71dusterman
Well-known member
I would tack instead of epoxy. A tack is less likely to let go and cleaning an oily area is not a sure thing for good adhesion.
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- Thread starter Dr.Jass
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Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
I definitely prefer the idea of welding. In this case, I think a tack to secure it would be plenty but I like the idea of epoxy for sealing purposes. I want as much oil to the arms as I can facilitate; they've got a rough life. Once finished the entire hatchet job will be encapsulated by a rocker stand, so even if adhesion is less than ideal nothing can really move. Oil pressure would be trying to push it out, but the rocker stand would bar such movement. I'll likely end up with a combination of the small tack to retain, using epoxy as filler (equate to silicone or bondo, it's just as dodgy as either) to stem oil flow past the repaired area.
I 'll have to do the work with the shaft attached to a cylinder head. I can't think of any other way to ensure bolt-hole alignment after said butchery is complete. Unfortunately, I just tossed my last set of truly-scrap (1970-ish 318) heads so that means having to use a head with some actual value. I think even my smog 360 heads have gone by-the-by at this point.
69.5CUDA
Blah Blah Blah
what about using aluminum plug material and doing it..i mean steel is a great way to do it as well at double the time, im just thinking aluminum for ease of working with and the ability to leave it a bit oversized for kinda a press/smash fit for tighter tolerance...heck for that matter copper or brass
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
I wouldn't be able to "fit" it easily since the hole is at best a straight-sided oval. The aluminum would just move, although its greater expansion under heat would certainly wedge it in place. I'd also like to keep the "dissimilar" metals to a minimum. Regardless, I don't have easy access to a 16" piece of 3/8" aluminum rod for $2.21, which is what the steel piece will cost me (threaded on the ends; I'll be using the smooth part).
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
I attempted to throw money at the problem today, but the shafts offered for sale were only .100" offset. That's a damned shame, because they looked like gorgeous pieces. I'd have bought them were the offset enough.
It looks like I'm stuck with the "wholesale butchery" method for the moment. I've been putting it off because I'm just so tired of working on this valvetrain. I've half-ass considered swapping out the heads for one of my other sets of W2s more than once lately, but these are the only ones currently fully equipped to deal with that camshaft in terms of valve springs. The springs on the car won't fit either my other two sets of heads, both of which have longer valves... not that I ever want to deal with changing/removing those springs again, mind you. Those things are frightening.
It looks like I'm stuck with the "wholesale butchery" method for the moment. I've been putting it off because I'm just so tired of working on this valvetrain. I've half-ass considered swapping out the heads for one of my other sets of W2s more than once lately, but these are the only ones currently fully equipped to deal with that camshaft in terms of valve springs. The springs on the car won't fit either my other two sets of heads, both of which have longer valves... not that I ever want to deal with changing/removing those springs again, mind you. Those things are frightening.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Well, I was at least partially right about my valvetrain leakage issues. I say "partially" because there's more than one problem, and that's created, well, more problems.
W2 Land is not a happy place.
I ran the engine this afternoon with the valve covers off. Damn those rockers move a long way.
On the bright side, there is no discernible shaft deflection whatsoever, so the ARP bolts definitely did the trick. Anyhow, with the engine running constantly above 2,000 (where the smoke starts) it's not flooding the heads quite like I thought it was. All the valve tips are definitely getting oil at RPM. The spring retainers were flinging it onto the headers and such but it wasn't as bad as expected. Leakage is evident at the ends of the rocker shafts; it's worse closest to the oiling pedestal, meaning at the front of the driver's-side head and the rear of the passenger's side. Oil flows freely out between the shaft and stand at the end of the shaft. Not a flood, not spurting out, but it's a steady stream.
While I was looking at that, I noticed something else. Oil was coming out the ends of the shafts themselves. It was literally leaking between the shaft and the end plug. It turns out I fell for the "It's new, so it's gotta be OK" trap and failed to notice that the shafts' end plugs--which are simply core ("freeze") plugs tapped into the ends--were neither installed straight, nor completely. I don't mean one was crooked--they all were:
The above two photos are opposite ends of the same shaft. You can see where the oil is still on the shaft, as well as on the stand. These were brand-new Sealed Power shafts. No, this isn't something that developed with the engine running... I went back and looked at older photos. The problem was there, I just didn't notice it.
Flipping the rockers over, it was evident that despite plenty of oil up top, there's definitely not enough pressure. This is the passenger's side shaft as-removed:
These are the rocker adjusters for the #2 cylinder. This was after I wiped them off; they're obviously junk. Not surprisingly, these are the two furthest from the oil feed.
These are the corresponding pushrod cups, also reduced to scrap metal:
Things aren't much better on #3, which is adjacent to the oil feed.
Things aren't a ton better on the shaft side. This is the underside of the driver's side rocker shaft, with #1 closest to the camera. The #3 exhaust seems to be getting the worst of it here, while #7--furthest from the oil supply--looks better than the rest. What the hell is going on here?
I haven't yet pulled the rockers off the passenger's side shaft, but expect to find similar over yonder. I think the shafts are probably salvageable, but I'll likely replace them just to keep clearances minimal. I've seen much worse work just fine, but they didn't have 500+lb of spring pressure on 'em either. At least a quarter of the adjusters are garbage with a similar number of scrap pushrods, but it's hard to tell after dealing with the totally burnt ones what's actually OK. I'm just going to replace all of both just to be safe.
I have replacement shafts and adjusters on hand, but now I've got to figure out exactly which pushrods I was using. I bought two sets for this engine and used neither. The ones I had I just, well... had. I think they were from one of my other W2 setups, but they were definitely used.
Kind of heartbreaking, honestly. I don't look forward to modifying another set of shafts, but this time I'll do them the "right" way (ha!) the first time.
W2 Land is not a happy place.
I ran the engine this afternoon with the valve covers off. Damn those rockers move a long way.
On the bright side, there is no discernible shaft deflection whatsoever, so the ARP bolts definitely did the trick. Anyhow, with the engine running constantly above 2,000 (where the smoke starts) it's not flooding the heads quite like I thought it was. All the valve tips are definitely getting oil at RPM. The spring retainers were flinging it onto the headers and such but it wasn't as bad as expected. Leakage is evident at the ends of the rocker shafts; it's worse closest to the oiling pedestal, meaning at the front of the driver's-side head and the rear of the passenger's side. Oil flows freely out between the shaft and stand at the end of the shaft. Not a flood, not spurting out, but it's a steady stream.While I was looking at that, I noticed something else. Oil was coming out the ends of the shafts themselves. It was literally leaking between the shaft and the end plug. It turns out I fell for the "It's new, so it's gotta be OK" trap and failed to notice that the shafts' end plugs--which are simply core ("freeze") plugs tapped into the ends--were neither installed straight, nor completely. I don't mean one was crooked--they all were:
The above two photos are opposite ends of the same shaft. You can see where the oil is still on the shaft, as well as on the stand. These were brand-new Sealed Power shafts. No, this isn't something that developed with the engine running... I went back and looked at older photos. The problem was there, I just didn't notice it.
Flipping the rockers over, it was evident that despite plenty of oil up top, there's definitely not enough pressure. This is the passenger's side shaft as-removed:
These are the rocker adjusters for the #2 cylinder. This was after I wiped them off; they're obviously junk. Not surprisingly, these are the two furthest from the oil feed.
These are the corresponding pushrod cups, also reduced to scrap metal:
Things aren't much better on #3, which is adjacent to the oil feed.
Things aren't a ton better on the shaft side. This is the underside of the driver's side rocker shaft, with #1 closest to the camera. The #3 exhaust seems to be getting the worst of it here, while #7--furthest from the oil supply--looks better than the rest. What the hell is going on here?
I haven't yet pulled the rockers off the passenger's side shaft, but expect to find similar over yonder. I think the shafts are probably salvageable, but I'll likely replace them just to keep clearances minimal. I've seen much worse work just fine, but they didn't have 500+lb of spring pressure on 'em either. At least a quarter of the adjusters are garbage with a similar number of scrap pushrods, but it's hard to tell after dealing with the totally burnt ones what's actually OK. I'm just going to replace all of both just to be safe.
I have replacement shafts and adjusters on hand, but now I've got to figure out exactly which pushrods I was using. I bought two sets for this engine and used neither. The ones I had I just, well... had. I think they were from one of my other W2 setups, but they were definitely used.
Kind of heartbreaking, honestly. I don't look forward to modifying another set of shafts, but this time I'll do them the "right" way (ha!) the first time.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
I started to address the end-plug situation by proving that nothing is useless. Y'know those idiotic T-bolts people use on valve covers instead of normal bolts? If you rework one of those on the bench grinder, it makes a good tool for driving in small core plugs! Contact me for purchase options on one of the remaining nine I'll never use. Don't laugh--I've got parts to purchase!
Even though I was in "proof of concept" mode by this time, I was able to easily tap the end plugs past the first hole, effectively blocking oil from travelling beyond the last rocker arm at each end of the shaft. The last bolt hole is apparent between the plug and the end of the shaft in this photo:
That was sort of the high point of today's efforts, because now I at least know the inner bore of the aftermarket shafts are consistent diameter as far in as necessary.
I also started the process of creating the plugs for open part of the ovalled bolt holes, but I didn't get terribly far with it. I have to start over with new shafts, so it isn't quite as pressing a matter it was this morning, y'know?
Even though I was in "proof of concept" mode by this time, I was able to easily tap the end plugs past the first hole, effectively blocking oil from travelling beyond the last rocker arm at each end of the shaft. The last bolt hole is apparent between the plug and the end of the shaft in this photo:
That was sort of the high point of today's efforts, because now I at least know the inner bore of the aftermarket shafts are consistent diameter as far in as necessary.
I also started the process of creating the plugs for open part of the ovalled bolt holes, but I didn't get terribly far with it. I have to start over with new shafts, so it isn't quite as pressing a matter it was this morning, y'know?
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
How much ended up in the pan? All of it. 
On the bright side, the valvetrain's the last point in the system. It's all drainback from there, so I doubt any of it got into bearings, etc. I'm sure the oil pump sucked up a bit (how could it not?) but hopefully the filter did its job. The oil pressure's remained consistent from first startup last July. It's also worth mentioning that none of this stuff looked like that when I changed the rocker shaft bolts last year.
On the bright side, the valvetrain's the last point in the system. It's all drainback from there, so I doubt any of it got into bearings, etc. I'm sure the oil pump sucked up a bit (how could it not?) but hopefully the filter did its job. The oil pressure's remained consistent from first startup last July. It's also worth mentioning that none of this stuff looked like that when I changed the rocker shaft bolts last year.
69.5CUDA
Blah Blah Blah
ok just going to spitball this, but...would it not be benificial to use a solid plug or even double up plugs?..we know those shafts are getting ABUSED under the stresses of life, just would hate to see this pop back up as a problem cause the heat cycling and stress caused them to move
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Ideally, I'd ream the ends of the shafts far enough to tap them for a pipe plug where I have the plugs currently located. Unfortunately, that's a bit beyond the tooling I have available to me, so doubling up or even epoxying them in place is definitely worth considering. They're not really retrievable down that far, so taking them out at some point in the future probably isn't going to happen anyhow.
I'm considering a couple of different options at the moment. I'll probably be waiting on parts for awhile. Adjusters are already proving problematic to replace. I need 3/8"-24 with a 5/16" ball end. The long-favored Cranes have gone dodo, and other vendors either don't have them or can't be bothered to list thread and ball sizes. That's kind of stupid when one considers that there are literally millions of Ford FE and Chrysler rockers out there that use exactly what I need. Everyone seems to be migrating to 7/16" adjusters with sockets for use with ball/ball pushrods now.
69.5CUDA
Blah Blah Blah
actualy retrival of the plugs ismt hard..ive come across similar situation on motorcycle engines..ya drill a small hole and thread a long bolt in and they useualy just pull out....with minimal effort...in the case of rocker tubes one could easily press em clean out the other side if something went wonky...i too was thinking ya know..threaded would be best..but god what a pain
i get the migration to the 7/16 for a bigger thread area and more bite
totaly right on the ford motor and the "early" 6's as well...fairly certain both my 58 312 and the original 6 have those same lil adjusters and cup style pushrods...that might be a better place to look since its "oe" vs aftermarket?....if i could remember where the 6 heads got stashed id verify...what size are the adjusters on the 273's?
i get the migration to the 7/16 for a bigger thread area and more bite
totaly right on the ford motor and the "early" 6's as well...fairly certain both my 58 312 and the original 6 have those same lil adjusters and cup style pushrods...that might be a better place to look since its "oe" vs aftermarket?....if i could remember where the 6 heads got stashed id verify...what size are the adjusters on the 273's?
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
273 adjusters are 3/8"-24 as well, with the 5/16" ball adjuster. However, the factory 273 adjusters never used locknuts (the T/A ones did). The 273 adjusters are interference fit in the arms; the adjusters are round but the hole in the rocker arm is actually slightly oblong. I always run a tap through 273 rockers and use the locknut-style adjusters in them.
I have a ton of new adjusters on hand, but they're all installed on rocker arms. I don't want to end up with 16 rockers with no adjusters. I found a set of NOS Mopar Performance ones on eBay and bought those, but I'd still like to have a few extra sets. If I do, I've no idea where they are.
I have a ton of new adjusters on hand, but they're all installed on rocker arms. I don't want to end up with 16 rockers with no adjusters. I found a set of NOS Mopar Performance ones on eBay and bought those, but I'd still like to have a few extra sets. If I do, I've no idea where they are.
thrashingcows
Drowning deep in my sea of loathing...so I'm
Just like your other..."I'm pretty sure I need these! " Fast forward a few years..."Holy crap I have 4 set's of those?"
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Well, when it comes to vintage Mopar parts, I'd rather err on the side of "too many" than not have what I need. However, in this case I did actually look before I started getting too crazy with my search. Hughes Engines sells them, but @ $7 each plus shipping, I'll pass. I didn't see a set offered. I know they're not making them, so I just need to find out whose parts they're using."Holy crap I have 4 set's of those?"
I talked to a machinist friend of mine today that was pretty convinced moving the holes back to their OE location was a no-go. He said the driling would be fine, it's the tapping that would likely destroy the head. "You're either going to break the tap or push it and crack the rocker stand. If it were a set of common production heads, hell yeah I'd give it a whirl. Irreplaceable castings? I won't even try it and I suggest you don't either."
We're back to heavily-modified production-style shafts, unless I want to put the right valves in it. It's currently got stock 340 valves; the offset suggests it should have (at least) 5.28"/5.29" long I/E valves. I have exactly one set of those, and they're in a different pair of W2s. Everything's new on those heads, so they're not coming apart.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
I ordered a pair of Comp rocker shafts to modify. I hope they're of higher quality than the Sealed Power garbage (which I might add is no longer available). I also found a set of Comp chromoly pushrods that are the right length, which I initially ordered through work but then found/watched on eBay. The eBay seller almost immediately made me an offer of about $20 less than the others, so I bought his and cancelled the original order.
Total cost of error correction thus far: $297.20 for adjusters, pushrods, and rocker shafts... leaving me about one frozen pizza shy of being $2,000 over budget on this wreck. Had I used the perfectly-good 284/.528" solid cam from my other W2 engine--which would've allowed the old springs and the HS rockers that came with the heads--I'd still be under budget. Oof.
Total cost of error correction thus far: $297.20 for adjusters, pushrods, and rocker shafts... leaving me about one frozen pizza shy of being $2,000 over budget on this wreck. Had I used the perfectly-good 284/.528" solid cam from my other W2 engine--which would've allowed the old springs and the HS rockers that came with the heads--I'd still be under budget. Oof.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Still awaiting the valvetrain bits, I decided to go after the driving force at the head of the valvetrain... the timing set. It was time for the much-despised timing gears to go.
Right off the bat, I encountered a small issue... the radiator wouldn't drain. Somewhere in the middle of the petcock's travel I could get a trickle, but no real flow. Strange, because it worked beautifully last fall when I drained it for winter. Anyhow, I loosened the petcock from the radiator (noticing in the process that it's Japanese pipe thread--best not lose that one!) to get better drainage. The coolant was a nice bright green, as expected, until no more coolant flowed. I removed the petcock completely to find that Hung Chow at the overseas factory had essentially mummified it with Teflong (can't violate that trademark) tape. How it drained last fall will remain a mystery.
With the coolant drained--more on that later--I started disconnecting hoses. On that note, I'd like to mention how much I've come to appreciate Corbin clamps. Seriously, with the right pliers they're a freakin' joy to use. You folks can keep wasting time with screw clamps; I'll stick with '50s assembly-line tech. I pulled out the radiator and hoped to avoid separating the water pump from the timing cover, but forgot about The Bolt. The one right behind the hose inlet. Yeah, not happenin'. Before long, there was Nevr-Seez everywhere from the slathering I'd put on the long bolts through the timing cover (you should absolutely do this--it sucks when they gall in there). I managed to not paint the front half of the car silver. A whole lot more coolant drained out of each second-to-bottom timing cover bolt, which made me think "I should've used the petcocks I installed as block drains. I'm pretty stupid."
Quick tool suggestion: Get yourself a Performance Tool W89711 if you do engine work at home. If you've never used one of these, you're missing out. No hammers, no crappy birdfoot, no pulling the damper on with the crank bolt... just fine-thread, Torrington-bearing smoothness. You'll want to pull and install balancers just for the hell of it. I don't use it much, but it rates highly on my favorite tool list.
I got this far, which included using a puller to remove the cam gear--it doesn't just slide on and off (as mentioned back during the assembly process). You can see that I don't take off anything that doesn't have to be removed. I actually could've left the fuel line connected, but had taken it off in an attempt at accessing The Bolt without removing the pump, which as I said ain't happenin'. The heater-hose bracket makes a dandy upper-hose holder!
Everything with the timing gears appeared to be both hunky and dory. No real gear wear and the Torrington bearing on the back of the cam gear looked brand-new (because it was). With the cam gear off, I remembered that the cam retainer plate is part of the idler-gear bracket, so I set off in search of one of those. I found one, complete with chain-oiler bolt, stashed in a tote of W2 stuff.
Old timing set v. new. Gears v. chain. Milodon 13600 v. Cloyes 9-3503X9:
Don't get me wrong, the Milodon is a beautifully-engineered piece of excellent quality. It's also a pain in the ass to set up, and the noise is f__king unbearable. People who think a gear drive sounds like a supercharger have never heard the latter. Gear drives sound like an '83 Crown Victoria steering pump. The Cloyes set is no slouch, though. This isn't the $25 parts-store 340 replacement... no, sir. Both gears are billet steel, and the chain is a mega-duty extra-width roller (.250" wide!). I'd originally ordered this beast for the Challenger's engine, but after seeing it as well as deciding I just couldn't live with the gear noise, I ordered another and earmarked it for the Valiant.
The keyways on the Cloyes setup are dead-nuts accurate, too. I was very careful not to move the cam during this process after spending all that time degreeing the thing. I had to tap the crank key in a little bit (apparently the Milodon's keyway allowed it to not be fully seated) but the gears slid on perfectly in the straight-up position.
How things should've been in the first place:
Did I mention this Cloyes is a beefy set?
I'll bet it's as quiet as a church mouse, too. I can't wait to start it and actually hear the engine... unless it's knocking. That would make me sad.
I also drained the oil and removed the filter. The drain plug had some fur (shavings) on it, but not an alarming amount. It is what it is. Also, when I removed the radiator a bit of coolant splashed out so I decided to make sure it was completely drained at day's end. This time, instead of bright green coolant, I got rusty-appearing water. It was day and night different. Uh, how did they not mix? At no point thus far has this engine had straight water in it, at least on my watch. Regardless, once it's back together it'll get straight water with system cleaner added, then a proper flushing.
If my office paperwork is to be believed, I should have rocker shafts tomorrow.
I didn't fully document the process photographically, because let's face it: First of all, I didn't think to grab the camera early on, and secondly if you don't know how to do this, you're probably not going to learn how reading a thread 'boot it.
Right off the bat, I encountered a small issue... the radiator wouldn't drain. Somewhere in the middle of the petcock's travel I could get a trickle, but no real flow. Strange, because it worked beautifully last fall when I drained it for winter. Anyhow, I loosened the petcock from the radiator (noticing in the process that it's Japanese pipe thread--best not lose that one!) to get better drainage. The coolant was a nice bright green, as expected, until no more coolant flowed. I removed the petcock completely to find that Hung Chow at the overseas factory had essentially mummified it with Teflong (can't violate that trademark) tape. How it drained last fall will remain a mystery.
With the coolant drained--more on that later--I started disconnecting hoses. On that note, I'd like to mention how much I've come to appreciate Corbin clamps. Seriously, with the right pliers they're a freakin' joy to use. You folks can keep wasting time with screw clamps; I'll stick with '50s assembly-line tech. I pulled out the radiator and hoped to avoid separating the water pump from the timing cover, but forgot about The Bolt. The one right behind the hose inlet. Yeah, not happenin'. Before long, there was Nevr-Seez everywhere from the slathering I'd put on the long bolts through the timing cover (you should absolutely do this--it sucks when they gall in there). I managed to not paint the front half of the car silver. A whole lot more coolant drained out of each second-to-bottom timing cover bolt, which made me think "I should've used the petcocks I installed as block drains. I'm pretty stupid."
Quick tool suggestion: Get yourself a Performance Tool W89711 if you do engine work at home. If you've never used one of these, you're missing out. No hammers, no crappy birdfoot, no pulling the damper on with the crank bolt... just fine-thread, Torrington-bearing smoothness. You'll want to pull and install balancers just for the hell of it. I don't use it much, but it rates highly on my favorite tool list.
I got this far, which included using a puller to remove the cam gear--it doesn't just slide on and off (as mentioned back during the assembly process). You can see that I don't take off anything that doesn't have to be removed. I actually could've left the fuel line connected, but had taken it off in an attempt at accessing The Bolt without removing the pump, which as I said ain't happenin'. The heater-hose bracket makes a dandy upper-hose holder!
Everything with the timing gears appeared to be both hunky and dory. No real gear wear and the Torrington bearing on the back of the cam gear looked brand-new (because it was). With the cam gear off, I remembered that the cam retainer plate is part of the idler-gear bracket, so I set off in search of one of those. I found one, complete with chain-oiler bolt, stashed in a tote of W2 stuff.
Old timing set v. new. Gears v. chain. Milodon 13600 v. Cloyes 9-3503X9:
Don't get me wrong, the Milodon is a beautifully-engineered piece of excellent quality. It's also a pain in the ass to set up, and the noise is f__king unbearable. People who think a gear drive sounds like a supercharger have never heard the latter. Gear drives sound like an '83 Crown Victoria steering pump. The Cloyes set is no slouch, though. This isn't the $25 parts-store 340 replacement... no, sir. Both gears are billet steel, and the chain is a mega-duty extra-width roller (.250" wide!). I'd originally ordered this beast for the Challenger's engine, but after seeing it as well as deciding I just couldn't live with the gear noise, I ordered another and earmarked it for the Valiant.
The keyways on the Cloyes setup are dead-nuts accurate, too. I was very careful not to move the cam during this process after spending all that time degreeing the thing. I had to tap the crank key in a little bit (apparently the Milodon's keyway allowed it to not be fully seated) but the gears slid on perfectly in the straight-up position.
How things should've been in the first place:
Did I mention this Cloyes is a beefy set?
I'll bet it's as quiet as a church mouse, too. I can't wait to start it and actually hear the engine... unless it's knocking. That would make me sad.
I also drained the oil and removed the filter. The drain plug had some fur (shavings) on it, but not an alarming amount. It is what it is. Also, when I removed the radiator a bit of coolant splashed out so I decided to make sure it was completely drained at day's end. This time, instead of bright green coolant, I got rusty-appearing water. It was day and night different. Uh, how did they not mix? At no point thus far has this engine had straight water in it, at least on my watch. Regardless, once it's back together it'll get straight water with system cleaner added, then a proper flushing.
If my office paperwork is to be believed, I should have rocker shafts tomorrow.
I didn't fully document the process photographically, because let's face it: First of all, I didn't think to grab the camera early on, and secondly if you don't know how to do this, you're probably not going to learn how reading a thread 'boot it.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
As I've mentioned previously I had nothing to do with the construction of the shortblock beyond replacing a damaged piston. It's entirely possible the engine was freshened with only a quick manual cleaning of the block, not paying attention to the water jackets.
I don't know Whit, but he's my kind of guy--especially considering that his exhaust was likely a bunch louder than mine. With the burnt pushrods, I damned well should've been able to hear the out-of-whack lash, but until the valve covers were off it wasn't evident. Stretch mentioned that he didn't think the whine was all that noticeable, but then justified that statement with "But I haven't spent much time around it without open headers, either." That's a fair statement.
In fairness, I went into this having a fairly-strong dislike of gear drives in the first place. But it was already there, so what the hell... I used it. Now I like gear drives even less because I spent a lot of time setting that thing up only to be reminded why I never wanted one in the first place. In this day and age, gear drives are an anachronism anyhow. Gear drives may be accurate, but they're power hogs. The big boys haven't used 'em in decades.
Besides, the noise was a bit of a tip-off that something serious is happening under the hood. Well, at least I hope there is. Time will tell.
My Comp rocker shafts arrived today. I'm not particularly impressed considering the triple-digit price tag, but they at least appeared to get the end plugs installed correctly. We'll see how they perform under duress soon enough.