hawks70

Disassembled, cleaned, and checked. Time to turn the block around and start working on the top end!

Allan R

Surprised you didn't let them do the valves/guides/springs and rockers at the same time. They look good. Hope you got an excellent price.

krooser

I'll be doing the same next week... out to the shop tonite to disassemble my block...

Olds442redberet

Very nice! Please post pictures of the break down and build.

hawks70

OK.I have to start a thread in the build section with more pics. They charged me 85 bucks to disassemble and clean the heads. They gave me back all the old parts in a box. Looks like another order of parts coming.....Milo Don stainless valves, Edelbrock sure seat springs. Haven't decided on the rockers yet. The build is basically stock with a mild cam. Do I really need roller rockers? I don't know.... what you guys think?

krooser

Roller rockers are not necessary unless you have a cam with enough lift to cause interference with stock rockers... maybe above .500 lift.

Yes they do reduce friction which will give you a little boost in power but I doubt you'd feel it in a daily driver or weekend toy.

One thing that is a good idea is buying all of your valve train parts from one supplier if possible. Many builders feel mis-matched parts MAY cause bad harmonics which can affect the life of these components. Although I'm a pretty new guy on the Olds scene I can see that sometimes this can be tough to do...

hawks70

That is true. I have an edelbrock performer plus cam. So far I'm thinking edelbrock sure seat springs, milodon stainless valves, and a new set of factory rockers.....

Olds442redberet

I have flattened a couple of cams over the years. Rollers reduce the risk of damage. I still use flat tappet cams but I use a zinc additive for the first six months or so in order to ensure/reduce the risk of damage. And I am very careful during the initial start up break in and the milage break in afterwards. Of course, you guys already know this.

krooser

Actually roller rockers will do nothing to keep a cam from going bad... but a high zinc break-in oil along with a 20 minute cam break-in period will do the most to insure the cam will live.

Using a high content zinc oil after break-in is always a good idea whether it's dino or synthetic. The phosphorus in the oil is what actually provides the wear protection... the zinc is merely the "carrier" that allows the phosphorus to do it's job. Never, ever use a modern oil in your vintage engine... if it's a 5W30 oil or thinner it will usually be unacceptable.

10W30 and heavier oils still contain somewhat higher levels or zinc but should still be used with a zinc additive. These oils are not recommended for use in modern engines so they are not required to meet the new oil standards.

Specialty high zinc oils are available from many sources...

Allan R

The ZDDP topic is often discussed on this site. There is a brand of oil that has high zinc right off the shelf and available almost everywhere in synthetic or conventional. Valvoline VR1

krooser

Racing oil is good but not for daily drivers unless you change it frequently.

I had the opportunity to attend an oil seminar put on by Lake Speed, Jr from Joe Gibbs Oil... an amazing amount of info was covered and I highly recommend you attend one of these if you get the chance.

I will likely use Gibbs or Brad Penn in that 330 I'm working on....

captjim

X2 It makes sense when you consider how much money is in a quality rebuild to spend a little extra. I used Gibbs but both are excellent products, IMO

hawks70

Thanks for all the info. Should be very helpful. Just doing this as best I can.....had block and crank cleaned and checked and the pistons as well. Re using original crank and pistons. Had all clearances checked. Have all new bearings in. Edelbrock Performer Plus cam and true roller timing set. I put all the bottom end together myself following all info from Oldsmobile manual and a few other sources. Careful to follow all torque sequences and settings.will also rebuild the heads myself. They are the original #6 heads. The block is also original.I have a factory 4 barrel intake and either a Holley Carb or Quadrajet I plan to use in place of the original 2 barrel set up. Will also be changing over to a HEI Distributor. Also oil pump, water pump and fuel pump all replaced. The only thing I'm not messing with is the trans. That I will either send out to be rebuilt or will just get a new one. The car has a twelve bolt rear end in it but I need to get code off it to see what the gears are. I believe they are 342. . I will also be putting headers and flow master exhaust on this car. I've already redone/ replaced the entire brake system from master to lines and all wheel cylinders and hardware. Still 4 wheel power drums but car stopped great. Have replaced front and rear shocks and springs, inner and outer tie rods and adjusters and sway bar links on the front. Drove it one summer before tyranny died and I tore it all apart last year. Can't wait to see how much better it'll be after all this....

captjim

What is your plan on the valves? New ones and what process are you going to use on the seats?

hawks70

Still have some research to do there as far as the valve seats. As far as the valves go so far I think I'm gonna go with a set of Milodon stainless steel..... I'm beginning to see where I probably may have been better off having the machine shop do at least some of this work......got some studying to do.....

krooser

It's important to get the valve spring seat and open pressure's checked when assembling the heads... some shops won't do this. If you are reusing the old springs be sure they are all inspected and checked, too.

krooser

Rereading this post I guess you are referring to roller lifters rather than rockers... sorry.

Olds442redberet

Thanks for the informative insights, some of which I already knew and a lot more that I didn't know. What are your thoughts on diesel oil? I had a friend suggest diesel oil due to the higher zinc content, sounded good to me.

cutlassefi

No, too much detergent.
Most cam companies will tell you to use conventional oil along with an additive, unless they try to sell you their own oil.

Olds442redberet

No to diesel oil! Thanks for all the schooling on oil! It is greatly appreciated!

krooser

There is a wealth of good info here..
http://www.drivenracingoil.com/dro/zinc-vs-detergent.

Never use modern SM or SG oils in a flat tappet engine... the detergents will break down the wear protecting film that was deposited in the cam by using a ZDDP oil... even the newest 2011 high performance GM LS engines need a special oil with a modified detergent because the SG oils have too high a detergent additive.

hawks70

It seems to me that rebuilding these is maybe better left to the machine shop. So off to make some more money. I should have asked what they charge for that while I was there. Well....this whole thing has been a learning experience from the start. I didn't need to pull it all apart, but I did. Cause all the gaskets were shot. I'm OK with it though cause once its all back together it should keep going a long time. Believe you me.....IM GONNA DRIVE THIS CAR! And I think this summer I'll be doing just that while I'm doing the bodywork.

hawks70

OK. Today is the day. I have the heads back and will bolt them on today. All new new parts....valves, seats springs,rockers, and all. Total cost 700 dollars parts and labor. Heads all assembled except the perches and rockers. I have my book so I have torque settings and sequence and all that. My only questions at the moment are whether or not sealer will cure in these cold temps. I am working in an unheated garage in mid thirties temperature. I figure I can work around that by taking the front cover and oil pan inside and put sealer on them then take outside and install them. Same with water pump. Its either that or wait for it to warm up. What do you guys think?

hawks70

Heads are back on. Here's a couple pics.... Then I just set the intake on for a peek.

hawks70

Pics.

hawks70

Let's try that again....

hawks70

OK looks like Saturday this week is finally gonna be the day I try to fire her up after the rebuild. Anybody have some advice for me here. Things I should look for? Cam break in procedure and so on....thanks.

RetroRanger

looks good good luck w the start up / break in

455man

An oil with high zinc levels or add a zinc additive to lubricate the cam. Run it at 2000 RPMs for 20 minutes to break in the cam.

hawks70

OK. I'll have to play that by ear. No teach yet. I do plan on getting one eventually and put it in and take the clock out....

VinMichael

Looks good!! Hope the break-in goes well of course