[glhs#116]

OK. So, as much as it pains me to write these words, the Tick is back.

Now, for those who haven't watched every episode in this whole sad sordid tale you may need some catching up. Goes a little like this:

Car loses oil pressure. Man rebuilds engine. Engine has "tick". Man hunts endlessly for source of noise. Noise eludes all capture. Man replaces cam and lifters. Man eventually replaces valve springs. Valve springs revealed as source of noise! New valve spring/retainer setup causes rockers to hit retainers. Engine drops valve but not before wiping out two cam lobes. Man buys new heads and sleeves block and sources piston. Man reinstalls engine with new heads, new cam, new lifters. The Tick returns!

So.. Naturally I was concerned lest it be my old friend the cam lobes going flat. I did pull out the cardboard shields to film the pushrods. They all spin. None spin quickly but there are no real standouts. When I had the bad lobes I had two very slow turners and the rest spinning quickly. Here all are spinning slowly. Not sure what to make of that but I'm assuming I'm not immediately worried about cam lobes..?

Passenger side:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFMdIGRUaGY

Driver side:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WPqkjN_DaE

Valve covers on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP2ShXmXC7c

Now, I am remembering that when I first was hunting the Tick I was hunting a harmless thing. That first cam had no bad lobes. Those first lifters were fine. The noise was from one of the springs. Probably the spiral damper spring inside.

The Tick Mark II has a few interesting properties. It was strongest early on just after I got it running. It seemed to quieten quite a bit at spirited driving. It seems a lot less at higher RPMs. But it was actually a bit more after a 15 minute drive.

The Tick Mark II is not affected by tightening up exhaust connections. It is not to do with accessories because it is as loud with no belts on. The Tick Mark II did not change after taking out and re-installing the spark plugs. It is seemingly loudest at the front of the car (through the grill opening). You can hear it from the valley pan louder than the sides or the valve covers.

I am rather annoyed by The Tick Mark II but my main concern, of course, is whether it indicates a real issue.

Of the bottom end I am sure of the following:
Mains torqued and double-checked. Rods torqued and double-checked. Oil pump torqued and double-checked. Factory windage tray secure and not cracked. Lifters were all free in their bores. Fuel pump eccentric properly in place and cam bolt torqued.

It's quite similar to the old tick. I guess it could be a spring again but that seems weird. It's not, I gather, a common source for noise. Also, they are the stock Edelbrock springs for flat tappet cam and I'm guessing that given how many heads they sell if this were a common thing it would be known.

Happy for any ideas.

For now, the car is running well. Engine is smooth. I had to kill off almost all the vacuum advance to keep part throttle from pinging. Had to take it down to 7 (vacuum can adds 7 degrees) to stop part throttle ping and then to 5 (vacuum can adds 5 degrees) to stop lift-throttle ping. These are the Edelbrock CNC fast burn heads so I expected it to want less advance but this seems more sensitive than expected. But it runs well and pulls strongly.

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

Sam