grumpyvette

OH yes! a lot of thought went into the direction the doors point. the doors point. NORTH for several reasons (keep in mind this is FLORIDA) (1)most huricane winds hit from east or west (2) the least HEAT from direct sun light will be from the north (3) I have a direct view of the north side from the house (4) the neighbors can,t see into the garage from the north (5) you can,t see into the garage from the north from any street (6) THE GARAGE doors on the north wall are partially protected by the house being on the north of the garage

more progress

don,t let the insurance guys screw you! example, my ford 1996 full size bronko 4x4 i used for a parts chaser was hit and totalled on the interstate, they (the insurance guys ) offered me $1200, the average price a FAIR condition 4x2 goes for! I had just installed a new transmission that cost $2200,and had the truck painted and a new interior installed for $3000, the month before, I demanded they find a similar replacemen BRONKO in mint shape like MY bronko was before the accident!(I had reciepts and pictures) I told them to find a MINT 4x4 full size bronko,after looking the LEAST EXPENSIVE one they could find anywhere in the country was $6800. we eventually settled on $6800, yeah I got partly screwed but $6800 beats $1200 any way you look at it!

Ok since we DON,T need to go thru stupid emmission testing out here in the swamps where I live,I gotta ask, how much are you asking for the 400 powered Z.......

Id point out that you also have other options sell the car as is, to recover some or all your money install an original Z engine get the car registered and licenced in your old home state. get a crate engine temp installed

BBC engines have developed a reputation for eating cam lobes because most guys either don,t break the cam in correctly or are not willing to make the mods necessary to supply the extra oil flow that prevents oit from HAPPENING with the INCREASED PRESSUREs aftermarket cams with thier higher lift, durration,ETC. and springs produce first ID strongly suggest a high voluum oil pump and a windage screen with a baffled high voluum pan, use the solids with the extra oil bleed hole that feeds oil to the lifter/cam lobe contact area http://www.crower.com/misc/m_cat.shtml (pr107) both crower and comp cams sell them, but they are fairly expensive compared to standard solid lifters, I tend to use them when I can get them but it might be overkill on the oil flow to some extent because I use this tool too put a slight groove in the lifter bores that constantly sprays oil onto the cam lobe at a point just before it rolls under the lifter base http://www.compcams.com/catalog/335.html if youve adjusted the valves correctly the lifter spins at all rpm levels,but that does NOT mean it wears EVENLY at all rpm levels due to several factors if you look closely AT FLAT TAPPET CAMS , youll see that the center of the cam lobe is NOT centered under the lifter and that the lifter surface is slightly angled , BOTH these factors force the lifter to spin in its bore as the lobe passes under the lifter slightly off center. SOME of the reasons the higher rpm durring the break in phase is important is that (1) the faster RPMs the better chances the lobe passes under the lifter floated on an oil film and the less time the oil film has to squeeze out between them (2) the higher the RPM the greater the oil voluum and pressure the engine pumps and the more oil flow is available at the lobes (3)the higher the rpm level the more oil is thrown from the rods onto the cam lobes (4)the higher the rpm the greater the lifters weight and inertia tends to compensate for the springs pressure and lower the net pressure as the lifter passes over the cam lobes nose (5) at higher rpm speed the better chance a small wedge of oil is trapped between the lifter base and lobe from the oil thrown from the lobes surface by centrifical force (6) two differant metal surfaces scraping past each other at low speeds may tend to wear and GALL as the oil is sqeezed out but two differant hardness steel surfaces that impact each other at higher speeds covered with oil tend to work harden as they mate and will tend to be seperated by that oil (7)as the lifter spins in its bore the contact point between the lobe and lifter base constantly changes and rotates with the lobe contact point not resisting its passage and the higher the rpms the faster the lifter rotates and the less time the lobe spends at any one point BTW ADD E.O.S. to the oil and MOLY break-in lube to the cam before starting the engine and prefill the filter and pre-prime the oil system before starting the engine. I normally pour it in just before starting the engines cam break in,procedure. because I want to make sure that nothing in the oil/E.O.S. mix can settle out from sitting over a long period of time. now if your running a flat tappet cam you should have also used a moly cam lube on the lobes and be useing a mineral base oil for the break-in procedure, and youll need to do an oil and filter change after about the first 3-4 hours running time to remove that moly cam lube from the engine after its served its purpose of protecting the cams lobes and lifters at start up, aND AS THE LOBES/LIFTERS LAPPED IN. MOSTLY to prevent that moly grease and E.O.S from potentially partially clogging the filter after that mix cools down,but also because both those lubes might leave deposites in the combustion chamber ,over time that might aggravate detonation. even G.M. suggests that E.O.S. is not a great long term oil suppliment, and that its main function is to add extra oil film strength durring new engine break in. 1052367 ENGOILSUP EOS - Engine Assembly Prelube Specifically formulated as an engine assembly lubricant. E.O.S. provides outstanding protection against run-in wear and piston scuffing as well as run-in camshaft lobe and lifter scuffing resulting from insufficient lubrication don,t forget a few magnets in the oil pan goes a long way towards trapping unwanted metalic dust formed from the cam and rings lapping in durring break-in that might otherwise get imbedded in your bearings or cause other problems heres the magnets I use in every engine http://www.wondermagnets.com/cgi-bin/edatcat/WMSstore.pl?user_action=detail&catalogno=0035 http://www.cranecams.com/?show=reasonsForFailure

first some reading material http://victorylibrary.com/mopar/intake-tech-c.htm http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/runnertorquecalc.html http://www.newcovenant.com/speedcrafter/calculators/runnerarea.htm http://www.newcovenant.com/speedcrafter/calculators/intake.htm http://www.bgsoflex.com/intakeln.html http://www.me.psu.edu/me415/SPRING02/intake/intake.html http://headerdesign.com/extras/engine.asp#Intake_Manifolds http://www.team-integra.net/sections/articles/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=466 http://turbonation.com/intake.htm ever wonder WHY intakes are designed with runners shaped like they are? you might want to read this info next, to answer your question,using an adaptor to put a spread bore carb on a square bore intake, or a square bore carb on a spread bore intake like youve done, is DOOMED to seeing some reduced flow. your modification .... "I modified the intake by grinding out the offending material and turning my intake into a open plenum" you probably did remove some restriction to flow, but you would more than likely find that the correct intake mated to the carb would work even better. "I'm wondering how air/fuel from the front barrels of the carb would be effected by narrowing into the spread bore pattern before being dumped into the manifold. And how would that effect the tuning of the carb?" again its more than likekly hurting air flow, any time you change angles or reduce port size you potentially restrict flow, personally Id hit a few swap meets,ETC. and find an EDELBROCK super vic intake if the cam your using has over about 240 duration or a performer RPM if the cam you hav is under about 235 duration at .050 lift running a correctly matched intake without the adapter is usually best dual plane intakes like this generally work effectively in the 1500rpm-6000rpm range intakes like this generally work great from about 4000rpm-8000rpm, but give up power below about 3500rpm keep in mind other factors are at work and displacement,cpr,header design ETC. effect results..it does little good to put an intake that potentially flows 320cfm at 7000rpm with a cam that has .700 lift on an engine with stock cylinder heads that restrict flow to 210cfm and max flow at .500 lift like many stock sbc heads

if your installing a 4" or 4.25" stroke crank in a tall deck BBC the clearance work is minimal, with most cranks,(keep in mind theres differant dia. counterweights etc.) in fact usually easier than the clearance work done to install a 3.75" stroke crank in a 350 block to build a 383 sbc. once you get past a 4.25" stroke, youll need to be carefull as theres passages in the lower block skirt that you could get into if you get carried away grinding, and 4.375" is about the max, youll want to get an aftermarket block past that stroke

got a truck block? want a 496 vs a 427 if you have or can purchase a tall deck 427 bbc engine..there are potential mods you can make.. now Im well aware most of you may not ever use a bbc engine, but if you do...heres some info IF the rest of the basic engine is servicable,Id rebuild it with a mild port clean up,a valve job,a re-ring and new bearings, plus the tall deck block allows you to use longer connecting rods and a 4.25" stroke crank, to build a 496 displacement 10:1 cpr engine ,youll need the block bored and honed at .060 over(4.310 bore) done very easily,just the increase in displacement and compression (with the correct, crank, rods and pistons) matched to a reasonable cam will make a very noticable power increase kits like this are available for the standard 9.8" blocks http://www.sallee-chevrolet.com/Sca...embly_Kits.html crank rods. pistons, ballanced for about $1400 add a cam like this http://store.summitracing.com/default.as...p;x=29&y=14 and with no other changes to the basic engine youll have a noticable power increase Id expect to spend under $3000 and have a reasonably effective street combo but since your useing a tall deck block youll want to purchase all the parts seperately chevy has produced two comon bbc block heights, the comon pass car 9.8" deck block and the taller less comon 10.2" truck block, truck blocks allow more clearance but they move the heads further appart so spacers or differant intakes and a few other parts are necessary, I personally PREFER truck blocks as they tend to be thicker and cheaper, as fewer people want to use them it should be OBVIOUS that youll need to do a MINIMUM of homework BEFORE ordering parts for a 496 bbc stroker kit to fit a tall deck block here this calculator will help http://kb-silvolite.com/calc.php?action=piston_comp the standard BBC has a 9.8" deck height, the TALL block has a 10.2" deck thats .400 taller, so youll want to use standard 454 pistons to keep the cost low and make up the differance in connecting rod length for a better rod/stroke ratio. keep in mind youll want to use longer rods and lighter pistons for a better rod/stroke ratio WITHOUT getting into CUSTOM parts the comon longer than stock,bbc rod lengths available are 6.385",6.585",6.8" BUT ,look a standard 454 bbc has a 4" stroke, 6.135 rod and a 9.8" deck so the pistons got a 01.665" pin height the same block with a 3.76" stroke crank from a 427 would use a 01.785 pin height, neither will work in a 4.25" stroke 10.2" deck block application these pistons below have a 1.27 pin height http://kb-silvolite.com/performance...ls&P_id=358 the tall deck with its 10.200 deck and a 1.27" pin will require a 6.8" rod http://store.summitracing.com/default.as...p;x=35&y=14 1.27"piston pin height, + 6.8" rod length + 1/2 of 4.25" stroke(thats 2.125") equals 10.195" or .005 below the 10.2" deck on a tall deck block thats a 1.6:1 rod/stroke ratio, or close to the 1.63:1 a 350 chevy has and better than the original 454s 1.53:1 ratio, even thought the strokes been increased a combo like that should exceed 550 ft lbs and 500hp easily

I got asked this question , "I was wondering what one of these new Super Sucker carb spacers would bring compared to a regular 4 hole spacer." Ill say right off that I have not used one of those super sucker spacers, personally, but I have seen several used,and worked on cars with them installed, look closely, at the super sucker spacers, they are NOT a true 4 hole design,like this that maintains isolated plenum feed from each side of the carb. they are a MODIFIED open plenum design, like this that will have a similar effect to this in that the dual plenums are linked under the spacer,they appear to be designed to add plenum voluum to a single plane intakes plenum, and smooth the air flow transition from carb to plenum, so that will have a similar effect to this I prefer the standard spacer designs, many of the newer guys will not have done that spacer swap, and its a tuning aid, that can help some applications Ill also add that if you have the room under the hood, adding a second phenolic 4-hole 1/2" tall carb insulator or swapping to a 1" or even a 2"phenolic 4-hole spacer may further improve the carb cooling and may help the fuel atomization slightly, but the correct spacer must be matched to the style of intake manifold http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=708&prmenbr=361 look closely at the carb base mount area on the two intakes below then think about the differance in the application of the spacer and how it will effect the airflow entering the differant intakes, the upper dual plane has TWO distinct plenums which MUST be kept seperated if your trying to maintain the maximum air flow speeds in the intake ports,the comon 4 hole spacer maintains the seperate isolated flow charicteristics, the super sucker has an open plenum area allowing cross flow between the sides, on a dual plane intake thats NOT ALWAYS HELPFUL,on a sigle plane its PART OF THE PLENUM DESIGN, Id bet the super sucker spacer gets better results on single plane intakes where additional plenum voluum is helpful but Id suspect it KILLS some low speed volumetric efficiency, in a dual plane, intake where additional plenum voluum slows the airflow speeds slightly, but aids high rpm flow due to additional plenum voluum.......now IM not saying that will or will not work, in fact an old trick on race engines was to partly remove the air dam between the sides to effectively gain plenum voluum on dual plane intakes designed for high rpm use!,similar to this but I AM pointing out the differance in application and where it will effect your engines power curve

http://www.corvettes-musclecars.com/GM/70BuickGSX/ http://www.taperformance.com/products.htm http://www.buickperformance.com/oilflow.htm http://www.buickperformance.com/EngineBuild.htm http://www.taperformance.com/newpage11.htm http://gmhightechperformance.com/tech/0205gmhtp_buick/ http://www.turbobuick.com/ http://www.gnttype.org/ you may want this info

Ive maintained more than 8 GIGS of engine, building/corvette/racing/info on my computer,for my main hobby of building and racing corvettes most questions are redundant so I can , locate,copy/paste most of the info from previous posts or from the main data bank info in seconds as its mostly set up for quick access

coolant temps should IDEALLY be kept in the 190F-220F range,only ocasional OVER 230F coolant temps make me worry, OIL TEMP in the 215F-240F range for both the best power and the best lubracation, SYNTHETIC OIL DOES HAVE A WIDER AND HIGHER TEMP RANGE, if you use SYNTHETIC OIL, ocasional peak temps up to 260F are nothing to worry about, AIR TEMP entering the engine, should be routed from outside the engine compartment directly to the carb and fuel temp should be as low as you can manage oil (especially synthetic)has improved dramatically over the last 15-20 years and thinner oil tends to BOTH absorb and carry away heat from the bearing surfaces quicker due to the faster movement thru those clearances, and those more modern formulas of thinner oils do protect your engine far better than the older oils did. keep in mind PRESSURE is a measure of the OILS RESISTANCE to being forced under pressure thru your engines clearances, and thinner oil reduces the resistance to both flow thru those clearances and pumping losses the moving parts have sliding over the oil films surface, remember the oil molicules are very small, and theres hundreds of layers stacked in that thousandth or so of bearing clearance. a quick way to get an idea on your clearances is to look at your oil pressure AFTER the engine reaches the proper operating temps which should be about(between 215F and 240F...... OIL TEMP NOT COOLANT TEMP) and use the thinnest QUALITY oil that maintains about a 20 psi at idle (700-900 rpm) ! keep in mind you want the OIL temp to reach a MINIMUM of 215F to burn off moisture, and that OIL FLOW does MUCH of the critical cooling in the ENGINE, so if your running hot, a larger baffled oil pan, with its far greater surface area and oil voluum can also aid in the total cooling process, just swapping from a stock 5 qt to a aftermarket 8 qt pan is usually worth about a 10-15 degree drop in engine temps the oil temp is more critical than the coolant temp(with-in limits of course) but don,t allow the oil temp to fail to reach and stay in the 215F-240F range once the engines up to operating temp. or it can,t do its clean/lub job correctly coolant temps in the 180f-210f range are about ideal according to G.M. test for HP and LONG ENGINE LIFE http://www.vtr.org/maintain/oil-overview.html Oil weight, or viscosity, refers to how thick or thin the oil is. The temperature requirements set for oil by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is 0 degrees F (low) and 210 degrees F (high). Oils meeting the SAE's low temperature requirements have a "W" after the viscosity rating (example: 10W), and oils that meet the high ratings have no letter (example SAE 30). An oil is rated for viscosity by heating it to a specified temperature, and then allowing it to flow out of a specifically sized hole. Its viscosity rating is determined by the length of time it takes to flow out of the hole. If it flows quickly, it gets a low rating. If it flows slowly, it gets a high rating. Engines need oil that is thin enough for cold starts, and thick enough when the engine is hot. Since oil gets thinner when heated, and thicker when cooled, most of us use what are called multi-grade, or multi-viscosity oils. These oils meet SAE specifications for the low temperature requirements of a light oil and the high temperature requirements of a heavy oil. You will hear them referred to as multi-viscosity, all-season and all-weather oils. An example is a 10W-30 which is commonly found in stores. When choosing oil, always follow the manufacturer's recommendation. WHAT VISCOSITY GRADE SHOULD I USE ? WILL A HIGH VISCOSITY GRADE (20W-50) PROVIDE BETTER PROTECTION ? A. Mobil recommends that you follow your engine manufacturer's recommendations as indicated in the owner's manual. For maximum wear protection and maximum fuel economy, use the lightest oil viscosity that is recommended by the engine manufacturer for the temperature range expected. Heavier oils can lower fuel economy and rob horsepower. For normal driving conditions, 5W-30 and 10W-30 are the primary current recommendations of automotive manufacturers. BTW http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilterstudy.html if your running a auto trans its important to keep that fluid UNDER 180F for long trans life a trans fluid cooler helps immensly (I was forced to mount mine where the spare usually goes) on a CORVETTE useing the TCI cast aluminum deep pan with the ribs ,it will lower the temp simply because it places the bottom 1.5" into the air flow under the corvette, rather than tucked up into the area behind the cross frame in the trans tunnel, BTW MY CORVETTES already have a trans fluid cooler factory installed,and I installed a larger one with its own electric fan also, and the pan still helped both slow the heat rise rate and lowered the max temp it reaches, in fact I have a hard time exceeding 180f now and yeah your application may be differant, Im only running about 430 rear wheel hp off nitrous heres an older, related post on oil pressure first ID point out that the PRESSURE results from the RESISTANCE to the FLOW of oil thru the engines clearances ,....... and the oils viscosity and tempeture ,has a great deal to do with the results youll see .... it should ideally be about 20-25 PSI at IDLE, but if its at least 15 PSI at 215F its fine,IT MUST be MEASURED with the engine up to operating temp. which means the oil has reached at LEAST 215F.(if its to high reduce the oils viscosity as thats a sure way to get the oil presure to drop and get more oil flowing over the clearances faster on start up! YOU DON,T NEED THICK OIL,I.E. 20w 50 or similar viscosity in a modern engine, SNTHETIC oil quality has improved a significant amount from the oil used even 10 years ago and its totally differant fron the mineral oil gunk we used in the 1970s. now IM well aware this old post, reposted below,.... below has to do with the earlier corvette gen 1 engines but a good deal of the info,fits the newer engines read this over carefully IVE POSTED MOST OF THIS BEFORE BUT IT FITS HERE AS A SOURCE OF INFO FOR THE NEWER GUYS http://www.melling.com/highvol.html http://www.melling.com/engoil.html ok lets look at a few things, pressure is the result of a resistance to flow , no matter how much oil is put out by the oil pump there is almost no pressure unless there is a resistance to that oil flow and the main resistance is from oil trying to flow through the bearing surface clearances and once the pumps output pressure exceeds the engines ability to accept the oilflow at the max pressure the oil return system/bypass spring allows the oil circles back through the pump ,now the amount of oil flow necessary to reach the furthest parts in the engine from the oil pump does not go up in direct relation to rpm, but it instead increases with rpm at a steadly increaseing rate that increases faster than the engine rpm due to centrifugal force draining the oil from the rods as they swing faster and faster since energy increases with the square of the velocity the rate of oil use goes up quite a bit faster due to the greatly increased (G-FORCES) pulling oil from the rod bearings over 5000rpm going to 8000rpm than the rate of oil flow increases from 2000 rpm to 5000rpm (the same 3000rpm spread) and remember the often stated (10 lbs per 1000rpm)needs to be measured at the furthest rod and main bearing from the pump not at the pump itself, next lets look at the oil flow itself, you have about 5-6 quarts in an average small block now the valve covers never get and hold more than about 1/3 to 2/3 of a quart each even at 8000 rpm (high speed photography by SMOKEY YUNICK doing stock car engine research with clear plastic valve covers prove that from what Ive read) theres about 1 quart in the lifter gallery at max and theres about 1 quart in the filter and in the oil passages in the block, that leaves at least 2 quarts in the pan at all times and for those that want to tell me about oil wrapped around the crankshaft at high rpms try squirting oil on a spinning surface doing even 2000rpm (yes thats right its thrown off as fast as it hits by centrifugal force, yes its possiable for the crankshaft WITHOUT A WINDAGE SCREEN to keep acting like a propeler and pulling oil around with it in the crank case but thats what the wrap around style milodon type windage screen is designed to stop)the only way to run out of oil is to start with less than 4 quarts or to plug the oil return passages in the lifter gallery with sludge or gasket material! now add a good windage tray and a crank scrapper and almost all the oil is returned to the sump as it enters the area of the spinning crankshaft! forming a more or less endless supply to the oil pump, BTW almost all pro teams now use DRY SUMP SYSTEMS WITH POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT GERATOR PUMPS that are 3,4,or 5 stage pumps each section of which has more voluum than a standard voluum oil pump because its been found total oil control is necessary at high rpms to keep bearings cool and lubed NOW I POSTED THIS BEFORE BUT IT NEEDs REPEATING ok look at it this way,what your trying to do here is keep an pressureized oil film on the surface of all the bearings to lube and cool them and have enough oil spraying from the rod and main bearing clearances to lube the cam and cylinder walls/rings. now a standard pump does a good job up to 5000rpm and 400 hp but above 6000rpm and 400hp the bearings are under more stress and need more oilflow to cool and because the pressure on the bearings is greater you need higher pressures to maintain that oilfilm.lets look at the flow verus pressure curve. [color:"red"] since oil is a liquid its non-compressable and flow will increase with rpm up to the point where the bypass circuit starts to re-route the excess flow at the point were the pressure exceeds the bypass spring pressure. but the voluum will be equal to the pumps sweep voluum times the rpm of the pump, since the high voluum pump has a sweep voluum 1.3-1.5 times the standard pump voluum it will push 1.3-1.5 times the voluum of oil up to the bypass cicuit cut in point,that means that since the engine bearings leakage rate increases faster as the rpms increase because the clearances don,t change but the bleed off rate does that the amount of oil and the pressure that it is under will increase faster and reach the bypass circuit pressure faster with the high voluum pump. the advantage here is that the metal parts MUST be floated on that oil film to keep the metal parts from touching/wearing and the more leakage points the oil flows by the less the voluum of oil thats available for each leakage point beyond it and as the oil heats up it becomes easier to push through the clearences.now as the rpms and cylinder preasures increase in your goal to add power the loads trying to squeeze that oil out of those clearances also increase. ALL mods that increase power either increase rpms,cylinder preasures or reduce friction or mechanical losses. there are many oil leakage points(100) in a standard chevy engine. 16 lifter to push rod points 16 pushrod to rocker arm points 32 lifter bores 16 x 2 ends 10 main bearing edges 9 cam bearing edges 16 rod bearing edges 2 distributor shaft leaks 1 distributor shaft to shim above the cam gear(some engines [/color] that have an oil pressure feed distributor shaft bearing.) so the more oil voluum the better,(AS LONG AS ITS TOTALLY UNDER CONTROL ON BOTH THE PRESSURE AND RETURN/SCAVAGEING SIDES OF THE SYSTEMchevy did an excelent job in the design but as the stresses increase the cooling voluum of the extra oil available from the larger pump helps to prevent lubracation delivery failure, do you need a better pump below 5000rpm or 400hp (no) above that level the extra oil will definitely help possiable deficient oil flow and bearing cooling and a simple increase in pressure does not provide a big increase in voluum that may be necessary to keep that oil film in the correct places at the correct voluum at all times.the stock system was designed for a 265cid engine in a passenger car turning a max of about 6000 rpm but only haveing the stress of under 300hp transmitted to the bearings, Im sure the orriginal designers never thought that the sbc or bbc would someday be asked to on occasion hold up to 450-800hp and 6000-8000 rpm.nore did they forsee valvesprings that placed 500lbs and up loads on the lifters and the use of over 9 to 1 compression ratios in the original design so the oil voluums and pressures necessary to cool those valve springs and bearings at those stress levels were never taken into account for that either. Continued (oil Pan/pump) the oil pump can only pump as much oil as the engine clearances allow at the max pressure that the oil pump bye -pass circuit will allow, and no more. for your idea to be correct (which it could be under some conditions)the oil flow through the engine clearances would need to be so great that the pump turning at 3500rpm,7000rpm engine speed(remember the pump spins 1/2 the speed the crank does)and most likely pumping at max pressure could lower the oil level to the point that the pick-up becomes uncovered or a vortex as you call it forms and the pump starts sucking air. now under hard acceleration it is very possiable for the pickup on ANY oil pump to to become uncovered in a oil pan that has less than 5qt capacity and with no oil control baffles as the oil rushes to the rear of the oil pan if the pick-up is located in mid pan or under hard brakeing if the pick-up is located at the rear of the pan on a non- oil baffle controlled pan. I will grant you that it is possiable for ANY oil pump to pump a good amount of oil into the lifter gallery at high rpms IF THE OIL RETURN PASSAGES IN THE HEADS AND LIFTER GALLERY ARE BLOCKED, preventing its normal return to the crankcase , but running a high volume oil pump will have little or nothing to do with how much oil is in the pan if the engines drain back holes are clear and your useing a milodon style windage screen. I have several times had that same complaint about lack of oil pressure under acceleration but it is caused by a non-baffled pan or the pickup mounted so close to the pan bottom that the pump cant get a good intake flow, if you carefully check youll find that on a dyno runs it seldom happens,because the oil is constantly removed by the windage screen is returned to the sump, most of the oil pumped into the system exits at the rod and main bearing clearances or at the cam bearings and from the lifter bores lower ends, its not the constant oil flow or lack of oil into the rocker arms that has the big effect on total oil flow as SMOKEY YUNICKS PHOTOGRAPIC RESEARCH PROVED YEARS AGO,its the oil flowing from the bearings and lifters and that oil flow is quickly returned to the sump by a windage screen scrapeing it off the spinning crank and rods as the spinning assembly passes over the windage screen. in effect most of the oil in an engine works like your timeing chain in that it constantly cycles top to botton and back never getting higher than the cam bearing lifter area. [color:"red"] now what does quite frequently happen [/color] is that the guys installing a high volume oil pump just swap out the standard pump, reinstall the stock or simular pick-up and bolt on the pan with the pick-up in the stock possition on the oil pump. the stock pick-up is mounted about 3/8" off the pan bottom,the high volume pump is normally equiped with impeller gears about .3 inches longer than stock, the high volume pump body is that much lower in the pan, resultting in the pick-up being only about 1/8" from the pan bottom. the result is that on a normal chevy oil pump pick-up this leave a space of about 1/8" x 2.5" for oil to flow into the pump. at low rpms this works but as the rpms climb the pick-up that can,t get any oil to pump cavitates as it spins and fails to pump oil, result oil pressure drops untill rpms are lowered no matter how much oil is over the pick-up. simply checking to make sure that anout 1/2" of space is under the pick-up when the pan is installed cures that problem (a simple trick is to weld a 1/2" thick nut to the oil pump Pick-up base and test fitting the pan BEFORE WELDING THE PICK-UP TO THE PUMP BODY) what it comes down too in every case that Ive looked into so far is a improperly positioned pick-up or a non- baffled oil pan without a windage screen or less than 5 qts of oil in the system, not a problem of all available oil being pumped into the lifter gallery and valve covers like some people would like you to think. the MELLING COMPANY HAS THIS TO SAY Most of the stock automobile engines are designed to operate from idle to 4500 RPM. The original volume and pressure oil pump will work fine in this type of application. As the demands on the engine increase so does the demands on the oiling system and pump. The oil pump's most difficult task is to supply oil to the connecting rod bearing that is the farthest from the pump. To reach this bearing, the oil travels from three to four feet, turns numerous square corners thru small holes in the crankshaft to the rod bearing. The rod bearing doesn't help matters. It is traveling in a circle which means centrifugal force is pulling the oil out of the bearing. A 350 Chevy has a 3.4811 stroke and a 2.111 rod journal. The outer edge of the journal travels 17.5311 every revolution. At 1000 RPM, the outer edge is traveling at 16.6 MPH and 74.7 MPH at 4500 RPM. If we take this engine to 6500 the outer edge is up to 107.9 and at 8500 it is 141.1 MPH. Now imagine driving a car around a curve at those speeds and you can feel the centrifugal force. Now imagine doing it around a circle with a 5.581, diameter. The size of the gears or rotors determines the amount of oil a pump can move at any given RPM. Resistance to this movement creates the pressure. If a pump is not large enough to meet the demands of the engine, there will not be any pressure. Or if the demands of the engine are increased beyond the pumps capabilities there will be a loss of oil pressure. This is where high volume pumps come in; they take care of any increased demands of the engine. Increases in the engine's oil requirements come from higher RPM, being able to rev faster, increased bearing clearances, remote oil cooler and/or filter and any combination of these. Most high volume pumps also have a increase in pressure to help get the oil out to the bearings faster. That is what a high volume pump will do. Now let Is consider what it will not do. It will not replace a rebuild in a worn-out engine. It may increase pressure but the engine is still worn-out. It will not pump the oil pan dry. Both solid and hydraulic lifters have metering valves to limit flow of the oil to the top of the engine. If a pan is pumped dry, it is because the holes that drain oil back to the pan are plugged. If the high volume pump is also higher pressure, there will be a slight increase in flow to the top. [/color] let me point out this chart http://www.diabolicalperformance.com/clearances.html heres other info, http://www.babcox.com/editorial/ar/ar10180.htm http://www.thirskauto.net/BearingPics.html http://www.waynesgarage.com/docs/oil.htm http://www.jimcookperformance.com/TechNotes/TN%2023.html http://www.cryoeng.com/images/EngineDurabilitySecrets.htm http://www.melling.com/engoil.html http://members.aol.com/carleyware/library/engine2t.htm things to read carefully http://www.triumphspitfire.com/Oiltest.html http://www.shotimes.com/SHO3oilfilter.html http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/...7/oilprime.html http://www.micapeak.com/info/oiled.html http://www.seansa4page.com/resource/synth.html http://www.melling.com/engoil.html http://www.4unique.com/lubrication/...on_tutorial.htm http://www.performanceoiltechnology...lubrication.htm http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ http://www.hatcocorporation.com/pages/about_esters.html http://www.nordicgroup.us/oil.htm http://www.popularmechanics.com/aut...oil/print.phtml http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilf...ilterstudy.html http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/oil.html OIL PUMPS REQUIRE SOME THOUGHT ALSO braze the pick-up tube to the pump body so the pick up is 3/8" MINIMUM, 1/2" maximum from the oil pan floor and use a large lump of MODELING CLAY (every mechanic should have some its great for checking clearances)on the pickup then install the pan temp. with no gasket and remove to measure the thickness of the clay your local arts/craft store sells it in 1 lb blocks I usually use brite blue or black but suit your self, a digital caliper or even a ruler will get you the thickness measurement your looking for) http://store.yahoo.com/teacher-parent-store/modelingclay.html http://www.guildcraftinc.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=102-500 once its correctly possitioned ,remove the bye pass spring and gears from the oil pump,and have the pick-up brazeD or welded to the pump body, then after it SLOWLY AIR cools (DON,T DROP IT IN WATER LET IT AIR COOL)replace the byepass spring and gears, lube the pump,with assembly lube on the gears, check the clearances, check clearances again! and install! just be damn sure its brazed or welded in the correct location as that 3/8"-1/2" is critical to good oil voluum feeding the pick-up http://users.erols.com/jyavins/solder.htm http://www.tinmantech.com/html/faq_brazing_versus_soldering.html http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/solderfaq.htm silver soldering is basically lower temp brazeing , the soldering metal flows over the surface and into micro cracks in the surace of the other metal forming a almost unremoveable bond to the other metals surface it allows you to stick iron to steel or brass to steel, it works more or less like normal solder does on copper but at higher temps and has a much stronger grip in addition too working on iron and steel I vastly prefer the 5 BOLT BBC style pumps with the 12 tooth gears and thier larger 3/4" pick-up VS the small 4 bolt pumps with thier 5/8" pick-ups and 7 tooth gears. the oil flow is both higher pressure at low rpms and smoother in pulse presure spread,no! you don,t need it on a non-race combo, or even on some race combos but its nice to have and I willingly will loose a few hp pumping oil for better engine lubracation

yeah, I have #7 rebar every 4 feet in the walls and slab,the slabs 6" thick the footer perimeter under the edge of the slab is 18"d x 24"w

tim240Z after its complete Im sure I will have at least one complete set of blueprints available ,should you choose to duplicate the garage ,that will save you about $700

todays progress

I borrowed this of the SUMMIT RACING site, I figured some of the newer guys could use the info The Basics On Choosing the Right Street Cam Not so long ago, the bigger is better philosophy reigned supreme regarding camshafts. The result was overcammed engines that sounded great and could crank serious top-end power, but were not very streetable and couldn’t idle to save their lives. But thanks to modern cam technology, you can come pretty darn close to the Holy Grail of street bumpsticks—cams that make high rpm power, have good low-end torque and drivability, decent vacuum for power brakes, and that loping idle we all love. Camshaft theory is a complex subject that can take a book-length article to explain. We’re going to concentrate on the basics you’ll need to know to choose a good street cam. Lift and Duration Lift and duration are the primary factors that determine a cam’s profile. Lift is the amount a cam lobe actually moves a valve off its seat, and is measured in fractions of an inch. Duration is the amount of time a cam keeps a valve off of its seat, measured in degrees of crank rotation. Lift and duration combined determine total open valve area—the space available for air and fuel to flow into and out of the combustion chamber. The more valve area open to flow, the more power an engine can theoretically make. The trick is to “size†a cam to optimize valvetrain events for your particular engine combination and vehicle. Cam Sizing Virtually every cam maker uses duration to rate camshafts. When someone talks about a “big†cam, they are referring to cams with longer duration. This keeps the valves open longer, increasing midrange and top-end power at the expense of low-end torque. A shorter duration cam does just the opposite. Because it doesn’t keep the valves open as long, a smaller cam boosts low rpm torque and drivability. There are two ways to measure duration: Advertised Duration is the figure you usually see in the cam ads and hear about at those late-night bench races. The problem with advertised duration is cam makers use various methods of measuring it, making it difficult to compare cams from different makers. Duration at .050 measures duration at .050 inches of valve lift. Since all cam grinders use this measurement, it’s a much more accurate way to make a comparison. Two cams may be very close in advertised duration, for example, but make peak power at different rpms. Summit Racing uses duration at .050 ratings to help you better compare the wide variety of cams it carries. Lobe Separation Lobe separation is the number of degrees that separate the peak lift points of the cam’s intake and exhaust lobe. Like duration, lobe separation helps determine the cam’s rpm range. Generally, a cam with wider lobe separation (112-116 degrees) will make power over a wider rpm band. A cam with narrow lobe separation (under 112 degrees) is biased toward peak power and operates within a narrower rpm band.For the street, you want a cam with a fairly wide lobe separation for the best power production over the engine’s entire rpm range. Go too narrow with lobe separation and you may end up with an engine with a peaky powerband biased to high rpm horsepower—not the hot ticket for a street car. Flat Tappet vs. Roller Now that you have an idea of what lift and duration are, let’s muddy things up by comparing flat tappet and roller lifter cams. Flat tappet cams use a lifter with a slightly curved bottom that slides against the cam lobes. Virtually every V8 engine built before the late 1980s came with a flat tappet cam; they are reliable and relatively inexpensive. With literally hundreds of profiles to choose from, finding a good flat tappet cam for your street car is not difficult. Roller cams are hardened steel cams that use lifters with a roller, or wheel, that rolls over the cam lobes. This design dramatically decreases valvetrain friction and wear, and allows designers to create profiles that offer more lift without increasing duration. That means a roller can make more midrange and top end power than a flat tappet cam of the same duration without sacrificing bottom end power. If you need proof that roller cams are better, ask the OEMs what they put in their engines nowadays. Hydraulic or Solid? Flat tappet and roller cams for overhead valve engines are available with hydraulic and mechanical lifters. Hydraulic lifters are self-adjusting; they use an oil-damped, spring-loaded plunger to help maintain valve lash (the distance between the valve stem and the rocker arm tip). Hydraulic lifter cams are quiet, require virtually no maintenance, and transmit less shock to the valvetrain. Their main drawback is a tendency to “pump-up†(overfill with oil) and cause the valves to float, or stay open too long, at high rpm. Valve float kills power, and can lead to engine damage if you keep your foot planted in the throttle. Mechanical, or solid, lifters are not self-adjusting. They rely on a properly set up, adjustable valvetrain to maintain proper valve lash. Because solid lifter cams are less susceptible to valve float at higher rpms, they are ideal for more radical street and racing profiles. The price of running solid lifters is periodic adjustment of valve lash and increased valvetrain noise. Overhead Cam Considerations Overhead cam engines, like Ford’s 4.6 and 5.4 liter Modular V8s, follow the same rules regarding cam selection as overhead valve engines. The primary difference is how valve lift is determined. Overhead cam engines don’t use rocker arms, so there is no multiplication effect to increase valve lift (cam lift x rocker arm ratio = valve lift). Thus, cam lift and valve lift are the same. The only way to increase lift with an overhead cam is to reduce the diameter of its base circle (the rounded bottom portion of the lobes). Changing the base circle increases valve lash as well, requiring the use of taller lash caps on the valve stems to maintain proper valve lash. This is a fairly involved process, which is a big reason why you’ll see many street cams for overhead cam engines with various duration figures but the same lift number. Information, Please Your sales rep or cam maker will need to know the following parameters to help you get the right cam grind for your particular vehicle and engine combination: Vehicle Weight: You can run a bigger cam in a lightweight vehicle because less low-end torque is necessary to get it moving. Heavy vehicles need cams that emphasize low-end power. Rear Axle Gear Ratio and Tire Size: If you have a bigger (numerically higher) gear ratio, you can use a bigger cam. Lower “economy†gears work better with a mild cam that makes power at low rpm. Tire height is important because it helps determine the final drive ratio. Transmission Type: Cams for automatics have to work over a broader rpm range. Manual transmissions can tolerate a bigger cam biased to making peak power. The cam’s powerband should match torque converter stall speed or clutch “dump†rpm. Engine Size and Compression: A cam’s profile is affected by displacement. Most cam descriptions for small block Chevys, for example, are based on 350 cubic inch engines. Put a cam in a 383 stroker and it will act like a milder grind. The more duration a cam has, the more compression is needed to maintain proper cylinder pressure at low rpm. Airflow: Your cam needs to work within the airflow capabilities of the engine. The airflow characteristics of the cylinder heads (amount, intake/exhaust ratios, port work, etc.), induction system, and exhaust system are all factors. Power Adders: Superchargers, turbos, and nitrous require special cam profiles to take advantage of the extra power potential. In general, cams made for use with power adders are ground with wider lobe separation to take advantage of the extra cylinder pressure. Rocker Arm Ratio: Going to a larger rocker arm ratio increases valve lift on overhead valve engines. The cam should be tailored to work with your specific ratio to avoid slapping valves into pistons or trashing valve springs. Cam Comparison: 5.0L Mustang Let’s compare two popular hydraulic roller cams for a 5.0L Fox-body Mustang that specs out as follows: •3,400 pound vehicle weight, 5-speed, 3.73 rear axle gear •306 cubic inch small block, 9.5:1 compression with EFI, aluminum heads, shorty headers, and cat-back exhaust Cam One: Ford Racing X303 (Part Number FMS-M6250X303) Advertised Duration: 286 degrees intake/exhaust Duration at .050: 224 degrees intake/exhaust Valve Lift (with 1.6 rocker): .542 inches intake/exhaust Lobe Separation: 110 degrees Powerband: 2,500-6,200 rpm Cam Two: Comp Cams Xtreme Energy OE Roller 35-514-8 (Part Number CCA-355148) Advertised Duration: 266 degrees intake, 274 degrees exhaust Duration at .050: 216 degrees intake/224 degrees exhaust Valve Lift (with 1.6 rocker): .545 inches intake/.555 inches exhaust Lobe Separation: 112 degrees Powerband: 1,600-5,600 rpm If you look at just advertised duration, the Comp grind looks less aggressive than the Ford Racing cam. But when you check duration at .050, both cams are virtually the same. This is an example of why duration at .050 is a much better comparison method. Where our cams diverge is in lift and lobe separation. The Comp Xtreme Energy grind offers far more lift and a relatively wide 112 degree lobe separation, so it makes good power across the rpm band. The extra lift and duration on the exhaust side helps improve the small block Ford’s poor exhaust breathing. Comp recommends the cam for cars with 3.27-3.73 gears, Mass Air systems, and mild modifications like a larger throttle body, headers, and free-flowing exhaust. Either a five-speed or an AOD automatic with a mild stall converter would work with this cam. The Ford Racing X303 has slightly lower lift figures, but is ground with a narrower 110 degree lobe separation. That makes the cam more biased toward high rpm power production. In fact, peak horsepower rpm comes at a rather lofty 6,500 rpm, almost 1,000 rpm higher than the Xtreme Energy cam. Ford Racing says the X303 should be used with a five-speed manual transmission. We hope this little primer gave you the knowledge you need to choose the right cam for your street ride. If you want to get a PhD in camshaft-ology, companies like Crane, Comp Cams, and Iskenderian have loads of information on their websites to help you become Dr. Bumpstick. Happy cam shopping! Additional Sources http://www.symuli.com/vw/camp1.html http://www.symuli.com/vw/camp2.html http://www.chevytalk.com/tech/101/Cam_Theory.html Comp Cams: http://www.compcams.com Crane Cams: http://www.cranecams.com Ed Iskenderian Cam Co.: http://www.iskycams.com Lunati Cams: http://www.lunaticamshafts.com heres a differant sites info Misunderstood Ideas Overlap and Compression- A very common idea, although for the most part incorrect, is that overlap bleeds off compression. Overlap, by itself, does not bleed off compression. Overlap is the angle between the exhaust closing and intake opening and is used to tune the exhaust's ability draw in additional intake charge as well as tuning idle vacuum and controlling power band width. Cylinder pressure is generated during the compression cycle, after the intake valve has closed and before the exhaust opens. Within practical limits, an early intake closing and late exhaust opening will maintain the highest cylinder pressure. By narrowing the Lobe Seperation Angle 'LSA' for a given lobe duration, the overlap increases, but the cylinder pressure can be increased as well. Thus cylinder pressure/compression can actually increase in this scenario, by the earlier intake closing and later exhaust opening. By increasing duration for a given LSA, the overlap will increase, the intake closing will be delayed, and the exhaust opening will occur earlier. This will decrease cylinder pressure, but the decrease/bleed-off of compression is not due to the overlap, it is due to the intake closing and exhaust opening events. Adjusting Lash on Mechanical/Solid Cams- If valve lash changes significantly over time, then something is wrong. Cam wear is very slight, along the order of .002 or less. If the lash setting changes more than .005 then there has been a component failure (loosened hardware or actual mechanical failure). Lash settings should be taken/adjusted at the same temperature and same order as the previous or original setting. This is the only way to rule out expansion/contraction of the components from temperature changes. This temperature delta is usually the culprit of most valve lash dilemmas. At initial start-up and break-in of a new set-up: cam, lifters, rockers, pushrods, valve job, etc., the lash may move around during the break-in procedure and for a short time after. This is because all the parts are seating into their new wear patterns. Once this occurs, the lash setting should stay steady. Hydraulic Lifter PreLoad- Hydraulic lifters are intended to make up for valvetrain dimensional differences as well as providing a self-adjusting method of maintaining valve lash, or rather the lack of. By setting the valvetrain so the lifter plunger is depressed slightly, the lifter is able to compensate for these differences, making a convenient hassle-free valvetrain set-up. For performance applications, lifter preload is not needed or wanted. As rpm's increase, the lifter has a tendency to bounce over the back of the lobe as it comes back down from the maximum lift point. The pressurized oil fills the lifter body to account for this bouncing. Eventually, after several engine revolutions, the oil can completely fill the lifter body and the plunger will be pushed up to its full travel (pump-up). Higher oil pressures can amplify this problem. With the lifter pre-loaded, this can cause a valve to run off it's seat and can cause piston clearance issues if and when pump-up occurs. By setting the valvetrain at 'zero' preload, lifter pump up is eliminated and in most cases, the cam will rev higher. Ford tech articles in late 60's actually urged 'stock' class racers to run .001-.003 lash on hydraulic cams. Piston To Valve Clearance- Piston clearance is a function of lobe geometry and phasing to the piston. Cam lift should not be a deciding a factor in clearance issues. Valves will hit the piston in the overlap period, while exhaust is closing and intake is opening. Exhaust clearance problems will typically occur just before TDC and intake just after TDC, not at max lift. Some cylinder head venders and other component manufacturers advertise a max duration or lift before clearance issues arise. This is very misleading. Maximum safe duration is a totally bogus value, and is completely worthless without knowing anything about the ramp rates or actual timing/phasing events of the installation. At least with maximum safe lift, the vendor can a apply a rediculously fast ramp at a very early opening/closing and arrive at a somewhat meaningful measurement, but without knowing the design specifics the information is still next to useless. Custom Ground Camshafts- When the performance of a particular engine combination is wanted to be optimized, the camshaft design parameters are calculated from the engine and vehicle specifications to perform within specific conditions. Let me emphasize that last statement, 'within specific conditions!'. In no way was total maximum power for the engine implied. The intent is to maximize performance within the intended design parameters. If that means taking a pro-stock motor and wanting to run it from 2000-5000 rpm, then so be it. The camshaft's seat timing events, ramp rate, and lift are directly related to the intake and exhaust flow capabilities, crankshaft geometry, static compression, rpm range, as well as other criteria. A camshaft selected in this manner, becomes personalized to that particular engine combination. Usually a custom grind is selected as an intake lobe and exhaust lobe with a particular phasing to each other (lobe separation angle, LSA) and sometimes a specified amount of advance or retard is built in. Although, it could easily end up having completely reengineered lobe characteristics, requiring new lobe masters with specialized ramp requirements. It is possible for an off-the-shelf camshaft to be a classified as a 'custom'. If the cam design is calculated for a particular combination and an off-the-shelf part number fits the bill, then for all practical purposes that part number is a 'custom' cam (but only for that particular set-up). Typically, cam catalogs do not specifically list custom ground camshafts, because the possibilities are endless. They stick to particular series or families of camshafts. The superstock grinds come closest to an off-the-shelf grind that is truly optimized for a combination. There will be small differences due to header sizes and engine builder's 'secrets, but usually the catalogs are pretty close to a good baseline. Likewise, brand to brand, the grinds will be very similar because of the 'class' dictated combinations and the flow characteristics being so well documented Degreeing Camshafts- There is no special magic involved for degreeing a camshaft during installation, but this is not the same thing as random advancing, retarding, or installing the gears 'lined up'. Degreeing a camshaft involves definite known values for valve events. Typically this is specified as an Intake Centerline or as opening/closing events at specific lobe lifts. This is done to insure the cam is installed per specific requirements, such as a recommendation from an engine builder or the vendor's data sheet for that camshaft grind. Manufacturing tolerances and shop practices do not guarantee that the cam matches the data sheet, when installed at crank gear 'zero'. The cam will usually need to be advanced or retarded to the correct location. If it is correct, at crank gear 'zero', then the cam has still been degreed. It just did not require any additional tweaking to meet the requirements. This is what degreeing a cam is all about; the verification of the installation. A common mis-used term is the 'straight-up' installation. Typically this is described as installing the cam at crank gear 'zero'. This is 100% wrong. Straight-up refers to the Intake and Exhaust Centerlines being the same. In other words the cam will have no advance or retard at the installation, regardless of the amount of advance/retard ground in by the vendor. In reality, the cam may have to be advanced or retarded (from crank gear 'zero') significantly to arrive at a straight-up installation. Exhaust System Diameter and Engine Horsepower- A popular idea is to select/size the exhaust system components to the engine's horsepower output. This idea typically attributes a header diameter or an exhaust system diameter to a particular horsepower level. To resolve this, look at how an engine operates and consider one cylinder. The cylinder will move a volume of air based on its crankshaft geometry, rpm, and sealing capability. The amount of air that can enter the cylinder is dependant on the intake flow capability, crank geometry, rpm, and valve timing as a minimum consideration. Likewise, the amount of air that exits the cylinder is dependent on the same characteristics. An engine's output is usually thought of in terms of horsepower. Actually, an engine produces torque, and the horsepower is calculated through a units conversion. The amount of torque an engine can produce is directly related to the amount of cylinder pressure generated. This is all affected by the same previous characteristics (intake and exhaust capability, crank geometry, rpm, valvetiming, etc). So basically an engine's power output is about air exchange capability. Using this line of thinking, look at the exhaust path again. The exhaust system is more reflective of the engine's ability to move air, as opposed to horsepower numbers. Engine output does not address the breathing aspects of the engine and is probably not a good rule to use for exhaust sizing. There is a very good reason that tuners/engineers/specialist have attempted to assign exhaust to intake relationships around 70-80% for a typical natural aspirated set-up. In non-detailed terms, it is a range that offers a good balance for power capability. Other relationships, such as 1:1, are used and they work very well, but these methods have to be applied and tuned for very specific circumstances. This relationship does not stop on the flow bench, it goes all the way from the intake path opening to the exhaust system termination. In short, try to maintain exhaust sizes that are inline with the intake capability. Also, do not stop your analysis at the intake and exhaust paths. If the engine already has the camshaft, look at the valve events. If the specs favor a restricted exhaust (indicated by early and wider exhaust openings with wider lobe separation angles), then size it accordingly by using exhaust components with smaller cross-sections. If the valve timing specs favor the intake, then the engine needs some serious exhaust flow capability which is only possible with larger cross-sections. This section was written with natural aspirated combinations in mind. However, by using the 'air exchange' rationale, it becomes apparent why forced induction engines typically benefit from increased exhaust flow capability. Also, look at the nitrous combinations. The intake system remains virtually unchanged, yet with the major increases in cylinder pressure it acts like a substantially larger engine on the exhaust side, requiring earlier exhaust openings and/or higher exhaust flow capability. Pushrod Length- Incorrect pushrod length can be detrimental to valve guide wear. Most sources say that centering the rocker contact patch on the valve stem centerline at mid valve lift is the correct method for determining the optimum pushrod length. This method is wrong and can actually cause more harm than good. The method only applies when the valvetrain geometry is correct. This means that the rocker arm lengths and stud placement and valve tip heights are all perfect. This is rarely the case. To illustrate this, think of the valve angle and the rocker stud angle. They are usually not the same. If a longer or shorter valve is installed, then the relationship of the valve tip to the rocker stud centerline has changed. Heads that have had multiple valve jobs can also see this relationship change. Note, the rocker length (pivot to tip) remains unchanged, so the rocker contact patch will have to move off the valve centerline some particular distance for optimum geometry to be maintained. The optimum length, for component longevity, is the length that will give the least rocker arm contact area on the valve stem. In other words the narrowest wear pattern. This assures that the relationship is optimized and the rocker is positioned at the correct angle. This means that the optimum rocker tip contact point does not necessarily coincide with the valve stem centerline, and probably will not. What is the acceptable limit for being offset from the valve stem centerline? That will depend on the set-up. A safe margin to strive for is about +/-.080" of the centerline of an 11/32 diameter valve stem. This means that no part of the wear pattern should be outside of this .160" wide envelope. As the pushrod length is changed, the pattern will change noticeably. As the geometry becomes closer to optimum, the pattern will get narrowest. If the narrowest pattern is too far from the valvestem centerline, then the valve to rocker relationship has to be changed. In this case, valve stem length will need to change. What is meant by basic RPM? The camshaftís basic RPM is the RPM range within which the engine will produce its best power. The width of this power band is approximately 3000 to 3500 RPM with standard lifter cams, and 3500 to 4000 RPM with roller lifter cams. It is important that you select the camshaft with the ìBasic RPM Rangeî best suited to your application, vehicle gearing and tire diameter. Camshaft duration and why is it important? Duration is the period of time, measured in degrees of crankshaft rotation, that a valve is open. Duration (at .050î lifter rise) is the deciding factor to what the engineís basic RPM range will be. Lower duration cams produce the power in the lower RPM range. Larger duration cams operate at higher RPM, but you will lose bottom end power to gain top end power as the duration is increased. (For each ten degree change in the duration at .050î, the power band moves up or down in RPM range by approximately 500 RPMís.) Advertised duration and duration at .050î lifter rise (Tappet Lift)? In order for duration to have any merit as a measurement for comparing camshaft size, the method for determining the duration must be the same. There are two key components for measuring durationó the degrees of crankshaft rotation and at what point of lifter rise the measurements were taken. Advertised durations are not taken at any consistent point of lifter rise, so these numbers can vary greatly. For this reason, advertised duration figures are not good for comparing cams. Duration values expressed at .050î lifter rise state the exact point the measurement was taken. These are the only duration figures that are consistent and can accurately be used to compare camshafts. How does valve lift affect the operation of an engine? Lift is the distance the valve actually travels. It is created by the cam lobe lift, which is then increased by the rocker arm ratio. The amount of lift you have and the speed at which the valve moves is a key factor in determining the torque the engine will produce. Camshaft lobe separation and how does it affect the engine? Lobe separation is the distance (in camshaft degrees) that the intake and exhaust lobe centerlines (for a given cylinder) are spread apart. Lobe separation is a physical characteristic of the camshaft and cannot be changed without regrinding the lobes. This separation determines where peak torque will occur within the engineís power range. Tight lobe separations (such as 106°) cause the peak torque to build early in basic RPM range of the cam. The torque will be concentrated, build quickly and peak out. Broader lobe separations (such as 112°) allows the torque to be spread over a broader portion of the basic RPM range and shows better power through the upper RPM. Intake and exhaust centerlines? The centerline of either the intake or exhaust lobe is the theoretical maximum lift point of the lobe in relationship to Top Dead Center in degrees of crankshaft rotation. (They are shown at the bottom of the camshaft specification card as ìMAX LIFT.î) The centerlines of the intake and exhaust lobes can be moved by installing the camshaft in the engine to an advanced or a retarded position. Generally speaking, the average of the intake and exhaust lobe centerline figures is the camshaft lobe separation in camshaft degrees. How does advancing or retarding the camshaftís position in the engine affect performance? Advancing the cam will shift the basic RPM range downward. Four degrees of advance (from the original position) will cause the power range to start approximately 200 RPM sooner. Retarding it this same amount will move the power upward approximately 200 RPM. This can be helpful for tuning the power range to match your situation. If the correct cam has been selected for a particular application, installing it in the normal ìstraight upî position (per the opening and closing events at .050î lifter rise on the spec card) is the best starting point. Why is it necessary to know the compression ratio of an engine in order to choose the correct cam? The compression ratio of the engine is one of three key factors in determining the engineís cylinder pressure. The other two are the duration of the camshaft (at .050î lifter rise) and the position of the cam in the engine (advanced or retarded). The result of how these three factors interact with one another is the amount of cylinder pressure the engine will generate. (This is usually expressed as the ìcranking pressureî that can be measured with a gauge installed in the spark plug hole.) It is important to be sure that the engineís compression ratio matches the recommended ratio for the cam you are selecting. Too little compression ratio (or too much duration) will cause the cylinder pressure to drop. This will lower the power output of the engine. With too much compression ratio (or too little duration) the cylinder pressure will be too high, causing pre-ignition and detonation. This condition could severely damage engine components. It is important to follow the guidelines for compression shown on the application pages of the catalog. How does cylinder pressure relate to the octane rating of todayís unleaded fuel? In very basic terms, the more cylinder pressure we make the more power the engine will produce. But look out for the fuel! Todayís pump gas is too volatile and cannot tolerate high compression ratio (above 10.5:1) and high cylinder pressure (above approximately 165 PSI) without risking detonation. Fuel octane boosters or expensive racing gasoline will be necessary if too much cylinder pressure is generated. How does an increase in rocker arm ratio improve the engineís performance? The lobe lift of the cam is increased by the ratio of the rocker arm to produce the final amount of valve lift. A cam with a .320î lobe lift using a 1.50:1 ratio rocker arm will have a .480î valve lift (.320î x 1.50 = .480î). If you install rocker arms with an increased ratio of 1.60:1, with the same cam, the lift would increase to .512î (.320î x 1.60 = .512î). The engine reacts to the movement of the valve. It doesnít know how the increased lift was generated. It responds the same way it would as if a slightly larger lift cam had been installed. In fact, since the speed of the valve is increased with the higher rocker arm ratio, the engine thinks it has also gained 2° to 4° of camshaft duration. The end result is an easy and quick way to improve the performance of the existing cam without having to install a new one. Remember, whenever you increase the valve lift, with either a bigger cam or larger rocker arm ratio, you must check for valve spring coil bind and for other mechanical interference. Please review the previous sections concerning these matters Must new (Standard Design) lifters always be installed on a new camshaft? YES! All new standard hydraulic and mechanical camshafts must have new lifters installed. The face of these lifters have a slight crown, and the mating lobe surface they ride on has been ground with a slight taper. The purpose of this is to create a ìspinningî of the lifter as it rides on the lobe. This is necessary to prevent premature wear of the lifter and lobe. Therefore, these parts will be mated to one another during the initial break-in period. Used lifters will not mate properly, causing the lobe to fail. If you are rebuilding an engine and plan to re-use the existing cam and lifters (in the same block) it can be done, as long as the lifter goes back on the same lobe it is mated to. If the lifters get mixed up, they cannot be used, and a new set will be required. The new lifters would also have to go through the break-in procedure to mate to the old cam. Can used roller lifters be installed on a new camshaft? YES. ìRollerî lifters are the only ones that can be re-used. This design lifter has a wheel (supported by needle bearings) attached to the bottom of it. The lobe the roller lifter rides on does not have any taper. This is a very low friction design and does not require the lifter to mate to the cam. As long as the wheel shows no wear, and the needle bearings are in good condition, the ìhydraulic rollerî or ìmechanical rollerî lifter can be re-used. What engine oil and lubricants should I use? Crane Cams does not recommend the use of synthetic oils during the initial break-in period for a new camshaft. Use a good quality grade of naturally formulated motor oil during this period. If you choose to use synthetic oil after the engine has been broken in, change the oil filter and follow the oil manufacturerís instructions. When using either regular oil or synthetic it is important to pick the weight oil that best matches your engine bearing clearances, the engineís operating temperature, and the climate the vehicle will be operating in. Use the oil manufacturerís recommendation to satisfy these conditions. Crane Cams offers several lubricants to aid during the critical break-in procedure, and to prolong the engineís life. Should I use ìOil Restrictorsî in my engine? No, Crane Cams does not recommend the use of oil restrictors. The oil is the life blood of the engine, not only lubricating but cooling the engine components as well. For example, a valve spring builds in temperature as it compresses and relaxes. This increase of temperature affects the characteristics of the springís material, and if excessive, will shorten the life of the spring. Oil is the only means the spring has for cooling. How do I prime the engineís oiling system? It is critical that the engineís oiling system be primed before starting the newly rebuilt engine for the first time. This must be done by turning the oil pump with a drill motor to supply oil throughout the engine. If this is done with the valve covers off, you will be able to see that the oil is being delivered to the top of the engine and to all the valve train components.

"You must beware the deadly "Junk expands to fill all available space" virus!!!!!" yeah the WIFES A CONFIRMED CARRIER! of THAT PARTICULAR VIRUS! "the old, HONEY put this in the garage untill I figure where I want it!" my garage has a differant set of rules (copy of rules below) grumpyvetteS RULES (1)(WIFE/FAMILY/FRIENDS) NO! you can,t store anything not car or hunting related in the garage, anything thats needed in the house we might need (sometime in the future) gets thrown out within 24 hours MAXIMUM (2)never let anyone dumber than you touch anything WITHOUT COSTANT DIRECT SUPERVISION (2A) OUR SAFETY IS THE FIRST CONCERN HERE, NOT getting YOUR car fixed, and I don,t expect things like minor fires or jacks getting lowered unexpectedly) SMOKING is allowed only 15 or more feet outside the garage (yeah even if its raining) (2b)theres a large CO2 fire extinguisher and a first aid kit along the wall near each door I don,t expect to need to tell your where its located should the need ever come up (3) NO! YOU MAY NOT BORROW ANY TOOLS (4)I will be very glad to assist you in any projects as long as you realize a few basic concepts,while I don,t normally charge for work ,,unless prior agreements on cost is involved, and then it is usually only to cover costs ,I don,t expect to be working on your car by myself with you not here, or paying for expenses generated by the car I don,t own (a)if its your car YOUR paying for ALL parts and machine work (b)while I don,t usually mind working for 16 hours at a stretch, I quit the minute YOU walk away or stop helping , even if all your doing is just getting me tools, while I work on YOUR car ©YOU AGREE if you leave something here for 60 days its considered TRASH and gets THROWN OUT OR SOLD, AND IM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR IT! (if its YOURs YOU KEEP IT AT YOUR HOUSE!) (5)anything in the refigerator is freely available, in unlimited quanities,soda, BEER, SNACKS ,ETC. EXCEPT my brandy (while I rarely drink more than a shot glass full in a week, I get really %%^*&(* if its missing) (6)ask BEFORE schedualing a project or buying parts for that project, I may already have them available (for lower cost or FREE and I usually know where its available either cheaper or in a better quality) (6) if you don,t TRUELY understand how something works ASK,DON,T TOUCH (see #2 and #2a) (7)yes I expect you to replace any major supplies you use up,and I don,t expect that I will need to go get them, its YOUR job to have them(see 4A) (8) we work on G.M. and MOPAR PRODUCTS!!!!!NOT FORDS except under very limited conditions (9)having fun, doing quality work, and working safely is far more important than getting a job rushed thru and done cheaply, If thats a problem, try the shop down the block! (10) yes IM well aware that theres things in the garage that are totally unsuited to KIDS,(machines, sharp objects, chemicals, playboy calenders, ETC, NO they can,t come in unless you understand thier safety is TOTALLY YOUR PROBLEM and they STAY under your constant control, and no IM not locking the thing up or moving them (11) theres a large pad and several pens near the phone DON,T write on receipts or the wall just because a 650hp big block was not a factory option in no way means I CAN,T INSTALL ONE!!

"do you plan to run some type of commerical business from this building?" not really. but I own 3 corvettes two trucks and a tractor, which never see the inside of the garages as its used as an engine shop. plus I currently have 4 big block chevy and 3 sbc engine under various stages of construction, in my old 20 x 20 garage Ive used for years as my engine shop, being built for friends, so the new space will be welcome, as its 6.5 times larger

heres the current state of my 36 W x74L x 16 foot tall garage Ive got about $50,000 spent at this point, $20,000 was in just site prep work and plans the 3500psi slab ie 6" thick reinforced concrete, the 2x6 trusses and 50 year gauranteed shingles alone cost $10,000. they tell me the walls and roof should be up within two weeks now btw I ordered 37 sq of shingles, they require a 3 week order cycle lead time

http://www.nhra.com/contacts/tech_faq.html always use slightly thicker chromemoly steel in case the rules change gusset the angles and exceed the gusset sizes, base plates should bolt and weld with grade 8 bolts to frame sections or backing plates http://www.pdkfabrication.bravepages.com/bre_replica.htm http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/larryjohnson97438/album?.dir=/a6b1&urlhint=actn,ren%3as,1%3af,0 http://www.rollcagecomponents.com/index.htm http://www.rollcagecomponents.com/kits/rollcagekits.htm http://www.stu-offroad.com/guards/sportbar/roll-1.htm http://www.burningcage.com/roll-cage.shtml http://www.stockcarproducts.com/rollcage.htm http://www.racefabinc.com/rollcages.htm

just some info, see these well a fairly comon way to kill an engine is to INCORRECTLY install one of these remote filter adapter kits, look at the top picture and keep in mind that those two connecting hoses COULD be flipped as to what end(in/out ) on the remote filters gets hooked to the bypass adapter (IN/OUT) ports, hook it up correctly and everything works just fine! but swap the two hoses on only one end and YOUR OIL PUMP tries to push OIL PAST the ANTI-DRAINBACK VALVES on the oil filters,(and most of the time is marginally successfull in that a trickle of oil does get to the bearings and rocker arms at idle) now at idle youll still get good oil pressure (about 15 lbs) but rev the engine and the highly restricted oil flow pressure goes up very slowly but the oil VOLUUM getting into the block is so low youll spin a bearing in about the first 20 minutes ( and 99% of the time the guy that does this blames the guy who built his engine for putting it togeather WRONG when in fact the engine could have been PERFECT but with no oil reaching the bearings under load the engine is history within at best about an hours running time!

FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS DEADHEAD vs BY-PASS STYLE dead head regulators seldom allow a stable fuel system pressure, you NEED a by-pass style system with the regulator mounted close to the carb, you can ignore the nitrous part of this diagram if your not running nitrous but the concept of the higher pressure feed bleeding off excess pressure at the regulator so that the carb sees a constant feed pressure is valid. it may help if you understand the difference in concept of how the regulators work PRESSURE IS THE MEASURE OF RESISTANCE TO FLOW THE DEAD HEAD STYLE REGULATOR Works with a spring on a valve that allows the valve to open once the DIFFERANCE IN PRESSURE between the sides of the regulator valves fuel lines has changed Think of it as a door that has 7-10psi on the feed side and you want lets assume 5.5 psi at the carb as the fuel pump fills the line it eventually (fractions of a second) reaches the point where there’s a volume of fuel past the valve with enough pressure to allow BOTH the SPRING and the fuel pressure past the valve to close the valve until the fuel is reduced to the point that the SPRING and the remaining fuel pressure/volume beyond the valve can not hold the valve closed and the valve is force open and held open until, that difference in pressure is restored. now lets launch the car hard, the pump that had maintained 8-10 psi to the regulator, 5.5 psi past the valve and the spring in the regulator is now fighting the fuel in the line feeding the regulators inertia, and the sudden drop in pressure as the throttle drops full open in the carb, what the pump sees is the full 8-10 psi or MORE the regulator sees a sudden drop off to near zero and it opens wide, if the fuel pumps able too it tends to flood the fuel bowl for a second then the valve slams shut, until the pressure drops off as you hit each gear the cycle repeats, the result is a surge in pressure and a rapid drop off in volume then a rapid flood of fuel that rapidly cycles as you go down the track if you had a accurate fuel pressure sensor at the carb you’ll see a rapidly cycling pressure/flow if some crud gets stuck in the valve it cant close and your carb FLOODS OUT, because it must fully close every few fractions of a second to work correctly the by-pass regulator functions in a totally different manor Assuming the same set-up but you replace the regulator with a by-pass style regulator, the by-pass regulator works by opening a valve too a much lower pressure path for the fuel to return to the tank, the open fuel return line. Anytime the pressure exceeds the 5.5 psi, you’ve set it to, so the fuel line to the carb can only see a max at that 5.5 psi. now the pumps sitting there potentially supplying at 8-10psi just like before, but it can never exceed 5.5 psi because the bye pass regulator bleeds of any excess the pump supplies. but lets look at your launch, if the pressure drops to 6, 07 psi nothing changes at the carb, it it increases to 10 or 12 psi, nothing changes at the carb ,if it drops to 5.5 psi or less the valve to the bye pass line will close but that’s seldom a problem, it the sudden changes in pressure and over pressures that happen when you suddenly change the fuel flow required or the (G)loads on the system that potentially screw things up, the bye-pass regulator style regulator isolates the carb and maintains the desired 5.5 psi FAR MORE COBNSISTANTLY Now let’s assume the spring get weak over time or the adjustment gets set at 4 psi in error, with the bye-pass style you’ll probably never notice, if you had a accurate fuel pressure sensor at the carb you’ll see a rock steady pressure/flow Should some crud get stuck in the valve and it can’t close NOT MUCH HAPPENDS, because its normally OPEN not closed If you check you’ll see MOST EFI systems are BYE-PASS regulated designs also due to control and reliability issues But on the dead head the cycle just gets about 20% more erratic and more frequent in the cycles, further weakening the spring over time btw your fuel pump tends to run under less stress and run cooler with a by-pass style regulator also _________________ if you can,t smoke the tires from a 60mph rolling start your engine needs more work!

http://www.koolfuel.com/information.htm http://www.fuel-pumps.net/fuelpumpsfaq.html http://www.magnafuel.com/support/index.htm http://www.magnumforceracing.com/store4/magnaflow/fuel_system_technical_notes.htm http://www.rceng.com/technical.htm#WORKSHEET very good system not quite as good, but still ok

its time to pull the intake and carefully examine ALL the components in the valve train assembly, especially the cam and lifters HOPEFULLY before youve done extensive damage