Thanks Oldstata, I'm having fun. Hard work but fun.
I had Mark, CutlassEFI, grind me cam specific to my setup. And I got new springs to match. The broken exhaust pipe bolts wont' come out of the manifold so I think I'm going to ask for shorty headers for Christmas. This is going to be one badass ride

 

You can get that crank timing gear off very easily with a large cold chisel. Hit it where the keyway is, straight down across between the teeth. Don't hit it like a little girl. The gear will split and slide right off. I used to do it like that all the time before I had any pullers. You will be surprised how easy it will split. You know you can do a compression test after you install the heads/ intake without a carb or even timing cover. Just hook up the starter and throw 12 volts to it with jumper cables. I still think your making a big mistake by not tearing the engine all the way down and sending the block out to be hot tanked. After you've come this far the rest is really pretty simple. Wouldn't you really like to be able to tell everyone what the specs are on your engine? When they ask you what kind of clearance are you running on the rods and mains, how will you feel answering- "I DON'T KNOW?" Trust me you want to know.

 

If you really want them out ask the shop you take the heads to what they will charge will be cheaper than the shorty headers but not as cool

 

So maybe I don't WANT them out, lol. Truth is they're really pitted and ugly. I dunno', I may ask the shop what they would charge. Still debating. I've thought about the Thorntons as well but they're barely better than stock and if I'm going to spend the money....

 

Check with copper if he still has the headers for sale if memory serves me correct they were cheap just needed some welds done

 

I will entertain the idea. What exactly would I need to have done? Would I have to have it bored or just honed? Basically, hot tanked, new main bearings, cam bearings, rod bearings, and rings?

 

@ oldstata the set I have may not be on the pretty scale with what I think mac is trying to do. What I do have is a set of #6 heads that I just picked up and planned on using., but with a vacation in the near future im thinking of selling them. The have had the bowls hogged out for better flow, the air bumps ground down, the heat risers filled, and the springs where for a 512 lift cam with better retainers and keepers, stock valve size, . Previous owner said they had maybe 10k and they weren't heavily milled just a skim for resurfacing. I also have some roller tip rockers and guide plates I can throw in on the deal. And an edelbrock intake. 325 takes it all.

 

Why do folks fill in the heat risers? And what do they fill them with?

 

They fill them in with a soft metal to eliminate heat rising up into the intake so the intake has a cooler denser charge going into the engine thus making more power. If I remember correctly.

 

Also improves exhaust flow dynamics at high RPMs.

- Eric

 

But it does make getting the car up to running temp on a cold winter's morning a chrome plated beach

 

I don't know if mac would be summer driving I don't about his area but they salt the roads down here still.

 

I'll be driving in the cold but once the snow and ice hit she's in the garage for sure. Depends on the winter here in central Illinois. It can be sub-zero for long stretches without any precip. Or it can stay as high as mid thirties most of the winter with feet of snow.
Prof, is the heat necessary since I bought a Q-jet with an electric choke? Or is it a cyclical sort of thing, with heat adding to heat to speed the warm-up?

 

The crossover in the manifold heats both the manifold and the carb., which improves atomization and general idling and running behavior, but reduces air density, thus reducing flat-out maximum performance.
The electric choke just heats the choke coil, to get it to open more quickly.

The person in a very hot area, such as south Texas, may never notice that the crossover is blocked, while the person just driving on warm, 70° days might find that the car runs rough and wants to stall for the first few miles, but the person who drives regularly in cool weather, such as in the 40s, will curse the day he filled the crossover.
Below freezing, you'd just be really unhappy.

I would never block the crossover for any normal-performance car, as it will probably damage performance more than it helps. This is a high-performance / racing modification in the vast majority of climates and for the vast majority of driving styles.

- Eric

 

The person I got them from had these on his daily driver driven all year round here in the midwest

 

Eric pretty much covered it.

 

Yes, but was he just a little bit "different," like you are?

For instance, I could tolerate a little rough running and probably not even notice it, but if it happened to my wife, she would refuse to drive the car.

- Eric

 

I can understand that lol. "Diffrent ehh" what you mean diffrent lmao.

 

Oh, I don't know... Drag racing a smallblock, for one thing.

- Eric

 

I just got the mental image of 2 guys in dresses and high heels pulling engine blocks behind them sprinting for the finish line.

 

OMG you guys are a trip! Lol, thanks for all the info. One less thing I gotta' do.

 

Thanks for the tip Copper. I didn't even have to go on two sides, one little pry with the bar and it came right off.

 

Eric I guess that's one thing. I'm the kind of person who does not see the cup half full or half empty I'm just wondering why it's not topped off. Lol

 

Now that is the challenge of the day lol

 

Oh, so you've seen Copper race, and seen my car, then?

- Eric

 

Lmao. Hey I'm not into that kind of drag racing lol.

 

Well, in that case, you should try to "Take a Walk on the Wild Side!" (RIP, Lou )

- Eric

 

I'll take your word for it.

 

LOL. Just a way to get in a mention of Lou Reed, 1942-2013. A great musician and a good guy if he didn't think you were an annoying fan.

- Eric

 

A true loss

 

Lou reed was a great but he also didn't want his music being portrayed more than it should have. He mentioned on vh1 that he didn't make the music to change the world he was just a junkie who needed money

 

That's Lou. It was also many years ago.

He'd been sober for decades and was a Tai Chi master and martial artist.

- Eric

 

Hey guys, sorry to interrupt the conversation with car talk, lol, but I'm hoping to install the new cam this weekend. The cam came with a pouch of break-in lube for the lobes but the instructions don't say anything about the bearing surfaces. Just plain ol' motor oil on those?

 

And Van Gogh was just trying to impress a prostitute. Doesn't make the paintings any less remarkable.

 

Go to the local auto zone and buy the lucas assembly lube that stuff is in a small little bottle and is goopier than snot ! I use that on all surfaces on the cam.

 

Assembly lube is great, especially for bearings, but if you were assembling the motor quickly (before oil could run off), then oil would be fine, too.

As for the lobes, the assembly lube should be fine, but I tend to use the stuff that came with it, if only because it's one less question that can be asked in the event of warranty problems.

The stuff that came with the cam won't hurt if you use it on the bearings, too, and, since there's always more than you need in the pouch, there's nothing wrong with using it that way if you want to get the cam installed RIGHT NOW, without going out to the store.

- Eric

 

The timing was my next question. It'll be a while before this thing is fired so I'll go with the lube on all surfaces. Thanks fellas.
Now I understand that if I want to reuse the rockers, and I do, I want to keep them in the same order. Stringing them on a wire possibly. But what about the pushrods. Same order for them as well? (Assuming they're the correct length when i'm done).

 

I always keep everything in order, though some things are more important than others.

I think that, strictly speaking, neither the rockers, rocker pivots, nor pushrods really matter, but I keep track of them anyway.

We've all got our techniques, but mine is to put each valve's valvetrain in its own labeled ZipLock bag.
I use sixteen 1 quart bags, and I label them all first (1E, 1I, 2E, 2I, etc.), then I drop the pushrod, lifter, and rocker into the bag. I throw the rocker pivot into the bag for the rearmost rocker that was on the pivot. Everything goes back together only one way, except for the pushrods, which are generally stained in a way that indicates their direction, but I also drop them in bottom-first, so I know that when I reach in, I'm grabbing the top of the pushrod.

The bags keep them clean and dry, and keep stray oil off of the surroundings.

- Eric

 

Make sure you prime the oiling system by turning the oil pump driveshaft with a drill.