I've ran solid cams before and have ran an isky 488 on a flathead, had to grind valve reliefs in heads for clearance and the last solid I ran was an engle in my 56 322 .325 lift on cam. 224 and. 234 @ .050 dur checked clearance and it was fine. Anyways, Finally scored a 59 364 im puttin in my plymouth. Got TAs "schneider" cam. Its the 413-401. .323 lift at cam/ 244 234 dur. Went to mock valve train, spun it around and the pushrod went halfway into lifter body. I realize how hyd lifters work but is it supposed to collapse that much? I put one of my solid lifters in w/adj pushrod lashed @ .18 with stock iron "1.4?" rockers and no head gasket and it spun through all 4 strokes fine. Looong story short anyone ran this cam w/any problems on clearance. Seems fine but I dont know 100% cause of the hyd lifters.
The hydraulic lifters aren't pumped up and will collapse pretty easy. You'll need to back off all of the adjusters and roll the motor over so that the lifter you want to adjust is on the cam base circle. Adjust the adjuster so that there is .015-.030" of lifter pre-load. Lifter per-load is measure by using a wire feeler gauge to check the gap between the lifter plunger and lifter plunger retainer/snap ring. If you want the quick and dirty method, roll the motor over so that, again the lifter you want to adjust is on the cam base circle, and adjust until there is no pushrod clearance between the lifter and rockers then turn the adjuster an additional 1/4 turn. To verify that the pushrod clearance is taken up correctly and not pre-loading the lifter wiggle, jiggle and rotate the push rod as you are adjusting. If the clearance is taken up correctly you should be able to easily rotate the pushrod with your fingers. To get the lifter on the cam base circle I like the to do the intake valve adjustment as the exhaust valve is just opening and do the exhaust valve adjustment as the intake valve is almost closed....keeps things simple for me. It would be a good idea to clay the motor or use 'checker' springs (light) on the intake/exhaust on one cylinder to verify valve clearance at TDC. Cheaper to fly cut the pistons now then to do it the hard way when the motor "self clearances". We had to do some fanangling with a GS cam we put in the last 364 we did. Take a close look at valvetrain geometry too as you may need custom length pushrods to get everything where it should be. -Bigchief.
I must be a retard, wouldn't I just use a stock pushrod? There's no "adjuster" on a shaft mounted rockers. Do I just bolt on the rocker shaft on and spin motor over to check clearance? Only reason I used solid lifter and adj. pushrod is cause it dont collapse like hyd. lifter. It clears fine but have no clue with hyd. lifter.
With the bigger than stock cam you very well may need adjustable pushrods to get proper lifter pre-load and geometry. You also should check for adequate spring retainer to valve seal clearance and for coil bind issues at max lift. Fixing these issues/proper set-up usually goes with machining the heads to accept the valve spring package that works with the cam. You can bolt everything up and use one set of rockers/pushrods on one cylinder and check everything out by very carefully rolling the motor over. Be careful as it is easier than you think to tweak valve. Use clay or make direct measurements at TDC to verify piston-valve clearance.
I know how to set up a cam. But how the hell can you measure lift with clay or dial indicator if the lifter collapses? Do you just keep priming motor to keep the lifter pumped up? You gotta love freakin new guys.
I'm pretty sure I mentioned using low tension "checking" springs in post #2. You'd pull the intake and exhaust valve springs out at the #1 cylinder and replace them with light tension springs which will allow you to perform the required measurments and checks. An alternative to the above would be to make sure the new lifters and the old lifters have the same measured distance between the face (thats the part that rides on the cam) and the pushrod seat (the pocket where the push rod goes) and make two solid lifters of the correct/matching height (of the new/replacement lifters). Use those lifters to check everything out. You can use a 'real' solid lifter from the same engine family if you can verify that the pushrod seats are the same height (distance from the face) as the new/replacement lifter's pushrod seats AND that the pushrod ends are the same style used on the solid lifter application AND that the pushrod ends sit in both the pushrod seats the same way. If you don't want to screw around trying to guess, just buy two more lifters like you're putting in the motor and make them into new checking tools (dis***emble them and make them solid).
Awesome, now im gettin it. I was askin the question back***wards and screwed up but now i see what you mean. Thanks!
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