VI Cutty

Time for me to get my '71 Cutlass S roadworthy, reliable and happy. Brakes are first up but that's not my question today. I know my way around aircooled VWs, but don't have any experience with V8s. I'm eager to drive the car, but not eager to damage it!

Engine is presumably the original, 350 with about 107,000 miles on it. Starts and runs fine, but has a pronounced tick from the passenger side. The car was dry stored for a long time (at least 10 years) and rarely - if ever - started during that time.

My concern is that there could be a failing/failed lifter, but I understand long term storage might have just cause some short term stickiness. The first thing I'll be trying is adding some ATF to the oil and running it for a while. Suggestion was made by a professional mechanic who's had success with it before, and the oil will be changed before the car hits the road anyhow.

If the ATF doesn't do it then I'll be looking at replacing the cam and lifters...which leads to my questions:

Engine is stock with a Quadrajet and dual exhaust added. What cam(s) should I consider to give it a bit of a boost? RV Cams have been suggested, but I'm not sure if there are different grinds or types of the RV Cams to consider....or if there are other alternatives that could be more suitable to liven things up.

What else should I consider when undertaking this job? Although I need to be careful of the MAW's right now, there's no point in skipping the chance to address something else while I'm in there.

What should be on my shopping list? Anything I should be aware of to avoid or plan for?

Thanks for any and all help...I'm getting tired of looking at the car sitting in my shop instead of cruising down the road!

oldcutlass

Did you clean the fuel system really well before running the car? The old varnished fuel will raise hell with the valve train and cause similar symptoms. Although this has nothing to do with the ticking, the timing chain been changed?


The ticking can also be related to worn rocker and perch assy's, too thin of oil or low oil pressure, worn or sticking lifters.


The suggestion of running some transmission fluid, marvel mystery oil, or rislone is a good one just to see if it disappears.


I'd remove the valve covers and try and locate the one/s that is/are noisy.


The cam may not be bad, the only way to know is to pull the intake, disassemble rockers, remove the pushrods, then remove and inspect lifters and cam.