Technical Newb cam question

'54 Pontiac he****.

 

Absolutely no problem BD. All input is happily received. I built stock cars back in the '70s and '80, but never was involved in doing the engines. I've replaced waterpumps, intakes and carbs, done tune ups but never got this deep on my own. I'm only swapping the engines due to the original inline 8 finally dying. $8000 to bebuild the inline from top to bottom. I bought a running driving pick up for $600. Robbed the engine and trans out to put in my '54. Even if I have to spend 1 or 2 thousand, its cheaper than rebuilding the inline.

 

Sorry, I should have stated that the picture was a "before" cleaning. It IS clean now.

 

Glad to hear it.
Pete

 

The problem with looking an engine over too closely is that you end up paying for a rebuild. I'm a fan of buying a good used engine for a couple hundred bucks, and running it. If and when it fails, it can then be rebuilt or replaced.

If it ran well in the pickup, had decent compression and did not smoke, why not just use it as-is?

 

My two cents...........IF you forgot to label which lifter came outta which bore....you gotta dis-***ed-her waiting to happen. Each lifter is "worn-in" to the lobe it rides on, if you get a couple backwards.....well the lifter will most probably fail or worse yet...the lobe on the stock cam!!
You have "saved" enough $$ by getting the 305 vs rebuild the straight eight to spends some on getting this engine in better shape.
To help propel this "meat-wagon" you need to hop-up the 305.
Pull the heads and have a valve job done on'em at your machine shop. Get them shaved as much as you can (the machine shop can tell you the max) See if you can ALSO use steel shim head gaskets too.
Once that's done call Delta Cams (or another cam grinder (google is your friend) and get a cam ground with the Elgin cam specs BUT have it ground on a 108* LSA, NOT the 112* Elgin Cams have. Tight LSA will help a small cube engine perform to its max.
Get new lifts and (new springs installed on heads). Maybe do a little home-grown porting on the exhaust ports.
Go to the trouble to DEGREE that camshaft in! AND advance it 4-6degrees to pick up the low end torque. (you don't need torque at 7000 RPM's because you prolly won't EVER rev it that high more than once. You want the torque down in the 1500-5500 range, since that rear gear is prolly not very steep. Besides....that 108* LSA will make that lil 305 cackle like a chicken-peck'in-corn!
A gear drive (instead of the chain ) will give it a busy sound when running. Some guys like that(some don't). Won't EVER hafta worry about a stretched/worn timing chain again!
Performer RPM intake is a better choice than the plain Performer.
Nice set of long tube headers (more for the sound than the performance boost) and you will be rock'in & roll'in!!
6sally6

 

Just me, but I think I would not put a lot of time and effort into that 305, I would put a timing chain and your other bolt-ons on it, and run it while I built a 350. That is a lot of cool-*** weight for a 305 to pull around, and it is no cheaper to rebuild than a 350. A 383 would be even better. Need more he**** pics.

 

Cool, Neil's got nothin' on you, mister. I like he****s and flower cars, you get utility and style like no other vehicle has. Where was the commercial car get-together at?

 

Is that a Canadian made car?

 

Thanks for the compliment. I was part of a he**** club and the picture was taken during the cruise the night before a big show. This show annually attracts about 900 cars. www.rocknaugust.com here in Edmonton Alberta. A week long event where theres different venues daily. Friday night with the big cruise (3 to 400 cars) And saturday to big car show.

 

Car was manufactured in Mississipi. Had the straight 8. Canadian cars only had a six as far as I know.

 

Beanscoot, 55merc66,....I did some hard thinking the last couple of days...and what you both say makes sense. Why shovel money at an older small displacement engine.
I'm putting the Edlebrock carb and intake on because I got them both for $50. And I wanted an intake without all those pollution control fittings on it. I suppose I could have rebuilt the QuadraJet but again, all those fittings on the intake.
What I've bought for this engine amounts to an oil pump, harmonic balance (coz the original had a groove worn from the seal) timing chain and gears, waterpump, Edelbrock carb and carb kit, Edelbrock intake, engine gasket set, an (old school) thermostat housing, valve seals and a set of rams horns exhaust manifolds.
I'm going to use the original cam and lifters even though theres some wear, the cam isn't wiped out and for the miles I put on the car in a summer, I'm not going to benefit from money/fuel savings to justify buying a cam, lifters and valve springs.
Anyway, thats my conclusion I've come to.

 

Again, like previously mentioned, if you do not put each lifter back in the same hole it came out of, your screwed. If they are not labeled, best to put new lifters in with some breaking lube.

 

You could also save a few dollars and use a repair sleeve on the balancer where the groove is. Speedi-sleeve is one name for them.

 

I cut 16 holes in a cardboard box, drew a fan on one end of the box...lifters are sequentially placed.
A speedy sleeve here is the ungodly price of between $40 and $45...I got a new USA made balancer for $75

 

Sounds good, did one of your pictures earlier show some wear on the lifters?

 

Whoa! I forgot you are north of The Maple Curtain.

 

Every lifter was exactly the same.

 

I've ruined the performance of more good running engines by installing long duration cams designed for drag racing then I car to remember.. Avoid the temptation and stay stock..

 

Nice low-rpm torque cam
http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/cam-specs/Details.aspx?csid=84&sb=2

 

If you have the ability to push in the oil sleeve dead straight, you can push it in, say, a sixteenth of an inch from fully seated so that it will run on an unworn spot on the balancer.

Often times a new seal's lips will contact a little bit fore or aft of the original because it is made a smidge different from the original. You might be able to study the two side by side and see if this will be the case.

 

The cam we pulled out of @Tim 's SBC was so worn you could tell it with the naked eye. That car never idled well and when we replaced the cam it was golden.

You should do yourself a favor. If you replace the dam do not cheap out. Buy a good quality cam and lifters. I am partial to Crane cams but they had some problems a few years back and I do not know if they addressed those problems or if they are even still in business. The last few small blocks I built I used Lunati cams. Have not had a problem with them at all and they are reasonably priced.

 

big block , 700r4

 

I wouldn't attempt to add compression unless you do the rings and valves first. I've had good luck with RV grinds in 305's, for street use. At this point, do the cam, lifters, and timing chain, and possibly the seal on the balancer. Then drive it. You can always pick up another bigger small block and swap it later. This is especially true because you will have done the work of making the first one fit already.
Have Fun, and Good luck!

 

Would the factory have installed steel head gaskets? Theres positively no fibre gaskets when I pulled the heads.