had this 66 383 rebuilt then it sat for some years, buddy said just prime it then break it in... so we did. seemed to be ok but after like 50-100 miles it started ticking. adjusted the rockers but couldn't get rid of the ticks, put about 200 miles on the motor. pulled the lifters the ones i got apart looked really dirty inside, couldn't get the rest apart to clean so decided to go with some new lifters... but before i throw the new ones in i started to worry about the cam being the issue and if that was the case i'd hope to catch it before having to rebuild the entire motor... here are some pics of the worst looking lobe, which is still smooth to the touch even rubbing the fingernail across. thanks all!
here are some of the other lobes which all look similar some metal flakes in the lifter valley, look copper in color some metal flakes in the 3rd oil filter from this motor
Did you put ZDDP in the oil? The stuff in the lifters might be dried ***embly lube, I'm a non mechanic.
Maybe its just the angle or maybe its color from the overhead lights but the lobes look heat scored? Lack of oil at startup? Also could be discolored from oxidization/rust from sitting so long... doesn't look right. ..Upon second look, it's kinda obvious, the spots on the lobes definitely look like rust and I would venture to say that upon initial startup, it took some time for oil to lubricate the lobs thru the rust causing heat scoring. just my not so humble opinion. .
...I wonder if somebody lubed the cam with lithium grease? Never Use Lithium Grease on machine fresh metal. It absorbs moisture which in turn turns the lithium/grease into a solid film/paste of gunk and oxidization... .
yea used vr-1 with a zinc additive. dried ***embly lube would be some good news. here are some pics of the lifters, the only pitting was in the center of the one.
I raced mopars back in the 60s (yeah im old) and I cant remember ever see a cam that was burnt that bad. when you said the lifters were dirty you mean grease dirty or old dry oil dirty? I think I would put a new cam in with the new lifters and make sure you lube the cam up good. personally I think you might of had a couple of lifters to tight but im not standing there and a pic isn't always the best way to diagnose anything. lol
deem wish i wouldn't have listened to my buddy, was worried about the lube issues.. oh well i suppose from letting it sit the cam was toast anyway... not sure if the builder used grease or not, he ended up building a 350 for a friend that let loose. probably wasn't a great choice for builders. with the cam being burnt does that weaken the metal and could the motor be filled with metal? the inside of the lifter was greasy and sticky... the lifters also slide slowly into the bores
by the looks of your filter you caught a lot of shavings but you know some **** got by. again im looking at pics and giving an opinion. me id at the very least pull the pan and look in there. shavings in the pan id tear it apart clean and inspect everything and put it back together lubed. then start her up break in slowly. if you have never broken in a motor read up on it. I know things have changed over the last fifty years, did stuff a little different than guys do today.
It's hard to judge from the pictures but the lobes you're showing seem to have a pretty decent wear pattern. It should be widest at the peak of the lobe and narrower on the opening and closing ramps. And the wear on the lifter faces would indicate that the lifters are rotating in their bores like they're supposed to. But mainly you need to look at the shape of the lifter face. Take one lifter turned on its side to use as a straight-edge. Then take another lifter and place the face of it against the side of the first lifter. Hold them both at eye level against a bright light source. The face of the lifter should be ever so slightly convex so that only the center of the face contacts the side of the other lifter. You should be able to see just a little bit of light at the outer edges of the face and none at the center. If you see light only in the center of the lifter face and none at the edges, then it means the lifter face is wearing concave and things are going to get worse before they get better. If the lifter faces are all still convex, and you can get them apart, clean them and re***emble them properly, they might still be usable. Or you could throw in a new set of lifters. Coat everything with GM EOS or cam break-in lube, refill with fresh oil and do a proper break-in cycle. Just by the pictures you've posted I don't see anything that would automatically condemn the cam itself. All this ***umes that the lifters were the source of your ticking noise. Inspect the rest of the valvetrain while you're at it to make sure you don't have any issues with your push rods or rocker arms.
Cams and such are hard surfaced. When you over heat a hard surface (to the point of scoring it) You destroy the hard surface's inherent grain structure. A cooked hard surface will eat itself up over very few miles. In essence, your cam lobes will soon head for your oil filter on the way past your bearings, crank and camshaft. Honestly, you may have caught things just in time..... ...We know the cam (and lifters) are toast. .. -If I were you, I would Check the bearings/Shells now while you still have a fighting chance... P.S. Your motor is probably not "full of Metal" but you will have to be vigilant in inspecting each and every main, crank and rod shell for metal particles embedded. The smallest trinket(s) of metal impressed into a bearing shell will without a doubt, gouge a river of trouble into your finely machined crank$haft given its own due time. Check your shells. jmho .
Also, I wouldn't be to su****ious of tar'd up lifters at this point. 1)Engine sat for ** years. 2)***embly grease was used. 3)Initially, not enough warm up time on engine to mix or clear heavy/coated Old lubes to p*** and or mix thru the smallest p***ages/orifices such as lifters -Yet-. It is entirely possible that the Engine is neither broken in and has never been fully brought up to sufficient and/or sustained long term temperatures and RPMs to dissolve/melt/wash thick or heavy coatings off. Yes, During break in, lifters Will be sticky. jmho .
the Lifters could have varnished up from sitting them years with the oil in them , cam looks good , claymart said what I was going to about the cam/lifters and checking them , the heavy oil will take a long time to clean any varnish out of the lifters as they only pump a small amount of oil , put a 1/2 bottle of trans fluid in or some rislone engine treatment , we used that for sticky lifters in the Fords,
i thought lifters so i bought some new ones but got worried about the cam and didn't want the lobes to start falling apart. the lifters i pulled are convex and seem to have a circular wear pattern. i've heard those spots could be the cam coating? the lobes actually don't look blue to my eye, my camera seems to make them blueish and the lobes to the touch are smooth... not sure if that matters or if the way the nose is worn still suggests a burnt cam. i attached a picture that shows the color closer to how it is. i'm hoping the cam is ok, just trying to get as much info before making the decision. although it;s sounding good so may swap the cam just incase cuz if the cam wipes i'll lose my storage before being able to rebuild the motor or affording the rebuild. tough position for sure...
Said you used vr-1 with a zinc additive but not sure if the builder used cam break in ***embly lube. Judging from the discoloration I'd wager he didn't. Some moly/graphite paste would have been advisable.
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