[gtofreek]

Look, I'm not going to get into a hypothetical debate over what could or couldn't have happened. Until I see exactly what happened and why, we can debate this for the next year and not get anywhere. But that doesn't help Joe any. At this point, I just need to see the engine and figure this out. There are just way too many variables in a build like this.

Were the springs coil binding? NO WAY. I routinely check this on EVERY set of heads I do and on every spring. I DON'T take the catalogs word for it on the spring specs.

Was the retainer hitting the seal and valve guide? NO WAY. Again, refer to my statement above.

Were the pistons hitting the valves? I don't see how that is possible without valve timing being seriously changed. It had a LOT of P-V clearance when I checked that.

All I know is after looking at the video of the last dyno pull, the engine at idle was not making any noticeable noises and was idling smooth. That pull also did not show any signs of floating valves, nor did it nose over on power or sound like it floated valves. It was still making over 500 HP at 6200, and not dropping off fast like it would if it floated the valves. Even if the lifters pumped up, they would have only pushed the valve about .070" off it's seat so that's not enough to hit pistons. Not when you have over .200" P-V clearance. Actually, closer to 1/4".

When I pulled the valve cover to look things over before I shipped it, there were no loose rockers.

Did the gas station have a load of bad gas? Who knows.

Did the shop that got the engine running for Joe put old gas in it to get it running? I don't know.

So at this point we can all guess until we are blue in the face but until I tear into it, I'm not going to comment on this anymore.