Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.
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Idk what’s got ya hung up on the Bc cams . Not that he doesn’t make a good cam but GSC is my go to . Different strokes for different folks though .
I’m glad you have what seems to be a solution to the transmission deal.
I’m glad you have what seems to be a solution to the transmission deal.
At this point,..after 6000.00+ dollars spent on an engine that up to now won’t fall out of a tree, it has come down to a point where I need to pull it back where I can. Next year, if I don’t think that it’s fast enough ( however fast that will be) and if I feel the need to dump even more money into it, I’ll buy rods, pistons, have the head ported, and buy better cams. to compliment that work.
I look in my email today, and have a ship confirmation, with a tracking estimate to arrive on Friday. I think to myself that this will be the front pump for the trans, because they’ve dragged their ass about getting it out when they said they would. To my surprise its the cams. Shipping from a distribution warehouse in PA called turn 14.
I think to myself, “ It kills me that anybody can call themselves a dealer nowadays, and make money purely from taking an order”... But the company that I purchased from was selling them for the lowest price...even lower than mfg direct.
So,...then...If you look online, BC is listing those cams at like 775.00. The guy I bought them from sold them at 669.00, and that guy is buying from a distributor that had to step on the cost of the cams to him...So what did they really cost? 550-575.00? Auto parts are not really a high profit margin item, so maybe 30-35% total markup from the mfg to retail.
What did the distributor buy them at? 10% over cost? What did the guy buy them at? 15-17% over.. What did he make to place an order....25 bucks?
Doesn’t seem worth the hassle to me...but maybe if all you gotta do is click a mouse....maybe it is.
I think to myself, “ It kills me that anybody can call themselves a dealer nowadays, and make money purely from taking an order”... But the company that I purchased from was selling them for the lowest price...even lower than mfg direct.
So,...then...If you look online, BC is listing those cams at like 775.00. The guy I bought them from sold them at 669.00, and that guy is buying from a distributor that had to step on the cost of the cams to him...So what did they really cost? 550-575.00? Auto parts are not really a high profit margin item, so maybe 30-35% total markup from the mfg to retail.
What did the distributor buy them at? 10% over cost? What did the guy buy them at? 15-17% over.. What did he make to place an order....25 bucks?
Doesn’t seem worth the hassle to me...but maybe if all you gotta do is click a mouse....maybe it is.
Wait, I thought the exhaust cam was the same.
Oh, once again, scan thru all the host of posts....the exhaust cam isn't VVT.
I'll take engines with one cam for $200, Alex.
Point and Click Capitalism.
If you had searched long enough, I bet you would have found someone to undercut THAT price.
The other piece worth mentioning is about which company pays the most for their ads and prices to rise to the top of search engine results while suppressing the others. The 775 guy probably doesn't have much trouble moving them at his price.
The other guy is BC cams..I'd guess they would attract the guy that wouldn't expect it to be cheaper anywhere else.
- Mar 7, 2002
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Single cam engines are boring.Wait, I thought the exhaust cam was the same.
Oh, once again, scan thru all the host of posts....the exhaust cam isn't VVT.
I'll take engines with one cam for $200, Alex.
Two cams is more fun, and four is even more funner.
WhiteCobra95
Mod Dude
- May 2, 2006
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Are those cams the E303 equivalent for a JZ motor?
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Wait, I thought the exhaust cam was the same.
Oh, once again, scan thru all the host of posts....the exhaust cam isn't VVT.
I'll take engines with one cam for $200, Alex.
TELL HIM WHAT HE'S WON JOHNNY!!
Point and Click Capitalism.
If you had searched long enough, I bet you would have found someone to undercut THAT price.
pans off, leaks fixed,..engines clean and ready to get that dude bolted back on...
No flexplate today..POS usps. tracking shows it’s in birmingham at 3 am today, but it’s not scheduled for delivery till friday.
.
Not that i coulda done much anyway other than take measurements for the converter re-do...Besides,...i had enough stuff to keep me busy.
I found two pinholes in the pan. Just like a roof leak however, where the leak drips from and where it comes from are two different things. And trying to find the source when the engine was in there full of oil proved that i was applying job weld to places that weren’t leaking. The pinhole at the front of the sump was actually forward of where i had been trying to blob on the JB weld. To make @HotFox happy, I filled the pan to the top with water...when nothing appeared to be dripping, i ran compressed air along the weld seam from outside the pan. As soon as the nozzle passed over the pinhole,....bubbles.
The one at the rear was a bonus...I thought that the two rear pan bolts were leaking because i assumed they passed into the crankcase..Turns out I was wrong...there was another pinhole right next to the dripping bolt.
So...
Im confident that that problem is behind me.
The front pump did get here, and so that is what else got done..
The thing made a whirring noise when it was running...Whether or not that was because i was almost jamming the converter into it, or that it was starting to fail ( a noisy pump is the sign of impending pump failure) or...( It don’t like getting it’s ass jammed full in with a two inch diameter shaft of rotating steel)
One way or the other, i’m not taking any chances. I didn’t replace the pump when I originally rebuilt the thing, so it can’t hurt to do it now.
I prepped the engine for the cams...They’ll be here tomorrow, and i’ll install them on Sunday
I’m just hoping that this can be done w/o having to take off that harmonic balancer...that freaking thing is torqued on at 270 ft lbs... trying to break it loose is one scary assed procedure..
Not to mention the Ball busting that happens trying to get it done.
.Not that i coulda done much anyway other than take measurements for the converter re-do...Besides,...i had enough stuff to keep me busy.
I found two pinholes in the pan. Just like a roof leak however, where the leak drips from and where it comes from are two different things. And trying to find the source when the engine was in there full of oil proved that i was applying job weld to places that weren’t leaking. The pinhole at the front of the sump was actually forward of where i had been trying to blob on the JB weld. To make @HotFox happy, I filled the pan to the top with water...when nothing appeared to be dripping, i ran compressed air along the weld seam from outside the pan. As soon as the nozzle passed over the pinhole,....bubbles.
The one at the rear was a bonus...I thought that the two rear pan bolts were leaking because i assumed they passed into the crankcase..Turns out I was wrong...there was another pinhole right next to the dripping bolt.
So...
Im confident that that problem is behind me.
The front pump did get here, and so that is what else got done..
The thing made a whirring noise when it was running...Whether or not that was because i was almost jamming the converter into it, or that it was starting to fail ( a noisy pump is the sign of impending pump failure) or...( It don’t like getting it’s ass jammed full in with a two inch diameter shaft of rotating steel)
One way or the other, i’m not taking any chances. I didn’t replace the pump when I originally rebuilt the thing, so it can’t hurt to do it now.
I prepped the engine for the cams...They’ll be here tomorrow, and i’ll install them on Sunday
I’m just hoping that this can be done w/o having to take off that harmonic balancer...that freaking thing is torqued on at 270 ft lbs... trying to break it loose is one scary assed procedure..
Not to mention the Ball busting that happens trying to get it done.
Just read up....I gotta remove that freaking harmonic balancer. 
*Edit* it’s off.
I don’t know what i’m worried about,..i’ve kinda got this engine figured out. After tearing the whole thing down myself, and watching how other people do it i’ve got it figured out...
The problem the other guys have when the engine is on a stand is that they do nothing to brace the front end to keep it from flexing down when they try to break it loose. Jam a piece of 2x4 between the bottom of the crank pulley and the front of the engine stand, and one hard pull using a really long breaker bar makes breaking that bolt loose women’s work.
*Edit* it’s off.
I don’t know what i’m worried about,..i’ve kinda got this engine figured out. After tearing the whole thing down myself, and watching how other people do it i’ve got it figured out...
The problem the other guys have when the engine is on a stand is that they do nothing to brace the front end to keep it from flexing down when they try to break it loose. Jam a piece of 2x4 between the bottom of the crank pulley and the front of the engine stand, and one hard pull using a really long breaker bar makes breaking that bolt loose women’s work.
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No flexplate today..POS usps. tracking shows it’s in birmingham at 3 am today, but it’s not scheduled for delivery till friday.
Not that i coulda done much anyway other than take measurements for the converter re-do...Besides,...i had enough stuff to keep me busy.
I found two pinholes in the pan. Just like a roof leak however, where the leak drips from and where it comes from are two different things. And trying to find the source when the engine was in there full of oil proved that i was applying job weld to places that weren’t leaking. The pinhole at the front of the sump was actually forward of where i had been trying to blob on the JB weld. To make @HotFox happy, I filled the pan to the top with water...when nothing appeared to be dripping, i ran compressed air along the weld seam from outside the pan. As soon as the nozzle passed over the pinhole,....bubbles.
The one at the rear was a bonus...I thought that the two rear pan bolts were leaking because i assumed they passed into the crankcase..Turns out I was wrong...there was another pinhole right next to the dripping bolt.
So...
Im confident that that problem is behind me.
The front pump did get here, and so that is what else got done..
The thing made a whirring noise when it was running...Whether or not that was because i was almost jamming the converter into it, or that it was starting to fail ( a noisy pump is the sign of impending pump failure) or...( It don’t like getting it’s ass jammed full in with a two inch diameter shaft of rotating steel)
One way or the other, i’m not taking any chances. I didn’t replace the pump when I originally rebuilt the thing, so it can’t hurt to do it now.
I prepped the engine for the cams...They’ll be here tomorrow, and i’ll install them on Sunday
I’m just hoping that this can be done w/o having to take off that harmonic balancer...that freaking thing is torqued on at 270 ft lbs... trying to break it loose is one scary assed procedure..
Not to mention the Ball busting that happens trying to get it done.
Pretty pictures. Nothing like getting
done! Waiting on it swinging back in the engine bay and burnouts aplenty. I think all you are doing is making it more betterer.
I was about to tell ya thatJust read up....I gotta remove that freaking harmonic balancer.
Pretty pictures. Nothing like getting
Doesn't sound very harmonic to me.
read my edit.
There is one thing though,.....although every cylinder had exactly the same compression, from what i’m reading, it’s way low.
all of my cylinders are barely 120 psi. From what i’m seeing it’s supposed to be at least 150.
all of my cylinders are barely 120 psi. From what i’m seeing it’s supposed to be at least 150.
And...to add to that..
The oil smelled like exhaust/gas. And looked like hell.
Now i’m ready to blame that on all of the start up woes, and the fact that several pulls were even richer than 10:1 AFR.
But, there is the “won’t fall out of a tree“ thing it does...At the same time, It doesn’t smoke, and it has no blow by ( at least from what i’m observing compared to the puke fest i used to see).
I made a leak down tester,...but i don’t know how much I can trust it.
The oil smelled like exhaust/gas. And looked like hell.
Now i’m ready to blame that on all of the start up woes, and the fact that several pulls were even richer than 10:1 AFR.
But, there is the “won’t fall out of a tree“ thing it does...At the same time, It doesn’t smoke, and it has no blow by ( at least from what i’m observing compared to the puke fest i used to see).
I made a leak down tester,...but i don’t know how much I can trust it.
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