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#1
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20,000 Mile Checkup
I've had my engine going in it's current configuration now since late 2015 and in that time I've really driven it as a set it and forget it type deal.
I changed plugs once trying to chase a mis-fire that was just related to a bad plug, but otherwise I haven't done anything but put fuel and oil in it since that time. I don't have a completely accurate accounting of miles, but I believe it's about 20,000 in total. The bottom end is a +0.30 455 that uses the factory crank and rods topped with TRW pistons. The top end is a set of KRE as cast D-ports that were installed as delivered by Kauffman. He spec'd the cam, springs and pushrods. It's topped with a torker ii intake and a very early FiTech GoEFI 4. Everything actually looks pretty good for the most part. the plugs show fairly even fuel distribution. Much better than the P4B and FiTech combination that I had on the engine prior to the head and cam package upgrade. The plugs do appear to be a little hot however, so I'll consider going down a heat range on those. the BOP composite gear is in good condition with some very minor pitting/galling at the bottom portion of the gear teeth. Considering the gear is on a $75 china HEI that I never even bothered to check the end-play or cam gear to distributor gear mesh, I'm kind of impressed. The HS rockers are in great condition with no visible wear to the roller tips or trunions. The sweeps are a bit hard to see, but they are generally centered across the tip of the valve, albeit with a bit larger of a sweep than I'd maybe like to see. Unfortunately, the oil slick I keep getting under the car isn't just leaky valve-covers and an aging distributor housing gasket. The rear of the valley pan is also leaking. While I was hoping to avoid removing the intake, it looks like I'll be doing that to seal up the valley pan a little better. I used a cork gasket with permatex aviation sealer previously. I'll have to search for some better tricks on getting that sealed up with the engine in the car. That will however give me the opportunity to inspect the lunati branded morel lifters in the engine as well as the cam lobes. Once I've got this maintenance completed, the rebuild will include an electric fan, Pro Billet distributor with a conventional coil for timing control and I'm ditching the PVC entirely for a draft can setup from Mighty Mouse solutions. At the end of the day, every time I open this engine up I'm always surprised at how well it seams to be doing. Especially given its actual age. The engine would have been rebuild (with a set of 62's on top) around late 1997. It predominantly sat for the next 15 or so years. It performs reasonably well and is extremely low maintenance, but most of all it's never been anything but completely reliable.
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-Jason 1969 Pontiac Firebird |
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to JLMounce For This Useful Post: | ||
#2
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Ditch the canolis, keep the PCV.
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#3
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I like this thread. I think your results so far are really what a lot of us are shooting for. I think I remember you saying you had some lifter noise. If so, let us know how those lifters look when you pull them. My comp hyd rollers are a little ticky but I've decided just to live with it unless they get worse. Could be a good data point for a lot of us to find out how yours look after 20k miles!
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#4
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Great thread Jason- what electric fan and cfm will you be installing?
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Will Rivera '69 Firebird 400/461, 290+ E D-Ports, HR 230/236, 4l80E, 8.5 Rear, 3.55 gears '64 LeMans 400/461, #16 Heads, HR 230/236, TKO600, 9inch Rear, 3.89 gears '69 LeMans Vert, 350, #47 heads: Non-running project |
#5
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Like the attitude and appreciate the post, interested in your opinion of the lifters.
Frank
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Poncho Huggen, Gear Snatchen, Posi Piro. |
#6
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Im committed right now to trying this hybrid draft/pcv system I had built. Part of the reason I’m in here was because the factory type pcv couldn’t keep up with high rpm, high vacuum cruise. I pushed out about every oil seal in the top-end on several long trips last year.
Fortunately if this doesn’t work well it’s an easy switch back. Quote:
When I set the valves again, I’m going to go a bit further than the 3/4 turn that is called for to see if they quiet down a bit. At least as far as wear goes, there’s no concern there, they’re just noisy. Quote:
Quote:
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-Jason 1969 Pontiac Firebird |
The Following User Says Thank You to JLMounce For This Useful Post: | ||
#7
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Gotcha, not a fan of noise, especially lifters, masks other problems, I don't know how anyone with noisy lifters could actually tell if they had a valve train issue.
Seen Cliff's suggestion and will likely follow that. I'm a Lunati fan, just curious to see the feedback, I did the Voodoo 703 kit, all quiet in the hen house. Just wondering what kinda RPM's your turning on trips, other then pushing seals it seems very solid, hard to beat reliable. Thanks for spreading the word. Frank
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Poncho Huggen, Gear Snatchen, Posi Piro. |
#8
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"Part of the reason I’m in here was because the factory type pcv couldn’t keep up with high rpm, high vacuum cruise. I pushed out about every oil seal in the top-end on several long trips last year."
The PCV may not keep up if you simply have too much "blow-by" from the rings. The PCV system is simply designed to scavenge crankcase vapors and burn them in the engine vs venting them to the atmosphere. So it's really nothing more than a controlled leak at idle and light engine load. If you are pushing out gaskets then the supply venting in the valve cover isn't enough indicating you have excessive blow-by past the rings. I've seen this before with a few engines that otherwise ran flawlessly in all areas. On in particular didn't really show any signs of blow by anyplace until you made a full throttle pass at the track with it or a long pull on the street at WOT. Every single time you attempted that deal it would "push" oil out of the valve cover and several times pushed out the rubber seal at the back of the oil pan. I even added a vent to the other valve cover and it still did it. After that we installed bungs in the headers and ran hoses from each valve cover to them and it still did it. The cure ended up pulling the engine and replacing the rings.......FWIW.....
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a Veteran! https://cliffshighperformance.com/ 73 Ventura, SOLD 455, 3740lbs, 11.30's at 120mph, 1977 Pontiac Q-jet, HO intake, HEI, 10" converter, 3.42 gears, DOT's, 7.20's at 96mph and still WAY under the roll bar rule. Best ET to date 7.18 at 97MPH (1/8th mile), |
#9
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Quote:
The draft system theoretically provides enough ventilation for around 800 hp and I'm hoping it's a stop-gap to keep the engine sealed up and happy for another year or two before the engine gets redone.
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-Jason 1969 Pontiac Firebird |
#10
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Quote:
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-Jason 1969 Pontiac Firebird |
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