Calling all engine builders...Help

RPM needs to be varied, 2000 and up RPM. A constant RPM is a recipe for disaster, especially with todays oils. Hopefully he will get lucky and it will be fine since he is using a decent cam manufacture. try that with a **** Summit cam, or a Wolverine and consider it on its way to going flat.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re-VqHO3cH8

 

rotela or brad penn oil along with cam break in lube

 

If you have any doubts, buy the How To Build A Small Block Ford Book. You will learn a bunch for the small price.

 

All the good stuff that used to be in Rotella is gone. That happened about 5 years ago.

 

Well here is what I have and I'm not saying it is right, rather just what I have, The edelbrock heads have a stud style rocker mount, and I bought the corisoponding rockers, Now it looks to me that the only thing that keeps the rockers centered on the valve is the guide plates, Is this the way it should be or am I missing something?

 

Yes Leonard, the guide plates are what center or should center the rocker arm over the tip of the valve. Several things I want you to consider and hopefully check. Yes, I am one of those really annoying engine builders who doesn't like to chance anything.

We need to verify the pushrods are or are not rubbing the guide plates and the rocker arm is centered over the valve stem tip. The ISKY adjustable will cure the problem if this is what you find.

We also need to check the valve train geometry or pushrod length as well. The engine could very well have had much longer pushrods for the radical cam and now you are off center of the valve stem tip with the milder cam.

I would be concerned about the spring pressure being set for the first installed radical cam, and being way too much spring pressure for your flat tappet cam. This exessive spring pressure could hurt many things including breaking a flat tappet cam into several smaller pieces of cam. Robbing horsepower, and wiping out lifters as well. Excessive spring pressure is a very bad thing as well as not enough spring pressure. You might have mentioned about changing the springs and if so I apologize.

I also am not a big fan of those rocker arms. I do like Comp cam products, just not the die cast rockers which you have. They are fine with moderate spring pressures, and should be fine for the Performer Cam you have, but not anything real performance oriented.

Also, remove a rocker arm from intake and exhaust and look closely for contact or rubbing with the spring retainer, and the inside of the valve cover. Either of these conditions easily fixed with a die grinder if they are occuring.

It's getting late here, I hope I have helped, I need to shut down for the night, TR

 

Traditions, First off thanks for the help, it sounds like solid advice.

The heads are new edelbrock performers with the springs that edelbrock put with them figuring that the spring pressure should be matched to the performer cam as per their engineers. The heads didn't come with the motor i just bought the short block.
Once the heads were installed I borrowed a adjustable pushrod to get the length where the rollers travel was centered on the valve(although once I got it centered the travel was very minimal)Hope this is right. I ended up with a 6.920" pushrod.
Now on the Iski adjustable guide plated and the thought of the guide plates not touching the push rod. My push rods do touch the plates(obvious by the push rods being rubbed away)But wouldn't that be normal as the rockers seem centered and if you twist them one way the rod touches one side and if you twist them the other way they touch the other side, but the average is centered on the valve pretty well. I have taken one of the guide plates off when I was measuring the pushrod length as the knurl on the adjustable pushrod was to large to fit in it, and found that the edelbrock plates are adjustable horizontally.
Thanks Robert

 

Think I would get new hardend push rods and polish the guide plates where the push rod rides on them.

 

Not EVERY ! LoL. Comp states clearly 2000 to no more then 2500. Never 3000 rpms. I subscribe to, "Why turn the engine any faster then you have to" mindset. because it just wears it out quicker. When braeking in a cam, a mettalic sheen in the oil is normal.

Lets face it, these things arent fragile. A controled explosion happens how many times a minute, hense the name internal combustion engine.

My engines perform. SO I must be doin something right.

 

Not EVERY ! LoL. Comp states clearly 2000 to no more then 2500. Never 3000 rpms. I subscribe to, "Why turn the engine any faster then you have to" mindset. because it just wears it out quicker. When braking in a cam, or engine, a mettalic sheen in the oil is normal.

Lets face it, these things arent fragile. A controled explosion happens how many times a minute, hense the name internal combustion engine.

My engines perform. SO I must be doin something right.

 

You are right Comp does say 2,000-2,500, (although they don't say "Never 2,000"
"Proper Procedure
As soon as the engine fires, bring the rpm up to 2000 to 2500 during the first 30 minutes of operation. Slower engine speeds will not supply the camshaft with an adequate amount of oil for the break-in period. The engine rpm may be varied periodically from 2000 to 2500 to direct oil splash to different areas of the camshaft. After the 30 minute break-in period, change the oil and filter again to be sure all contaminants and break-in lube are removed from the engine. The inner valve springs should now be replaced and the correct rocker arms installed."
But YOU said 1,000-1,500 (look above) and that is dangerous territory for cam break in and that is what I was responding to. In fact a few cam manufacturers say specifically to NEVER LET THE RPM DROP BELOW DURING CAM BREAK IN.