NikwoaC's "Commitment Issues" Engine Build

Mr. Rustypwnz said:

well stop bsing and get er done!!

Click to expand...

I know it, dammit, I wanna be home right now working on it!!!

Meh, wouldn't be driving it much anyway, with all this RAIN.

Man, I'll tell you what, building an engine is a humbling experience. I gain more and more respect for the pros every day.

I installed the cam this morning, only to realize that I forgot to check the ID numbers on it against my cam card. So, I went to yank it out, and SURE enough, I smacked the #1 cam bearing with the distributor drive gear.

I called my machinist to determine if it was necessary to replace it, and it turns out that with a little finesse and a scotch brite pad, I'm going to be OK, but that was just another scare and speed bump that I didn't need.

FoxGT87 said:

Hey Nik I was hoping you would chime in on my thread about choosing a cam shaft for the new heads I'm going to be purchasing tomorrow morning. Getting a set of 180cc Windsor JR iron heads. I have what I think to be a stock or very mild cam in the car. I do not see myself upgrading the heads after this any time soon. So my question is: do I hold off on just bolting the heads as they sit so that i can get some port and polish work done and buy a custom ground cam that will have nice drivability on the street but scream on the top end? Or should i just bolt on the horsepower and ride out? I personally have been loving the progress thread and what you had to say on the argument that big heads don't belong on a 302. I think i want to mimic your build in a sense, however I think that the only way to get there would be porting and a custom cam. do you have any advice for me?

Click to expand...

Check out my response in your thread.

Little update for you hungry little Mustang tech addicts out there.

Spent half the day yesterday running around town looking for random stuff I needed to progress on the build, but I spent the other half of the day spinning wrenches. In short, this is what I did:

Stabbed the cam back in.

Degreed it. (Comp called for a 112* ICL, my measurements showed a 111*, so that's good.)

Checked cam end play. (Right at .005", so that's good.)

Slapped a head on and checked piston to valve clearance. Roughly .115" clearance on the intake and .185" on the exhaust, which is plenty. So what they say is true, Twisted Wedge heads will clear 1986 flat top pistons! Woo hoo!

Here are some pics of the PtV checking. I can't believe how EASY it is! If you do this right, it is absolutely cake. After doing this once, I don't know why everybody doesn't check PtV when putting new heads and/or a new cam in. I'll try to describe it step-by-step for ya here.

1. Install and degree your cam (this is actually the hardest part).

2. Coat the top of the piston and cylinder walls with oil. Also coat the combustion chamber on the head, the valve faces, and the quench area of the head (deck around the combustion chamber) with oil. This step is key in not messing up your clay.

3. Install solid lifters, or hydraulic lifters converted to solid (Super easy with stock lifters. Take them apart, flip the plunger, and reassemble without the spring.) I used two of my old stock lifters for this, and marked them with orange duck tape.



4. Lay down a lump of clay, about 1/4" thick, on the piston where the valves will be nearest to. Rotate the engine so the piston is about half way up the cylinder on its compression stroke. See pic.



5. Use an old head gasket (in other words, one that has been compressed to the proper thickness, NOT a new gasket), and put it on the block along with the head alignment dowels. Put the head on the block and install and hand tighten 4 head bolts/studs around the cylinder being checked. You do not need to torque the bolts to spec, just hand tighten.



6. Install the pushrods and rocker arms (with a little oil on the contact points). Adjust the rocker arms to "0" preload, or, in other words, until there is no more movement in the pushrod, but DON'T over tighten, this will begin to compress the spring and lift the valve, and your measurement will be off.



7. Turn the engine over (in the operating direction) 2 full revolutions, until you are once again on the compression stroke. If, at any time, the engine wants to stop turning, STOP! Your valve has probably contacted the piston, and you're hosed. Your PtV is "0".

8. Pull the head and the valvetrain off.

9. Rotate the engine until the piston is at TDC.



10. Slice the clay where the valve marks are the deepest with a razor. Measure the thinnest part of the clay with a dial caliper (I left the clay on the piston for this, you may choose to take it off the piston.) If you have enough clay thickness (valve clearance) you're done! If not, I feel bad for you. You have to either cut valve grooves in your piston or get a milder cam. OR, in some cases, you can advance or retard your cam to gain clearance on one valve, but you'll reduce clearance on the other.



Ta Daaaa!