It's too early to say. Probably should have just bought a Red Sox hat and waited 'til Spring. I mean...geez...you didn't even give it enough time to cool down after you got it off the track!
Lucky it didn't jump with that many teeth gone. Even IF it did with the stock worn cam the valves would NOT have come in contact with the pistons. I was gonna say something about the 14.45 you dialed in for eliminations as the guy who won was going ALL OUT by his time & MPH. If you had dialed in a 14.65 you would have had him as I could see from my vantage point he passed you at the very end. That 2 tenths faster you dialed in would have made the diff. MAYBE it was better you didn't as the chain may have jumped on the next pass. Tom T.
"I need opinions. After seeing everything, was it the right decision to tear into it after all?" Yes. When it's all back together with new rings, bearings and gaskets and it isn't leaking and it looks really nice you will agree. It's too late to look back now, anyway.
My advice? Take the engine out, drop the pan, clean it out and put it all back together. Get a Edelbrock B4b intake and lose some of the weight from that iron intake. Put a new chain in it and clean it all up. Once its all back together on the stand, get some mineral spirits and degrease it all. Once its spic and span, spray a coat if Buick red on it and put it back in If anything, Id maybe pull the heads and just do a standard valve job.
I'd add in to pull at least one main cap and one or two rod caps and check the bearings and crank since you're there. Never hurts to check, especially if your oil pickup has been half plugged with years of crap and plastic teeth.
No more progress. I'll be away from it for at least another week if not more. Haven't even physically seen it in the last week
My brother's birthday is approaching so I might go home this weekend to celebrate and then make more progress. The hoist is coming in the mail, that hurt the wallet.
Those nylon coated cam gears are quieter and lighter than steel and will last 100K+ if you change oil regularly and don't over heat (makes brittle). Granted not best for the long haul and probably the demise of many a 400-455. I had one in my high 10sec car for years and did a cam change and it was good enough to reuse. Just some minor tooth impressions.
I have never installed a Nylon gear on a camshaft. I have also never noticed any difference in noise between a Nylon and a Steel gear. I have never had a customer comment or complain about a noisy cam gear.
Because of it's lighter weight it takes LESS HP to spin. IF I remember correctly it was about 3HP on a 401 "Nail". Tom T.
Arrived home. About to build the engine hoist and sort through the presents I've given myself while I've been away
What's the best way to remove the rest of the exhaust from the manifolds? They seem impossible to detach without an impact gun. What other methods work?