Does a 430 live with 0.0036" main clearance?

Whatever your original seat pressure with a dual spring you never break in a flat tappet cam with the inner spring. You always remove the inners and then after cam break-in re-install them. In your case you probably could have run that cam without the inner spring and it still might be on the high side. That cam was in trouble from the beginning.

If those are dual springs have them remove the inners for break-in and you can install the inners later. That will give you a greater chance of success with the cam this time.

 

Not yet. The engine is (was) almost ready to be fired up, but I need to look at my options.

 

Does anyone know if any company manufactures 10-degree locks that match the Buick valve stem?

 

BBB 3/8" original style valve stems use 11* locks/keepers, .... 11/32" Chevy style valve stems (available for our BBB heads) use either 7* or 10* locks/keepers.
25 years ago I found that Sealed Power had made their BBB 11* locks with poor quality control. What I found was that they were inconsistent with their split dimension. If you were not aware of this you would run the risk of mating two locks that were oversized. If that happens the locks would not grip the valve stem and would be loose, running the risk of dropping a valve. At that time I contacted Mike at TA about the issue and he had not been aware of it. I believe he addressed this with the manufacturer immediately. Since then I always make sure the locks have space at the parting line to eliminate the issue. An easy way to check without a valve is to put two together and look at the opening where the valve stem would be. If it's football shaped your good, ..., if it's round you're gonna have problems. Not a problem to mix and match as long as there is a gap when installed.



Larry

 

Well, I measured both the OEM Buick retainers from my iron heads and the TA 1450 retainers that my Stage 1 SE heads came with, both are supposed to be 11 degrees. The factory retainer is 11 degrees while the TA 1450 is 10 degrees! No wonder the retainer rocks on the locks slightly. I'm not concerned about the parts coming apart, but I'm concerned about the locks eating themselves into the retainer.