Technical Update: Does this look bent?

That's not a washer..It's the pivot ball for the rocker arm... Not supposed to be in two pieces. It won't work well like that. Also , the lock nut being way lower than is "something else'. If someone else cranked it down like that 4 years ago, I'm surprised it lasted this long

 

that's the top of the pivot ball?

 

Okay, I should have waited...I have seen a bunch of MM stuff on these old cars.
That washer doesn't belong there. That makes things even worse, being that it collapses the lifter even more.
Keep up the pictures. Bottom of the rocker. Top of the valve etc.
Check one of the normally adjusted rockers nearby. Probably won't be a washer there.

 

I'll go along with the cam but it has screw in studs and guide plates.
Although, with a worn intake lobe it wouldn't run very well. Should be noticeable .

 

I am not so sure that the nuts are "way down".

I have seen some pretty tall screw-in studs, designed to be used with poly locks and stud girdles.

These might be those, just with regular nuts.

 

I see your point, Gimp. Might be camera angle and so on. The washer (s) ? are there for some reason, and it's probably not a good one.

 

Yeah. No good explanation for that.

The only thing I can think of adds up to bad. If the rocker stud pedestals were not milled down to the proper height, and were left too tall, the washer might be there to keep the nut from running out of threads.

 

I think we're supposed to be looking at the # 4 intake but not 100% sure on that.I think I'll wait for more evidence to be presented , in this case.

 

I am not fully understanding the collection of components.

There are what appear to be stock valve springs, and rocker arms, yet it has screw-in studs and guide plates.

What is going on here?

 

The heads might be 3991492’s, Chevy castings that came with screw in studs and guide plates. @gimpyshotrods might be on to something with the mention of longer studs, in the photo it looks as though there is a witness mark from a set screw.
The OP doesn’t know the history of this engine, could the builder have removed roller rockers and poly locks before selling?

 

That's exactly what that circle looks like.

It may have been "downgraded" before sale.

 

I would set all of the valves at zero lash and see what happens. If it is a hydraulic cam, it will be correct. If it is a solid lifter cam, a little tight.

Then repeat the compression check cold. and see what you get. Then do it again with a squirt of oil in each cylinder, and see what you get.

Try one more time with about 0.020" clearance.

See which one produces the best readings.

If these are 492's, and need a washer to keep the adjusting nuts from running out of threads, the valves are too tight.

 

There are washers on all of them. I'll post some more pics today.

 

Of course early hemis have hardened exhaust valve inserts from the factory!!

The onlt thing I can think of needing washers is the studs have walked out of the head. Built my first SBC a few years ago for my grandson's '59 El Camino. He thought I had timed the cam chain, I thought he had, neither had and the chain was off several teeth. As expected there was valve piston interference and several push rods bent but several studs walked out of the head. Point is, that method of securing the rocker studs is sketchy. I imagine a tired head will start having the problem.

 

Hmm, looks like you got a random assortment of parts. The heads may have big valves if someone went to the effort of putting screw in studs in. Though they may be beat to death. A hardware store washer on top of the rocker pivot - I wouldn't trust anything else that person did.

You're close enough to Louisville. Run over there to find a used sbc. A 305 will drive down the road.
Tear this thing down and see what's left of it.

 

hey guys, thank you for all your input, appreciate it. I took pics of what I thought you may need. It does appear that there isn't enough real estate for the threads so the washer shim was added, but IDK. What do you think? This motor is coming out this winter anyway. But I did want to keep it running so I can get it to my buddies house. Looking at a Blueprint 350, thoughts?

 

Are those metal shavings by the push rod and the nut area of the stud?

 

Appears to be schmutz, not metal.

 

I would file off the burr on the valve stem, install a new rocker arm/ball assembly, reset all the valves and see what how it runs. Won't cost much to find out

 

If you were in the neighborhood, I have a can of good used rockers, balls, and pushrods. Like @Tickety Boo said, you can put it back together, and see how it goes for the next little while.

 

That's not a washer, that's the pivot ball for that rocker! I see bits of metal there too. You've got big problems with those heads!
I'm guessing you need at least a lot of head work, and who knows what shape the cam, and rings/pistons are in?

 

Those 462 heads are worth saving, regardless if you change engines.

 

If you just want to patch it up for a few months, I would agree here.
You said it ran okay before, so here's what I would do. De-burr the tip of the valve. Install a new rocker and pivot, without a washer. White lube all the wear points.
That being in intake, turn the engine over by hand until the exh. valve next to it opens and then starts to close.
Now, run the nut down while spinning the push rod in your fingers. Wiggle the rocker back and forth as you tighten it. You just want to feel resistance at zero lash. Then tighten down another 1/2 turn. Put it back together. Hopefully it will start. Warm it up . If it's quiet and fairly smooth, do a compression test on that cylinder . It will probably be better. Run it!

 

Why do these heads have guide plates? The factory rockers should be fine without them I would think (unless someone hogged out the heads for thicker pushrods at some point in its life). Those might be hardened pushrods to match the guide plates so I'd swap in some factory pushrods too. For all we know (at this point) those pushrods could be too short.

How about swapping the studs for the style pictured below and removing the guide plates. Not saying the cam isn't bad but it would/should solve the "running out of threads" issue.

 

The stud bosses were milled to provide a flat surface and accommodate the thickness of the guides and the integral jamb nut on the stud. There’s no going back to the studs pictured.

 

You make a good point here. Something I hadn't noticed .You' re supposed to open up the guide holes in the head when using guide plates.You use one or the other ..not both. This one looks like it has the stock guide holes in the head, too. Looks like ZZ could eliminate the plates and then , the washers.
We are doing a temporary patch up here though, so that means minimal parts investment and labor. just to get it going for a few months.

 

Do we know for a fact they were machined correctly, accounting for the thickness of the guide plates and integral nut?
If the heads weren't machined correctly/deep enough, that would help explain the need for washers.

Has anyone else had to run washers when using screws in studs and guide plates when running factory rockers?

 

Got the new rocker on. Will not turn over. I did find a spark plug wire separated from the boot. I tried making it work temporarily but need new wires now. I don't have time to mess with it today.

 

"Will not turn over" as in dead battery or mechanical bind?

 

No bind, just won't fire. I'll try again tomorrow