So I just realized the other night . . . one important thing that I forgot to do on my 350 build is check piston to valve clearance after installing my camshaft. Here's my cam card below, can anyone tell me with certainty if I will have issues? I roughly measured my pistons as being about 0.090" down in the bores when I had the heads off. Now everything is together almost ready to break in and I don't want to wipe the lube off the cam/lifters turning the engine over by hand, even with the rockers/pushrods out. Actually I didn't check the valve springs either . . . I'm leaving the stock springs on for the break-in, then switching to TA Stage 1 springs after. Should I have checked installed height and coil bind or can I wait until I change springs to do this? How would I even do that with the lifters not pumped up? Cam card:
With the pistons that far in the hole and that mild cam you are safe as long as the cam is degreed properly.
.090" in the hole!!! That's right at very limit of big time sucking / bad! Don't expect the best / most that such a Cam swap has to offer with that amount of deck clearance being run, in fact I would be placing Rhoads veri lifters in that motor ! I would also advance it right off the Bat 2 degrees to make up for the eventual sooner then later timing chain stretch condition .
There is no quench zone on these engines, open chamber head design. His block has a taller deck height being a 75or 76. The pistons are lower compression height vs stock. But none of this really matters as it’s got good compression test tests and it’s being turbocharged.
Thanks all for the replies! Glad to hear I'll be ok. Yes it will be a twin turbo build, and keep in mind I measured only 1 bore with a pair of digital calipers so really not the most accurate measurement, more of a ballpark. I really should have measured everything but live and learn. Sean is correct in that I believe this to be a 75 or 76 smogger block, hence the terrible quench. Also cam was degreed per the cam card, intake to 114.
I just milled the deck on a 75 block 60 thou to get the pistons to zero deck, very tall deck height on these. I only bothered because I’m using closed chamber heads, if I was using the factory heads I would have left it alone.
