Head and Cam Swap, 82 CFI


That timing does sound a bit too slow if the headers are glowing red without a
load on the engine. Hopefully timing is all that's required to fix that problem.
But you got to expect a few things to go wrong after all the changes,
perfection is just not possible.

Congrats Drawmain on getting it started again, it will certainly put a smile
on one's face in a very big way !!! Looking forward to the pics!
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Timing is set, 10 degrees. Idles very smooth, but occasional popping thru the exhaust. Balance is next. I'm hoping as the computer adjusts the popping will go away.
 
The popping was caused by me not having the spark plug wires right. I had 5 and 7 swapped. Swapped them back, smooth idle. Balanced the tb's, too. I did one last check for fuel leaks and now its time to put the hood back on. She's ready.
 
well at least its seems theres progress being made, now for a test drive!
your detailed ,posted driving impressions,
pictures of the car and any thing else related would be great!
 

I will tell you, just like I did my two kids when they were teenagers and leaving
the house...... Keep it under 100 mph.

It was the only way to make sure they DID what I told them. Their mother always
told them to be safe, I pretty sure they NEVER followed that order. :lol: :p

 
Well it's raining here so I'm waiting until tomorrow to get that first ride. Now I have to catch up on all the school work I've been putting off all week. The hood is on, she's going out for a drive tomorrow :)
 
Another middle of the night post, lol.

Went for a short drive today, would have been longer, but my rockers loosened up. Also, speedo didn't work, so I went back home after a short drive. When I got back in I could hear just about every rocker tapping. I've never done roller rockers before. When I set lash, I did lock down the set screws, so I don't think they've backed off. Is it expected for the lash to widen after break in? They were quiet when we broke in the cam. I will reset lash tomorrow (don't want to annoy the neighbors) and see what happens. They are noisy enough now that they are setting off the knock sensor.

As for the speedo, seems the heat from those red hot headers melted the casing on the speedo cable. When I pulled the cable it was broken near the transmission. Driven gear is not stripped (which I was afraid of), new cable is installed, routed even further away from the exhaust. I'll test that out when I get the valved adjusted. The promised video is coming as soon as I get her sorted out. I'm getting a lot of practice at problem solving, lol.
 

Thanks for the video !!!

I hope the cam is not going flat, are your rocker studs screw in or press in
type??? I would think about draining a 1/2 pint of oil and looking for heavy
metal flake content.

Also I would take some pics of each rocker stud so I could tell what the difference
was when you adjust them again. There shouldn't be too much difference.

Good luck!
 
I used Lucas breakin oil for cam breakin. All the studs are even, one adjustment was all it took, she's quiet now :) The studs are screw in and were torqued to spec. None of the rockers took more than 1/4 turn to quiet down. I think i'm good, I'll watch it over the next few days.
 

That's good to hear. They must of been just a few thousands loose then, just
enough to make some noise. The 1/4 turn put them back where they like to be.

How does it feel so far, does it seem to have more get-up-and-go???

 
It has more power for sure. Right now I'm fighting an off idle stumble related to the throttle bodies. They balanced up fine once, but now I get no signal from the rear one at all thru the balance port. I have a spare set and I'm gonna swap them out tomorrow after work and see if that improves anything. I also think I'll end up getting new injectors for them, the ones I have are suspect.
 
I went back and used Grumpy's recommendation to adjust the rockers again. The engine sounds like a sewing machine under the hood. I also installed new injectors. I have two other pairs that I will send off to be cleaned and flow tested. I'll keep those as spares (you can never have too many spares). Took a personal day off from work today to finish buttoning this car up. All that is left is to re balance the tbs again. The engine runs steady at 180 degrees, but still has a pronounced off idle stumble that has to be related to the throttle bodies. Last hurdle to clear, then she's done. I have driven the car a few times (even with the stumble) and she pulls good. I'm taking it easy for the first 500-1000 miles, gonna go read Grumpy's posts on engine break in next. So far I haven't taken the car over 3k rpm because of the issues with the tb's. She sounds even sweeter at idle now. If you listen close to the video I posted you can hear the #3 intake lifter ticking because it was just a little loose. 1/4 turn and the ticking stopped, another 1/4 turn for preload, then I locked it down. I did all the other valves as well while I was at it (again, lol) I'm confident it's right this time. This truly has been a learning experience for me, and I want to thank all of you for the advice and help throughout the process.
 
Drawmain said:
I went back and used Grumpy's recommendation to adjust the rockers again. The engine sounds like a sewing machine under the hood. I also installed new injectors. I have two other pairs that I will send off to be cleaned and flow tested. I'll keep those as spares (you can never have too many spares). Took a personal day off from work today to finish buttoning this car up. All that is left is to re balance the tbs again. The engine runs steady at 180 degrees, but still has a pronounced off idle stumble that has to be related to the throttle bodies. Last hurdle to clear, then she's done. I have driven the car a few times (even with the stumble) and she pulls good. I'm taking it easy for the first 500-1000 miles, gonna go read Grumpy's posts on engine break in next. So far I haven't taken the car over 3k rpm because of the issues with the tb's. She sounds even sweeter at idle now. If you listen close to the video I posted you can hear the #3 intake lifter ticking because it was just a little loose. 1/4 turn and the ticking stopped, another 1/4 turn for preload, then I locked it down. I did all the other valves as well while I was at it (again, lol) I'm confident it's right this time. This truly has been a learning experience for me, and I want to thank all of you for the advice and help throughout the process.
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Its been my experience that ,almost every hydraulic valve train sbc seems to work rather well with that minimal preload and having the valve clearance set at idle.
 
I got the throttle bodies balanced, filled up with premium and went for a spin. Great throttle response, no more stumble. Good torque in the low to mid range, I picked a good cam for this combo. I'm very happy with how this engine runs. Thanks again for all the help!
 
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