http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/y...1/IMGP0552.jpg
here is picture of the damage, the springs on the left are the 454ho ones from cp and the springs on the right are the originals. you can also see the difference in retainer heights.
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http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/y...1/IMGP0552.jpg
here is picture of the damage, the springs on the left are the 454ho ones from cp and the springs on the right are the originals. you can also see the difference in retainer heights.
you want 060 so 527 +060 so 587 BUT that would be top of the seal . if they sold you the real HO retainers the seal clip s in the bottom of the retainer like a ubbrella seal but very thin alot like the old L88 but with a sheild a give you more room with out cutting the valve guids down . the rotators are not flat have abit of taper so the spring s will not sit flat. if you can buy a HD 5/16 push rod you should be ok but 3/8 push rods and guid plates would be a good move. you can buy a 1to2 cheap snap/ telescoping gauge set there about 35. bucks i set all my springs up with one or just make a go/no go gauge out of a welding rods or coat hanger file to size you want just mic it till its to size
as you see the retainer s for the new spring are longer were the keepers go thru you do not need all the added metal under the keepers/valve locks so if you bo not want to cut the valve guids .i made up a arbor to hold the retainers and trim them on a lathe or lay the face down on a mill and come down on them and spot face them you should get a EZ 040 to 060 off them and you will not give up any strength i done this you would only need to do the EX . one thing you need to do is when you buy the rotators eliminators drill the guid hole up the next size up or spin the rotators elims on a sander the OD and ID from GM have run out and the rotators can jam in the head and you will never get them back out if you need to shim them you want to shim under them or if to thick i have had to face them . so you want not them to hang up in the head
today went better than saturday. A buddy had one of his heads off so he lent me an eliminator for the day to do some measurements. So first off I ripped to work and cut down one of my new retainers on the lathe, my 3 jaw has nice grooves in the chuck that held the retainer perfectly. I cut .075" off the retainer and still had lots left under the keepers. then I mocked up the assembly with a setup spring I borrowed from another buddy and measured my guide to retainer clearance. I now have .630" clearance minus the .527 for the cam to give me .103" room for the seal. Now my umbrella seals were .125 thick so they wouldn't work but I found some thinner seals in my junk drawer that were about .080". I installed one and rolled the engine over again and I can actually see daylight between the seal and retainer. Is this too close for comfort or should I be looking for a thinner seal. I really don't want to pull these heads off again, but if I have to I will remove the heads and mill the guides down.
well how much day can you see .if you hit the seal you just smash them but there move the guids will not so if you have 030 or so they may work for some time i would not think much if you had more like 045 trim the retaner more. or let it fly.. i can tell you we do not run valve seals on the EX side and some head no valve seals at all , but you should try to put some thing on it
well if you have the room use a +050 valve lock then throw a 060 under the rotator elim if you need the spring back to set up. the retainer will mover up 050
I actually kicked around the Idea of not running seals on the exh. what is the worst that would happen, smoke on startup obviously but what other harmfull effects. this is not a street engine and it only runs for 5 minutes at a time.
i ran a 468 with no seals at all on the street was not as bad as you think i ran open breathers and if you take some RTV with a tooth pick when retainer are on fill the valve lock gap with RTV this helps from oil running donw the keeper lock gapQuote:
Originally Posted by clinto
I finally got around to testing this pig out on my little test track this weekend, and I am impressed with the results. before the rebuild I could only get 4300 rpm out of it in third gear, so now it pulls hard right to 6000 in all gears. I was shooting for 5600 so this is a very good thing, a big thanks goes out to all that helped ( especially Pat). hopefully next weekend she'll be bringing home the big trophy.