[F ROCK]

Yep, you probably already have an engine primer made from an old distributer. pump up the oil.
Double check the timing and all electrical stuff.
Make sure the pushrods are spinning.
A powerful fan, a fire extinguisher, and a hose are handy.
A laser temp gun is handy.

[PunchT37]

Originally Posted by F ROCK

Yep, you probably already have an engine primer made from an old distributer. pump up the oil.
Double check the timing and all electrical stuff.
Make sure the pushrods are spinning.
A powerful fan, a fire extinguisher, and a hose are handy.
A laser temp gun is handy.

You don`t need an old dist. to prime. A priming tool is good on a poncho. On a SBC, one NEEDS a dist housing to prime. The housing provides the oil path to cross over to the pass side. If not, you can prime all day and not get oil to 1/2 of the lifters/rockers.

[Gach]

I like doing it on the engine stand, with oil filter and housing bolted to the block and just remove it before I put the motor in, do it with valve covers off. Allot easier then trying do it in the car, plus gives you a good Visual that oil is getting to all lifters.

[Gach]

Usually do it with Valley pan off also.

[Gach]

Also definitely make sure you degree that cam in.

[68 Firebird]

so far so good on my Melling 068 using crower cam saver lifters.
tech at crower recommended using 10w30 for breakin along with crower paste for cam and lifters.
After lifter lash was set, I primed the motor with valley pan off. Amazing to see
how much oil was pushed both down to cam and up lifter bore from the oil path on
side of lifter. She fired off instantly for 20 minutes at 2000-2500 and then dumped oil.

Good Luck.

[NeighborsComplaint]

I was assuming your builder was going to do the initial startup and cam break-in as per the previous motor. Has this changed?

I have always used the Crane cam lube. Soak the lifters in oil, coat the cam lobes with cam lube and the bearings with lithium grease, dip the the lifter faces only in cam lube and assemble all topside valve train using lithium grease at all contact points. Follow the cam maker's break-in procedure. I always just poured the cam lube over the cam after installing the cam in the motor and rotated the cam for full coverage.

As others have said, 10W30 for startup and break-in. I like 20w50 Rotella for everyday use plus a bottle of ZDDP additive every oil change.

[Joe's Garage]

Originally Posted by PunchT37

I have used straight 30w since the 80`s. With a can of EOS.

I believe the shear strength of a single weight is superior to a multi.

This ^^^^

We've also used straight 30W Pennzoil or Valvoline for initial fire-up, adding a can of EOS.

If we couldn't find EOS, we would (and will) substitute a can of STP.

Of course, that was in the days when ALL the engine oil actually had zinc/ZDDP in it. Nowadays, we'd use either a specialized 'break-in' oil or Valvoline VR1 non-synthetic. Plus the EOS.

We'd prime the oil to get all the air out of the oil galleys and lifters, then put the distributor in and set the static timing around 15* BTDC and finally prime the fuel system so the engine could fire right up and go to 2500 RPMs for 20-30 minutes.

Big box fan - check.
Fire extinguisher - check.
Water hose (pressurized) with a shutoff or trigger-style nozzle on it - check.
Laser temp gun (more recently) - check.

We also used an inexpensive mechanical oil pressure gauge tapped into the normal oil pressure port on the oil filter housing, so we could see what the oil pressure was doing from under the hood. And we used to use one of those radiator caps with the temp gauge built into it.

I normally like to have one extra body there to sit in the car and kill the engine if needed. I'm not as fast as I used to be.....

[Half-Inch Stud]

Every pushrod should spin, indicating the Lifters are spinning. Non-spinner = future wiped lobe.

Once the Lobe & Lifter are matched/meshed, the contact surface load (in PSI) is supposed to be reduced enough to promote longk lobe/ Lifter face life. I think some Friction is involved to promote longk life. This rationale is why do not use the EOS/zinc stuff.

Notice: the "worn cam" is 1 or 2 lobes" yet remaining 15-16 lobes are excellent, all exposed to same oils & operation. Such a worn lobe is revealed at the peak lift, not so much the ramp-up, nor ramp-down. Should the lift peak have a sliding contact or a spin-with contact?

Other sliding surfaces that ought to wear faster, but don't appear to:
Fuel Pump eccentric (?)
Piston Rings
All gears: timing, cam-Dizzy, oil pump, TH400 Front pump, and dramatically so for rear ring&pinion.
Rocker-tip-to-valve-tip

The valve guides and the Q-JET accel pump ought wear the fastest. apply zinc?

[Half-Inch Stud]

Lobe-Lifter contact area (sq-") seems to be largeat at the base-circle, and least sq-" on the lobe peak. Is that really true? I think the Sq-" area along the lobe peak is the matter of the CAM LOBE DESIGN, and not so much the general thinking with comparing curvature radius of Basecircle with lobe peak radius.

Some stock cams had a rather peaky lobe, albeit low spring pressure, while other stock cams have the blunt/rounded peak and just a little higher spring pressure. Contact Sq-" could be estimated, and expertise applied to develop a good answer for a sufficient lobe shape, along with spring pressure, then constrain Rocker ratio and DPM for reliable runnings.

Meanwhile a Side-Geared Lifter-Lobe concept would reveal the lifter needs to spin at highest rate on the Lobe-Peak, and slowest along the basecircle. I think there is some modicom of friction need to sustain a spin rate, let along increase the spin rate.

Since the lifter spin-rate varys, as a function of instant lobe radius (any change in lift infers a new" gearing diameter"), i could pine for some sort of fine grooved pattern or "tread" across the lobe and lifter to assure the spin. Yet we all know that would be an expensive process that will likely frit away into the oil filter. CVT link and gears did thiis sort and seem to last in most cases.

The Lobe with non-Roller-Lifter remains in need of more development!

[DaleO]

My question regards Half-inch Stud's post 11. Thought I quoted it but looks like I messed that up.

I understand advertised and @ 0.050 durations but need help with 40's, 50's-60's and 70's and relation to fast ramps. I'm wondering if my intended Crower 60243 is fast ramp and I might have a problem if I use it

[PunchT37]

Originally Posted by Joe's Garage

This ^^^^

We've also used straight 30W Pennzoil or Valvoline for initial fire-up, adding a can of EOS.

If we couldn't find EOS, we would (and will) substitute a can of STP.

Of course, that was in the days when ALL the engine oil actually had zinc/ZDDP in it. Nowadays, we'd use either a specialized 'break-in' oil or Valvoline VR1 non-synthetic. Plus the EOS.

We'd prime the oil to get all the air out of the oil galleys and lifters, then put the distributor in and set the static timing around 15* BTDC and finally prime the fuel system so the engine could fire right up and go to 2500 RPMs for 20-30 minutes.

Big box fan - check.
Fire extinguisher - check.
Water hose (pressurized) with a shutoff or trigger-style nozzle on it - check.
Laser temp gun (more recently) - check.

We also used an inexpensive mechanical oil pressure gauge tapped into the normal oil pressure port on the oil filter housing, so we could see what the oil pressure was doing from under the hood. And we used to use one of those radiator caps with the temp gauge built into it.

I normally like to have one extra body there to sit in the car and kill the engine if needed. I'm not as fast as I used to be.....

Even now a days, I don`t think the lower zinc is a big deal since you have an additive during break in.

I use VR1 after break in. Good oil. I have run 30W and 10w30 during regular use. Course, most nights down here, if it ain`t winter, are 74 to 80. So, 30w ain`t that bad on "cold" start up.

[PDC]

If you are going to run a FT cam, I cannot imagine ever regretting the nominal cost of nitriding. That plus the again nominal cost difference of springing for real deal Johnson USA lifters. Single weight break in oil and use a known good and dialed in distributor and carb for quick start and acceleration to 2K.

[i82much]

Originally Posted by PDC

If you are going to run a FT cam, I cannot imagine ever regretting the nominal cost of nitriding. That plus the again nominal cost difference of springing for real deal Johnson USA lifters. Single weight break in oil and use a known good and dialed in distributor and carb for quick start and acceleration to 2K.

i would bet spending money for good flat tappet parts gives you better reliability than buying cheap hyd roller parts.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Originally Posted by DaleO

.......I understand advertised and @ 0.050 durations but need help with 40's, 50's-60's and 70's and relation to fast ramps. I'm wondering if my intended Crower 60243 is fast ramp and I might have a problem if I use it

Pick some interesting Pontiac V8 cams, subtract the 050 duration from the ADV duration.
Duration diff indicates how fast the ramps are.

60s-70s would be slow ramp. 40s would be fast ramps. Insight happens with engine RPM going up toward redline. Fast ramp lobes are effectively a "higher rpm" than slow ramp lobes.

Aside from springload to retain contact stabilities, just think of the lifter face spin-ability to follow (roll with) the tapered lobe. Soon as the lifter spin stalls, the lobe is grinding the lifter face. for a wear spot. Lifter face gets a theoretical thin pie-slice shaped flat, while the lobe taper gets theoretically closer to no taper (flat with lifter face). About several hundred miles (about 4 hours) later the theoretical wear becomes actual wear.

[Schurkey]

As already mentioned, if you are going to run a flat-tappet cam, get the silly thing nitrided.

The last time I had that done, the cost was right around $100. That was several years ago, no doubt it's gone up in price since then. Mostly, I just go with the hydraulic roller cams; but sometimes that's not a realistic option.

[grivera]

Originally Posted by 64speed

Anyone else have an opinion on oil weight at break in?

You can always keep it simple and use oil specifically for break in- the Lucas variety is $33 so will save you money over other oil and EOS purchased separately:

https://www.amazon.com/Lucas-Oil-106...2344599&sr=8-6

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-1590

[Skip Fix]

Many folks recommend using outer valve springs only. I used some SBF 1.33 rocker arms to break on my cam on the dyno-short pushrods.. Pulled valley pan after and all the lobes looked good before we started increasing ratios.

[DaleO]

Originally Posted by Half-Inch Stud

Best to avoid the Lobes with fast ramps. I think voodoo and XE. Look at diff between ADV and 0.050" Dur.

40s and less is just too fast. Get a Roller grind.
50s-60s manage-able
70s hmmm 308/320 - the 0.050 looks good to me.

Originally Posted by Half-Inch Stud

Pick some interesting Pontiac V8 cams, subtract the 050 duration from the ADV duration.
Duration diff indicates how fast the ramps are.

60s-70s would be slow ramp. 40s would be fast ramps. Insight happens with engine RPM going up toward redline. Fast ramp lobes are effectively a "higher rpm" than slow ramp lobes.

Aside from springload to retain contact stabilities, just think of the lifter face spin-ability to follow (roll with) the tapered lobe. Soon as the lifter spin stalls, the lobe is grinding the lifter face. for a wear spot. Lifter face gets a theoretical thin pie-slice shaped flat, while the lobe taper gets theoretically closer to no taper (flat with lifter face). About several hundred miles (about 4 hours) later the theoretical wear becomes actual wear.

I appreciate having another data point now that I'm looking into a new cam for my 433.

As it turns out the Engle I've been running is a fast ramp (44). I am/was considering the next up cam Engle offers but it is also 44. The other cam option I am considering is Crower's 60243 which is a 56, much better.

Just for interest I put an Engle cam in my 460 a few years ago and it happens to be a 44 too. Sounds like an Engle recipe. I really like my 44 mags but I might not pick Engle this time.

Thank you.

[Half-Inch Stud]

The fast-ramp cams attempt to provide Roller-like idle quality, yet at the expense of reliable HFT lobe-lifter parame ters.

Also, i think the high advertised-duration cams with equivalent 050" duration (slow ramps) might actually perform (good ETs on least Octane, with least spring pressure) better in the mid-high rpm range, and idle good enough. See 12.2 ET signature