-12/

Bought the ones Comp recommends with the cam. (got it on Comp's site though. Same price)

That is a myth. Z28 springs are designed for a solid lift cam and have too much installed pressure and too much open pressure, even at the same installed height as a hydraulic valve spring.

Here's the specs for a true Z28 spring: Z28 spring specs

Ordered Royal Purple break-in oil and Lucas hot-rod and classic car oil. All 10W-30. Both are real high in all the right ingredients.

So... how should I break her in once I get the new cam installed?

I took some tape and marked where the distributor was positioned before removing it. I can set it pretty close to correct before even starting it now. I'll use assembly lube on the cam and lifters and then prime the engine with a drill. To do the valve lash adjustment I figured I'd leave the valve cover loose for start-up and can adjust them as soon as I start the engine. I'll get the valves snug but not tight to start. Then, while it's running, tighten them up slightly. I don't want to go too tight during break-in so I'll just snug them until the rattle goes away and no more.

How long do I run her with the break-in oil? I know for break in I don't want to keep it the same RPM and I don't want to push the engine hard.

Never broke in an old engine before. New ones are a bit easier.

Some things that should have tipped me off sooner regarding my cam going bad:

-Rough idle
-Kept creeping up the idle speed to keep it from stalling when going into gear
-Had to run a high cold idle.
-Worse and worse gas mileage
-Had to run mid-grade gas to keep from pinging
-power was steadily going down

Should've been obvious but...

First thought. To pull the valve springs, I would recommend using air pressure to hold the valves.

To breakin the cam. Hold RPM's at about 2000 for 20 minutes. It is far harder to do than you think. You will need extra airflow past the radiator.

I always set the valves with the engine off.
Mark the balancer at TDC and 120 and 240 degrees. Start on #1 TDC and adjust both valves by watching the pushrod hitting the lifter cup. Once it has fully touched, then tighten down another 1/2 turn. Turn crank to the next cylinder in the firing order (153624), Which is 1/3 of a turn to crank and repeat the process until you are done.

Thanks. All the info so far has been very, very helpful.

I'll take a bunch of pics and document the whole process.

Bit stuck.

How the heck do you pull the crank pulley? From what I've read it looks like a steering wheel puller. Tried that and it won't budge. Any tricks?

chevy 250 cam swap http://imgur.com/gallery/Nb3Kj

...got a bit frustrated. Didn't crank too hard on the puller. Should I?

Crank harder. I like to use bolts that are about 2" long on the puller.
If possible, drill the snout of crank for a 7/16 fine thread bolt. Drill it 1.5 deep and thread it almost the same depth.
This will be used to put the balancer back on.

Thanks Tom. That did it. Well that and soaking in PB overnight.

http://imgur.com/gallery/tbxhN

Stopped for the night. 13 hour day. 30 minutes if work but huge progress tonight.

Next up will be removing the brace that holds the hood latch. Then I'll jack up the engine a bit so I can wiggle it out and slide the new one in.

You can see the first lobe in the last two pics. Can't wait to see #6...

Non polished lobes: They will be plenty polished after they have been broken in. Don't touch them. Let the lifters wear into the cam and vice versa. Don't disturb them by hand in any way. Lube them up and run it.

Thanks. Will do.

...or rather not do.

Checking the bearings while you're in there and installing a new CAM?

Yep

Since my cam gear isn't metal I ordered one through Autozone. They have an aluminium one in stock. It'll be here tomorrow morning by 10 so I can take both down to the machine shop, get the thrust plate removed from the old one and have that and the new cam gear installed on the new cam.

I removed the hood latch support, unbolted the engine mounts and jacked up the engine enough to wiggle the old cam out. Cleaned off the 45 year old gaskets, prepped the block for paint, masked it, and proceeded to quickly run out of paint before I even got half a side done.

This little cam job is getting rather pricy! Up to $350 now. Don't tell my wife!





I have no idea how it ran as well as it did...

Those cam bearing journals look rough, it may need cam bearimgs as well.

That's the camera, not the journals. Machine shop said the journals are OK.


Picked up my cam gears and went to the local machine shop earlier today. Really glad I bought that cam gear! Old one snapped in half. Also the retainer was pretty worn so I replaced that too. Painted a bunch of stuff today as well. Decided to go a bit different on the cam gear cover and painted it gloss black like my brackets and pulleys. If it doesn't look good I'll repaint it in Chevy Engine Red Orange.

Bit more done today. It was a real challenge to get the cam in. New drive gear doesn't have puller threads.

If I just line up the two gear marks I can't go wrong, right?


Hope so...





Also repainted and cleaned it as best I could without pulling it. I'll flush some used oil through the pan using the opening under the crank gear. That'll push any debris down to the drain plug that got in there during tear down. The rest can be picked up by the pump screen.

....now I'm stuck until my gasket set comes.

Looks good!

Hopefully she runs as good as she looks...

Yes, it does look great! Really looking forward to hearing how it runs with the new CAM and stock pistons.

Little more progress:







Any reason I shouldn't dump the break in oil into it yet?



Still have a pile of parts... but it's smaller now.



To-Do List:

Install radiator, grill, battery, radiator fan, fill panel, fuel lines, prime motor oil, valve springs and seals, install distributor, and, finally, the valve cover.

When I set up the timing initially I'll bring the #1 up to TDC but what should be going on with the valves at that time? I'd like to avoid being 180 degrees out which, as I know is true, is a 100% possibility no matter what I do unless I know if the intake valve should have just closed on the upstroke (as I assume to be true).

153624 firing order. #6 exhaust valve should have just closed and intake just opening when on #1 TDC firing. Lining up the cam gear timing marks likely represents either #1 or #6 TDC firing but you have the timing cover on so cannot see...

Hopefully you verified the torsional damper TDC mark? If not, you probably should do that now.

Didn't verify that since it's keyed. Will do.

That said I know where the distributor needs to be based on the plug wire lengths so I can get close during break in without getting out the timing light.

Anyone have a better trick to crank the engine by hand? I usually use a 1/2" socket on the bolts on the fan pulley and assist by pulling the belts by hand but that kind of sucks. Any way easier? Surely I'm missing something...

Should be a bolt on the harmonic balancer you can use. But some didn't come with one.

None of them ever came with one, you have to drill and tap the hole yourself.

I guess 250 didn't then. Both my 292's have bolts.

A previous owner would have had to have done it or perhaps a mechanic, no Chevy 6 cylinder crank was ever drilled from the factory. Even the Stovebolts going back to 1937 or 38 were not drill either.

[quote=CNC-Dude #5585]A previous owner would have had to have done it or perhaps a mechanic, no Chevy 6 cylinder crank was ever drilled from the factory. Even the Stovebolts going back to 1937 or 38 were not drill either. [/quote
Not quite true. All 292 are drilled for the snout bolt. I think a few 250 were. But all 194, 215,230 and most 250's were not drilled.

I did suggest his crank get drilled and tapped after he pulled the cam. Maybe Gbauer did not read that. That bolt could be used to turn the engine.

Not to mention that stovebolts through '53 all had provision for hand crank starting on the crank pulley snout (even though there was no opening in the grill to support inserting a hand crank). One needs to grind these 'ears' off of the snout before fitting a flat washer and retaining bolt.

Tom, we raced quite a few 292 cranks that were never drilled and I had to both drill and tap them, they only had the centering countersink in the snout for holding them between centers to be machined on the journals. I guess there's exceptions to everything.

That is sorta funny to delete the hand crank hole in the grilles but still install the hand crank style balancers on the vehicles.

And the absent hand crank hole is just one obstacle . . . the radiator is in the way too !

But this was about efficiency in the parts bin . . . there's only one for all applications.

I read it I just didn't listen. Regretting that now.


...stupid know it all kids...

Anyway I got three of the set of valves done. 3 more to go. Not nearly as easy as I thought it would be.

I think I'm going to go pick up some different tools tomorrow to try. The rope trick sucks. Getting a compression tester so I can use my compressor to float the valves. Also going to get a different spring compressor. I had help today but won't have that for a couple more days again so I figure I'll try to go it alone with different equipment.

Finally a reason to keep my worn out 230. You can crank it by hand using the fan. Only one direction and you sometimes need to press on the belt to prevent slipping. It hisses really loud when you do that. I thought they all hissed and leaked...

The 250 can be done that way too. I removed my fan, however, and went with an electric fan.

I suppose I could bolt it up temporarily and do it that way until I'm done with the valve springs.

Speaking of which... WHAT A PAIN IN THE BASS!!!

I've been using a valve spring compressor like this:



3 hours last night and I've only gotten 3 cylinders done and that was working with a buddy. I'm going to try to buy one locally and see if I can't find something I can use one-manned.

I see they have this style for $25 in stock by my house:

[img]http://contentinfo.autozone.com/znetcs/product-info/en/US/grn/27040/image/3/[/img]

Are they any better?

(sorry the second image won't work. Click on it and you'll see the style.

Just want to throw this in before it is too late.
You mentioned Oring seals. Those are not much of a seal for a newly rebuilt head or your well worn head. It will pass just as much oil as before.
Your problem is worn guides. These umbrella seals will do a much better job of controlling oil.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Viton-Umbrella-Valve-Stem-Seals-GM-Chevy-4-6-Cyl-Engines-11-32-Valves-/221346988752?hash=item33894f02d0:g:vgoAAMXQyFFTkizI&vxp=mtr

Another tip from Tom.
When trying to get the spring locks and retainers loose. Have a dead blow hammer or a block of wood to tap on the edge of the retainer to Knock it loose. They will come apart much easier.

Unfortunately I already had it all together when I saw this. That said the O-rings were shot. They were all hard and brittle. I replaced them with the springs. Primed the motor with break-in oil, ran it for 5 minutes at 2,000 RPM's, and now I need to re-adjust the lifters, change the oil to new, proper oil, and re-adjust timing, etc.

The important thing is she runs! Haven't driven it yet so I don't know what kind of difference she'll have over what it was before. Hopefully that'll happen tonight or tomorrow night.

Cam break in for only 5 minutes? I thought it was 20. I must be missing something....

If it's 20 then I'll run it some more. No big deal.

I actually ran her for about 10 minutes.

Read into it a bit more. Going to leave the break-in oil for 500 miles and heat cycle it a bit more. Gives me time to adjust the lifters and cold idle speed some.

..and clean the darn engine bay after slinging oil everywhere when I'm adjusting the lifters..

I was thinking about starting a "break-in for dummies" thread. Not meaning to hijack the thread, but maybe there's more suggestions for gbauer. Here's what's on the questions that I want to put in here...

1) assembly lube (gbauer's listed one)
2) oil for break in (1 qt CAM + 4 qts regular oil)
3) break-in: 20 minutes at 2,000 RPM.
4) Run another 500 miles, re-adjust the valves, check head bolt torque (that's a problem for lump-port, isn't it?).
5) Change the oil. What's your favorite oil and filter? Difference between used engine with gunk in it versus cleaned and rebuilt with new seals? I've always liked Amsoil, but was based on 30 year old experiences.

I like the first oil change to be somewhere between 20min break in and an hour run time to get rid of small metallic particles and any debris that wasn't thoroughly cleaned out during the build. Then again at 500 miles or perhaps sooner.

Gbauer,
You know how to do the springs, you can install the umbrella seals later.

I'll wait and see how she does first.

Finally took her out.

First off a lot more power at all RPM's. Wishing I had gone a bit more aggressive on the cam but it'll do.

Now the bad: valve train is pretty noisy. Tightened the rockers down a bit and I started getting smoke out the tail pipe. So I backed them back off a bit and will deal with noisy valves.

Starting to wonder if the lifters I bought aren't of the highest quality.

Glad you got it running though, just keep tinkering with it.

Considering taking my old valve cover and hitting it with a hole saw to keep the oil slinging to a minimum.

Actually my old one is in pretty perfect condition. Anyone have one that's not in good shape they want to sell me for super cheap plus shipping?

Never had this problem before but now that all the passages are clean I'm shooting oil a good 6 feet. Hating adjusting the rockers because the engine and garage floor were just cleaned. So much oil is shootin up top and falling over the edge of the head that I've lost a quart just messing with the lash.

Also starting to think 5w-30 is too thin.

Put some Lucas in it to thicken it up and the noise is less now. It's not the valves. I'm almost positive it's the timing gear. I can hear it from that area. Nothing that sounds bad. Just loud. Gotta be the gears meshing. The old.fiber gear must've quieted things more than I thought.

Cool that its running good! Now for a video of a nice long burnout!

The powerglide and tall gears make that a bit more of a challenge than one might think...

Little shot of nitrous outta do it. lol

Great news to hear you have it running!

You said that it's still smooth running, doesn't sound CAMmed. You're getting great performance from it, some I'm sure due to replacing the worn out CAM, but some for this from more lift. If you eventually port the head, you'll be see even more benefit.

To be honest, I am worried about going too big on the CAM because I've got a lot of city driving, even on the weekends. Based on your experience, I'll do either the same as yours or the one size up.

Time for a 4l60e (3.06 1st gear) ... if the rear gears are really numerically low - run the trans in drive and lockup. It'll make a big difference how the car runs. Get a trans out of a '98 ish astro van. The drive shaft "might" need to be shortened. I can supply a simple shift controller from PCS.

Others here may whine about the gear ratios in them but I have run them for >15 years and like them.

I'd really go 2 sizes.

...and I'm still fighting some bugs. I'll post a video shortly.

First is getting the motor right. Then it's time for a trans. It's on my list...

Motor vid: https://youtu.be/YR6RNRjeqKo

George,
Can you idle it down?
Glad to see it is running. Be careful wanting a bigger cam. It is also the head that is holding it back. Once you put a good flowing head on it, the response is about like putting a bigger cam in it.

Your lifters sound really loud. I always adjust with the engine NOT running. I have described it before in other posts.

Also 5w30 is too thin for your engine. It was never designed for that viscosity. I suggest 10w30 or 15w40 rotella.

I'll re-adjust the lifers next week. About beat here...

Eventually I'll do the head. Maybe this spring.

Running 10w30 now.

Yes I turned down the idle a good bit after I took the video

One thing I am curious about. How is the oil pressure? The sound is one I have heard before. Either really bad adjusted lifters or the inner 2 cam bearings are bad and causes a hammering type sound. I have seen the bearing mush out on the bottoms and allow the cam to be unstable and make that noise. One reason that I polish all my cams on the bearing journals. Sometimes loss of oil pressure is a sign of this.
I hope it is the first thing. Much easier to fix!

Oil pressure is about 15 at idle and 30 at 2,000 RPM's. Same as it has been since I got the guage. Maybe a tad higher.

If I go that far it's not going back in the car...

Ordered the umbrella seals. Can you clarify how they install? I assume I just put them over the valve stem gusset. Do I need to put the O-ring back on the valve stem them or just leave them off? Removing them and re-installing them will likely kill them so I'd need new if I need to replace.

Just remove them and install the new Umbrella seals

MBHD

Yes but do I need to re-install the o-rings or not?

"Them" meaning remove the orings, do not buy new orings, do not install orings, install just the new umbrella seals.
MDHD

I agree, just make sure the umbrella seal seat down over the exist cast iron valve guide boss. They should push down over the boss.

Perfect. Thanks, guys. That's what I needed to know.

Well... after getting the rockers properly adjusted she knocks. Sounds like the back of the engine. Could be the oil pan as it's dented. Could be cam bearings.

I'm going to try thicker oil and see if it goes away. If not... might just get an LS.

One thing I forgot to mention: The idle is wandering and if I screw in the idle/air screws all the way the car still runs. Vacuum leak?

Wandering idle can be caused by sticky mechanical ignition advance or too soft springs on the flyweights.

Thanks! Didn't consider that. After adjusting valves the other night and running it a bit I didn't do a whole lot of digging but it did smooth out a bit when I unplugged the vacuum advance and plugged it. Not perfectly smooth but smoother.

I'm thinking you're right. I'll take off the cap, shoot it with carb cleaner, follow that with WD-40 and try it out.

So I started back into it again.

Pull the carb off, drained it, and set it aside for now.

Removed headers and intake.

Popped the cap off the distributor and cleaned it up. It did have some gunk in there.

Discovered my intake had a small leak at numbers 5 and 6.

Unbolted motor mount, got a piece of wood to put under the crank pulley, and jacked up the motor. Discovered my trans mount is shot.

Started removing bolts on the pan. Had to remove starter and bell housing dust guard

Threw in the towel at midnight.

2 am.

Just got it back together. No more knocking!!!

I was able to jack up the engine a bit and put a block under the crank pulley to hold it. Removed the oil pan screws and popped it off. Couldn't get it out though. That said I was able to push the oil pick up down just a hair, RTV'd the pan (couldn't change the seal. Not enough room to scrape the old out.), put it all back together, did a bunch of other while-I'm-in-there's, and fired her up at 1:50am. Ran smooth as silk!

I have to adjust the idle air mix then I'll get a video. She sounds like a new mustang GT with an exhaust. I think that's due to a combination of things in my favor.

We're going to take it for a drive tomorrow. About a 2 hr round trip. If there's any problems left they'll show up tomorrow.

I think you were right. Cleaned the vacuum advance under the cap and no more wandering.

https://youtu.be/Xeib6eoMn8c

Still have some fine tuning to do but she's running well now.

Sounds goood! Idle seems a bit fast...is that cause it drops so far when you put it in gear?

Idle is a bit fast because I still need to adjust the carb and timing. That and it drops a couple hundred rpm's when I go in gear.

All that aside I managed to bend a rim today. Two steps forward, one step back.

Sounds you were trying her out, glad to hear it's up and running.

You did quite a bit this last round. What do you think fixed the knocking sound?

I'm not really sure but I think it was the oil pick up just slightly interfering with the crank.

What valve springs did you go with?

Ian

The one's Comp recommended:
http://www.compperformancegroupstores.co...uct_Code=981-12

They're a double spring. Went right in after winning the battle removing the old.

I haven't driven the car much. Drove it about 60 miles after getting the rockers properly adjusted and setting everything up like it should be then hit a pothole, bent a rim, lost a tire and had to be towed home. I still have some adjusting to do on the choke and carb but it really pulls strong now. Even with my skyscraper tall rear end gears and a powerglide that doesn't shift at WOT until 60mph I can spin the tires. Can't make a cloud of rubber-smoke but she does OK.

Really does well at speed though. Definitely need a 200r4 or 700r4 now. Once I have that then it'll be on to an Eaton posi for a later turbo...

This is an excellent thread for cam /lifter info as well as break in procedures.

I was looking for a link to springs that for sure fit in a stock inline head. Thanks!

Thanks! When I do a major job on a car and I can't find much info I usually do a thread like this to 1) help myself and 2) help others.