[bsblguy]

Wow things have sure changed. Back in the '80's when I used to do a lot of engine builds it was just go to my local parts store, buy what I needed and put it together. Never had a problem. This car will not be driven much, just to local car show's in rotation with my other Trans Am and '82 Corvette. The Vette has gone 2k miles in 5 years { just turned 36k }. The '76 TA maybe 2k miles in 4 years {just turned 86k}.
I will paint a stripe on the rods and check that they are turning. I have an old set of valve covers that I can cut. I don't want a mess as it is spotless under the hood now.
The cam looks good so as soon as the new lifters get here it will go back together. Thanks everyone for the responses. It is much appreciated.

[bsblguy]

New lifters, rocker studs and poly locks on. Now it runs and sounds like it should. Cut tops off some old valve covers and put on so I can see that all the push rods rotate. They all do. Still made a mess. Now on to other things to get this thing back on the road.

[steve25]

Good news to hear!

It always worth the effort and the peace on mind to have confirmed that all the push Rods are spinning!

[Cliff R]

For anyone interested in coating camshafts and/or valve train components here is the company that I use:

https://www.ionbond.com/coating-services/automotive/

It's a little expensive, going from memory I had around $250 in the last camshaft we had done there. If topped with high quality lifters it's a lower cost option that going to a roller cam set-up and it takes "scrubbing" a lobe out of the equation.

Before hiring them I talked to one of their Reps and he explained the process and benefits of having flat camshafts coated. He said that the surface finish is about the same lubricity as 5W-30 motor oil and that the bonding process will not come off in long term use.

They have contracts with several automotive manufacturers to help them solve problems with certain designs that were previously experiencing failures with certain overhead cam set-ups........

[darbikrash]

Originally Posted by Cliff R

For anyone interested in coating camshafts and/or valve train components here is the company that I use:

https://www.ionbond.com/coating-services/automotive/

It's a little expensive, going from memory I had around $250 in the last camshaft we had done there. If topped with high quality lifters it's a lower cost option that going to a roller cam set-up and it takes "scrubbing" a lobe out of the equation.

Before hiring them I talked to one of their Reps and he explained the process and benefits of having flat camshafts coated. He said that the surface finish is about the same lubricity as 5W-30 motor oil and that the bonding process will not come off in long term use.

They have contracts with several automotive manufacturers to help them solve problems with certain designs that were previously experiencing failures with certain overhead cam set-ups........

Thanks for posting that Cliff, I have seen you reference this coating before and I wondered what process you were using.

To add to this discussion, the coating you linked to is in the family of DLC coatings- very good stuff. DLC stands for “Diamond-like-coating” and that pretty much tells you all you need to know about how hard it is. The PVD reference in your link is related to how the coating is applied, in this case plasma vacuum deposition

For comparison, surface hardness of cams and other engine components can be measured on the Rockwell “C” scale with 0 being dead soft and 100 Rc being the hardness of diamond- (supposedly) the hardest substance there is.

A factory cam might have hardness in the range of 40-50 Rc, a typical hardened tool steel of the highest quality might be 60-65 Rc, and a nitrided cam (depending on the base metal) may approach 70 Rc, which is extremely hard.

DLC coatings applied properly can actually exceed 100 Rc, so it’s a huge jump in surface hardness as compared to any other process. As you point out, the lubricity also sees a huge jump, often a 200%-500% improvement in friction coefficient.

Taken together these enhanced properties give some pretty compelling advantages for cam surface treatment.

Anytime the coating of an engine component is brought up, the question must be asked of exactly how thick is it. For DLC, the answer is it depends on the application process, but typical coating thicknesses are around 2-5 microns, or (roughly) about .0001” (one ten thousandth).

Many racers have been using DLC coatings for years with great success. Another source for DLC coating is Calico, which is likely more familiar to racers. They are located in NC- which may give some clues as to who they’re biggest customers are.

https://www.calicocoatings.com/coatings/dlc-coatings/