Thread: 454 missing

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I have a 454 in my Nova . Holley 750 vac. torker 2 cam and intake ,headers,10.5 to 1 comp.. The problem is I seem to be getting excessive valvetrain noise . I also get a miss and pop occasionally . Could I have a bad lifter ? I adjusted the valves a short time ago and things seemed better. Now the miss is back . anything over 4500 and it really misses . It used to pull all the way to 6500 with no problem. would appreciate any help

Remove valve covers and run motor. Inspect for one or more rockers not moving as much as the others. Grit teeth and curse if you find any rockers behaving like this. Call favorite cam grinder and order new cam and lifters.

Thanks for the advice , do those metal rocker clips actually work? Does the 454 require 20w50 oil , someone told me this would quiet the lifters . The block is a 74 mark 4 and I am currently running 10w30 syntec synthetic. Also yesterday I found a broken mech advance spring in the dist. could this be my popping and missing , I haven't run it yet since I replaced the spring , thanks again

What metal rocker clips? No, the oil is whatever you like to run. 20/50, in my opinion, is not for a street car, although lots of guys run it. Yes, it might quiet things down some, but if you have a problem, do you just want it to be quiet, or do you want to find it? The 10/30 is fine, and I always run regular oil...synthetic is OK too, but too pricey for what you get. I change mine quite a bit anyway. Yes, replace the spring in dist, and try it again...it could be a timing issue. But it sounds like cam/lifters/springs to me. Try it and let us know. John

"do those metal rocker clips actually work?"

Yes, if you bend them a little so that they fit on the rocker really tightly.

In addition to the metal rocker clips, I cut a piece of cardboard to shape (the length of the head and about 8-10" wide) and tuck it between the valve springs and the lower gasket surface on the head. It keeps most of the splatter from falling on the headers and engine block.

haven't had a chance to work on the motor yet , been working a lot . Thank you for all your advice . I will let you know how everthing goes.

I checked the valves today and they all seemed to be working o.k. . All lifting equally . The missing is gone now I believe it was the spring in the dist. causing the motor to run so bad. If I am running a torker 2 cam and intake is this allowing my plugs to load up . It seems when I run it hard it runs very good but when I am cruising it seems to cough and sputter sometimes until l I get the r.p.m.'s up?what plugs should I be running . I now have a.c. delco r-44tx plugs in., are those o.k.

Jet the carb leaner. It's too fat.

The holley has a powervalve protector,it is new.The 750 has #70 primary jets and rear metering plate # 21 equivelent to a #75 jet , how much should I reduce , I definately don't want to lean it out too much. I also want to install a rear sec. kit so I don't have to deal with plates.,thanks .

I have played with the timing a bit , it was at 8 degrees advanced , and now at around 10 at 800-900 r.p.m.'s anything below that and it wiil stall.It seems a lot better. Not sure of the mech. advance but it is working ,when I rev it it definately moves up the scale. I need timing tape ,or a good advance light.I would love to see this thing on the strip I believe it would make good numbers with wider tires. It is running better than it has since it was new in 76!!!

76 Nova,I seen one of these bieng built on a car show on SPIKE TV .You know the one with the heavy hawian looking guy and the smaller white guy,Hot Rod TV I think? Well anyway , they had a granny car with curb scrapers ,and white walls.That mother had a sweet big block under the hood.Just a thought I had at the moment, that was a bad ash Nova