Thread: 355 build help

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Pat we used to buy them at the Indy drag racer's auction and sell the stuff at Dave and Ed's swap meets in Ohio.Can't get blems anymore.They melt them down and re-cast them.We only go to select swap meets now.My partner developed a web site that limits travel.Went threw too many low mileage Suburbans over the yrs.I probably sat next to you at a auction and never knew it.

Hummmm-where you the old coot with the plaid shirt and a pipe,drinking coffee out of a cup that hasn't been cleaned in yrs??.He always gave a run for our money on a bid.LOL

Originally Posted by 1gary

Pat we used to buy them at the Indy drag racer's auction and sell the stuff at Dave and Ed's swap meets in Ohio.Can't get blems anymore.They melt them down and re-cast them.We only go to select swap meets now.My partner developed a web site that limits travel.Went threw too many low mileage Suburbans over the yrs.I probably sat next to you at a auction and never knew it.

yep you never know yep you can not get blems .good thing for them bad for us there was alot of them floating around back 15 years ago or so how time flys i fixed a set or two. man in them ports they were paper thin

well tango how many roller have you built this year? well there you go thinking you know what i use. i sold you some stuff laying around for a build that i did not use .i build MANY roller engines and use MANY types of springs any were from 1.250 dia to 1.650. them springs were of a stock wind spring base off a lt1. the darts heads set up at around 1.800 and can use a 1.440 dia spring yes you could make more power with the right solid roller cam . but who knows what he is building do you ?? all i said was the hyd roller cam is about the same spring as a solid flat lifter cam .no one said he needed 7/16 stud top and bottom all i said was that the heads are tap for 7/16 in the head you can use a 3/8 top and 7/16 bottom stud with or with out guide plates.NO one said you need a billet steel gear chain set but why not? i buy them cheaper then your going to set a good iron set . i do not like to go cheap on my builds when it comes to valve train . when there is less then $100.from buying better valve train parts it will get it. that were the back yard builder may used a 15.00 chain set and that fine. i build them for a income have a shop with my name on it so i lean to go with a better part if you think i can not build something that will run with less your very wrong grasshopper .. i can play that game with the best been there done that . yes i do know about the 4 intake bolts how do you think i mount the heads to mill them .i bore .deck. hone. mill put seats and guides rebuild rods this is how i make my living every week

wow i never thought i would get these responses so pretty much you guys are saying i can run a flat tappet cam with the springs or are you saying im better off changing the springs also will i loose efficiency like mpg and stuff with a flat tappet over a roller


i also added the pn the the original post and ill add it here
10310010P

and the springs are an inch and a half wide while the stock springs are an inch and a quarter i just took measurements

nope not at all ..springs are cheap buy the ones you need for the cam your going to use . you can run some springs lets say a solid flat lifter cam spring could be used on hyd roller cam BUT first you need to know what you have by that were there setup is open lbs close .coil bind .machine shop should help you or your engine builder should help you if they can not help then take your stuff and run .if you run the wrong spring s bad things will happen . wipe the cam lobes off a cam .valve float .bent valves ,busted parts .bent push.rods .

thats what i thought its just like always im on a budget and if i have the machine shop or an engine builder do it im going to pay out way more then i can afford

Originally Posted by U.S.Marine09

thats what i thought its just like always im on a budget and if i have the machine shop or an engine builder do it im going to pay out way more then i can afford

well if you can not afford the first time the second time around will not be any cheaper. you want post on here tell me what cam you have i will tell you how to do it but you will need the tools to do the job .with out a spring tester how will you know what springs are on the heads ? i do not charge much to test the spring s and set them up on heads . i do not know what rates they charge at machine shop around your neck of the woods

i dont understand when you say a first and second time?

Originally Posted by U.S.Marine09

i dont understand when you say a first and second time?

He means if you put the wrong combination of parts together on your first build, then it is likely that you will run over the crank and have to build it a second time.

"Run over the crank" is an old hot rod saying meaning that the bottom end of the motor disassembled itself, the crank, rods and pistons fell out on the ground and you ran over the whole mess with the back tires. I tried to find the photo of the CT Automotive Topolino coupe dropping the reciprocating assembly out onto the drag strip, but couldn't locate it. I'm sure someone here will post it up.

Generally speaking, if the vehicle is street-driven at all, then a hydraulic roller camshaft and kit will be the best choice. The hydraulic roller lifters simply drop into place where the flat tappets came out. They are grouped together in pairs with a connecting link or bar of some sort (there are many different designs) to prevent rotation of the lifter. I'm sure you can see in your mind's eye that you need to keep the roller square to the camshaft lobe that the roller is riding on. Flat tappets turn in their bores, rollers do not. By the way, (tappet)(lifter), same thing. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS use ONLY the valve spring that is recommended by the grinder of the camshaft. Now, when you get a head full of knowledge like Pat McCarthy and some others on this board, then you can mix and match your valve springs. Until that day, use what the grinder tells you to.

The least expensive aftermarket retrofit hydraulic roller cam and kit will be made by Howard's. Good company, good name in the industry, good name in the hobby. Most of their off-the-shelf cams will be ground on a 112 degree lobe separation angle. This is a good compromise between making good power and generating good intake manifold vacuum to operate accessories such as power brakes.

But the most important thing I can pass on to you is the importance of adjusting the squish down to a minimum. Squish is the measurement from the crown of the piston to the block deck with the head gasket in place. Different builders have different ideas about this measurement, but it is generally accepted that 0.035" to 0.045" (thirty five thousandths to forty five thousandths of an inch) will work well.

In the years that I have been on forums such as this one, I have seen hundreds of builds that turned out sour because the builder did not know anything about squish. If this measurement is too wide, then as the piston comes up to the top of its bore, there will be no squish of the air/fuel mixture across the chamber. This squishing of the mixture creates turbulence that homogenizes the mixture so that more of it will burn. It helps to eliminate over-rich and over-lean areas of mixture within the chamber and contributes to a more complete burn. This procedure will allow the motor to operate with a higher static compression ratio or with a lower grade of fuel or both. As I said, I have seen too many builds where the motor will not operate on pump gas without detonation (pinging) and that was the intention of the build in the first place. It is strange that we have applied the rather puny-sounding word "pinging" to this condition, when in actuality, it is akin to swinging a sledgehammer against the piston crown in rapid succession.

I tend to get rather long-winded once I get started, so will discontinue this post and wait for you to catch your breath.

ive been doing some window shopping and i have a question for you masterminds

1. does the cam have to be a computer controlled cam because i will be running tpi?

2. if the block wasn't a roller can i just drop roller lifters in?

also to cool some boiling blood i started i am just going to order a full cam kit meaning springs lifters cam and all

If you have a early block(still don't know why you can't just look at the casting numbers and tell us what they are?),you can get a roller conversion kit.Be prepared,they are expensive.If you take the engine down to remove the cam,at that point,wouldn't be cheaper to tell us the part number stamped on the cam??.From there we might be able to help you.

As Pat is trying to tell you,The most uneasy ride in the world,is not knowing.

well nice to see you tech well i did try to tell him to buy the needed springs in post 22 i did say buy the needed valve spring . but did say if someone knew what was on the heads then there was a chance that they may work but i did tell him on the first post on here buy springs there cheap did i ?... old timers .. well i think i did not build a engine around a set of old valve springs ?.then he said. some were he had no money to take them to someone to check them ... around this time tango pop up and told him he did not need a billet chain set ? and knew what springs i use on every engine that i ever built or heads i set up in the last 10 years . now i need to lay down as the pain is coming back

Ok Pat.M you want to try and Kick old Tango around Ha-Ha . I tell you what I will build a Roller SB Chevy with your name on the Valve Cover . If you can Build one with a Flat Tappet Camshaft that can Live . And Tech every Engine that I built in My Life Time that had a Flat Tappet Camshaft never had a Problem ? Pat .M Face your Fears and Build one that can Live P.S Ask I can Help ya

Originally Posted by tango

Ok Pat.M you want to try and Kick old Tango around Ha-Ha . I tell you what I will build a Roller SB Chevy with your name on the Valve Cover . If you can Build one with a Flat Tappet Camshaft that can Live . And Tech every Engine that I built in My Life Time that had a Flat Tappet Camshaft never had a Problem ? Pat .M Face your Fears and Build one that can Live P.S Ask I can Help ya

i built many flat lifter cams old boy i just like to build better engine but you still do not get it

you never built many or any bbc have you when you build more then 20 with any cam get back to me .how many SBC chevys have you bored.mill valve job built did all the machine work on . yep thats the thing tango i take pride in all the machine work and engine building. some on here have my engines that must grind you ? i build flat lifter cams engines i build about 6 a year. i know more about how try to keep them live then you think .how many small block roller engine s have you built ones that did not come with a roller cam from GM ? how many blocks have you bored .how many decks have you milled. how many valve jobs have you done . how many stroker engine have you built ? how many blocks have you fixed old boy ...yep i have moved to roller cams .but thats fine if you still living in the stone age. i have engine all over the USA and Canada so i like rollers knowing they will work the best for trouble free use .funny thing about you is you think i am some kid your going to try to slap around .i build and machine many off brand engines machine many race engines. this is how i make my living i not going to post every engine i build or every thing i know so HEY TANGO FU$K OFF AND I MEEN THIS IN A NICE WAY

Ha- Pat you act Like your the only one who does this $hit for a Living . I would Love to bring you to work with me and see how you could Hold up Fixing some Big Trucks . See what would happen if you had a job go south on you there .

F-ME You talk Like a Punk . Hey get that Big Old Red Bill Goat all Dialed in . Let's make a COOL Video of a Heads up Street Race . I can not think of a Better Guy to Race Against