Retarded Cam? - How to check with engine completed / installed???

oz

Founding Member
Jun 29, 2000
1,079
10
58
Plymouth, MI
Greetings,
(To keep it short) Can somebody tell me what I will need to remove from my completed and installed engine to confirm that the cam is not retarded??? I know I will need to take all the accessories and timing cover off if I need to change the timing chain but I just want to check the valve timing now. I assume I need to take off the crank pulley and the right valve cover to access #1 cylinder valves…. what else?

I have never degreed a cam before so I am guessing on what I need but I have a dial indicator and magnetic base but I don’t have a degree wheel. What else will I need?

The complete story:
I recently completed rebuilding my ’69 302 and am having some problems.
I started this thread about 6 weeks ago -http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=482501
about how the engine did not have any vacuum at idle (constant 10 in.)…. Well, I finally completed putting the body back on it and was able to drive it around the block this weekend. I do have a problem. I think the lack of vacuum was just a symptom of a bigger issue.
The problem is that the engine has no pep; it won’t rev. The initial timing is set at 15 BTDC.

I think the problem is valve timing – I have checked out just about everything else (rebuilt the carb, changed plugs, wires, fuel pump, checked compression, did a leak down test, tried finding intake leaks). I did not degree the cam and I think it must be retarded too much. The low steady vacuum is a classic symptom of a retarded cam.

Help?
Thanks!
 
You know what just occured to me - I wonder if maybe my mufflers are plugged up.... the exhaust looks good but the way the engine acts during acceleration - both before and after the engine modification..... hmmmm.... they were on the car when I bought it in 1996.... probably not the problem but worth checking out I think. :rolleyes: