attn. motor guys-part duex..long

[ROBGTS]

i have come to the conclusion that the compression in my motor
is approx 9-1 instead of the 10-1 i was originally told.the cam specs on comp cam i installed are 236 intake/246 exhaust
duration at .50,lift is .490/.510.on a 108 centerline.i believe cam
is bleeding off too much cylinder pressure & thats why car has no
balls.will advancing the cam help build up cylinder pressure for
me?????or do i need a new cam.i've already ordered edelbrock
84cc rpm heads but i can't put them on till i figure out cam problem.also when i adjust valves,sometimes instead of lifter going down,it starts to push down valvespring.i've tried adjusting sever times but it's always the same thing & yes they are hyraulic
lifters.thanks for your suggestions...rob

[rumblefish360]

Thats a decent size cam there. It shouldnt be bleeding off a whole lot of pressure. It should lack lower end. Are your heads stock? The Edelbrocks will add power over them in a most noticable way.
When you adjust your rocker arms, they should not be pussing the valve down at all. If they are, there over adjusted.
Make sure the liffters are on the small part of the cam, not the lobe. Adjust the rocker arms so the pushrod depress's the liffter .050 (I think, not sure, I dont have my book present.)
This should not depress the valve down at all. Theres a pattern that you can follow in the MoPar engines book. Unless someone can post it here, look it up or by the book. It's worth it.

[Jims451]

If that cam and compression is in the 340 block, the engine will likely be really dead untill it revs above 3,000 RPM, then hang-on

Uping the compression will help toruqe a bit, but to run that size cam you need a high stall (3,200+ RPM) converter and 4.10:1 or more gear.
A cam like the Hughes HE3038AL (230/237 @ 0.050", 0.515"/0.535", 110 LSA) should make as much power peak power and a bit more lower end torque.

You should not be pushing the valve spring down when adjusting the rocker arms. Either your adjusting them wrong or the pushrods are way too long. With adjustable rocker gear, you want about 3/4 to 1 turn on the adjuster to get about 0.020" to 0.040" lifter pre-load.

[ROBGTS]

thanx for the replys,this weekend i'm going to tear motor down,
advance cam 4 degrees & install edelbrocks.i called comp cams
& they want adjuster turned 1/8 turn after contact with lifter & try
it....we'll see....keep the reply's coming...thanx,rob
jim,by the way,it's a 70 440,not a 340...

[451Mopar]

In a 440 the cam will be pretty good. If the new heads will get compression to about 10:1 it should run well.
Be careful if only adjustin the lifter pre-load 1/8 turn, that is only about 0.005" pre-load. If you get too little pre-load the plunger mat contact the tappets retainer spring, and it could pop out the retainer spring.

Most cam manufacturers recommend 0.020" to 0.060" lifter pre-load. Since mose adjustable rocker arms use a 24TPI adjusting screw, each turn of the screw is 0.04167". A half turn would be about 0.0208", a quarter turn 0.0104", etc.

[ROBGTS]

451,i hear ya,i keep getting different spec to adjust valves at,i guess i'll see what happens.i guesstimate compression to wind
up approx. 9.8-1...thanx

[ROBGTS]

well,i tore down motor to short block & found a couple things.
#1,looks like a fresh rebuild,is bored .30 over,looks like forged
flat tops.
#2,the god-damn cam i installed a month ago is 4 degees retarded!!!!i would have bet on my childrens lives that i installed
it straight up.it was getting dark out but still.now i can't decide
to install cam straight up or advance it 4 degrees.when comp
ground the cam,they instructed me to install straight up..
i just don't want it to be a bone when i get it back together.
well i have a few days to ponder it over...my edelbrocks won't
be here till monday or tuesday...any suggestions are appreciated
god my back is killing me!!!!!!!!!!

[rumblefish360]

Take some back pills and enjoy an easy chair. I know how you feel. I would install the cam straight up as comp said. See if ya like it. It should really come to life now.

[451Mopar]

I'd be working on my car, but it was -4 degrees when I got off of work

[ROBGTS]

rumblefish360,after sleeping on it i'm gonna install cam straight
up.we'll see what happens,if weather is good next weekend,
it'll be running by saturday night.

[ROBGTS]

well,was about to install edelbrock heads yesterday & was
taking a look at new cam/lifters that are a month old.found
3 smoked lobes on cam.also i couldn't compress any of the lifters
i have no idea what happened,broke in cam properly.now i need
another new cam/lifters.this sucks hard.....
i think i'm gonna call hughes monday & melt my credit card to the
tune of new solid lifter cam/lifters & new push rods.....oh well
maybe it wil be running by next summer

[rumblefish360]

YEa, these things happen. It's always a bummer big time. Just relax and dream good things will come.

[ROBGTS]

well,hughes was concerned about piston to valve clearance
the smallest solid lifter cam they have is 245 duration,.560 lift
so i rolled the dice w/comp cams again & ordered 248 duration,
.525 lift...we'll see what happens