Ever get so caught up in one aspect of a project you completely forget the obvious? I got my new shafts as expected, and of course they're a thing of beauty. As I was fondling them in my office, it occurred to me: The offset is in the wrong freakin' direction. The offset valvetrains were always for longer valves, which necessitated moving the rockers away a bit so the tips would align. The new shafts actually exacerbate the problem. "Just install 'em backward!" I hear the crowd shout in unison. I considered it until I realized that all those W2/W5-specific pushrod and valve-tip oiling holes will end up in the wrong place, i.e. I'll quickly burn up
another $300+ set of adjusters and pushrods.
So I'm back to the drawing board here. Well, OK, I'm not that far back, but I'm no better off than I was prior to ordering the rocker shafts. I'm still eyeballing the sketchy shafts I cobble-fucked in the garage as my only option. They do not inspire confidence, and as funny as they are (and yes, they might--and probably will--work, at least temporarily) odds are at least even that I'll trash a bunch of rare, nearly-irreplaceable
NOS parts based on crossed fingers and half-assed shafts. All this in the name of a long-evaporated budget and 20/20 hindsight. Yes, I have more W2 rockers than I do IQ points, but that doesn't make either item particularly expendible.
So I'm seriously reconsidering this engine at the moment. Obviously, it's been a ton of work to get where I am now, which is "so frustrated I can't bring myself to work on it" and no progress in a couple of weeks. That needs to change, and soon. It needs to at least get itself in the trailer for the winter, which will be here all too quickly. What I have done a lot of lately, since I've got a lot of free time, is
think. Or thwim.
Let's consider, for a moment, the long-dormant Imperial project. Based on the lucky purchase of an MPFI Strip Dominator intake 12 or so years ago, that project has spiralled from its original "mildly powerful MPFI 340 or 360" to a completely-insane "aluminum-rod, W2-headed mild stroker with an EFI-modded tunnel ram, a couple of turbochargers, and dual-fuel (E85) capability" monstrosity. I'm not sure
how it morphed to the point where I felt I needed a 9-second, two-ton daily driver, but that's apparently what happened... and yes, I already have all the necessary parts to create such an animal. I certainly don't need it, and I'm no longer sure I want it either. That project is work enough without all the W-series nonsense thrown in, so I've decided to scale it back to standard-pattern ~70cc LA heads and the Strip Dominator intake. I still plan to use the hairdryers, and that's project enough.
With that necessary sidebar out of the way, sitting in my living room are a long-valve set of brandy-new, freshly-machined W2 heads with
65cc chambers and long (2.08"/1.65") valves. They'll handle more lift than the Sears Tower elevator, which means I don't have to reconsider/change the camshaft. They'll also bump the Valiant engine from 10.0:1 with the 70cc heads up to 10.6:1, which can only be good with that gnarly roller. I literally need only locks, retainers, valve seals and springs to complete those heads--and I
may already have the locks and retainers. I'm not sure if they require offset shafts and stands, but I have the right parts either way (my Econo heads have on-center W-series shafts; the old heads came with stands). No grinding, no welding, no sketchy "close enough" bolt holes. I have more NOS W2 intakes, because I'm a pervert like that. The heads are unported; I'm not sure if I'll have the time/werewithal to port them this year, but I'd like to do it at some point. The only real drawbacks here are that I'll need to do more grinding for pushrod clearance (they're definitely 48° heads) and I'm almost sure my gorgeous 1969 valve covers will not clear that valvetrain (the valves are .300" longer).
"Sayonara, imaginary budget!" say the pessimists among you, but therein lies the rub: Back when I still had three grand or so with which to play, I spent a
lot on those heads. Rockers, titanium locks/retainers, valve springs, shafts, stands, you name it. The current total includes parts that got set aside or mangled along the way--there are, or were, a lot of them. If the heads come off, that stuff gets chalked up to tuition rather than the project budget. Reaching? Not really because they're no longer part of the car (my personal spending would still be divorce-worthy, of course). Where does this land me overall? By my current estimate, my total will be a bit lower than it is now--not by much, but a couple hundred bucks.
If I can get away with ductile-iron rockers with the longer valves, that would get my total spent below seven grand. I also get to deduct the Smith Brothers pushrods, which are now at least .125" too short. Thank the good Lord above that the headers will still work!
What becomes of the Glidden/Petty/whomever rectangle-port heads, then? Good question. The short answer is, "A serious re-evaluation." The longer, more-detailed answer is that I'll disassemble and find out what I need to make them work the right way. I have another set of long valves, which due to rarity I won't use in those heads, but I can use them in conjunction with non-offset rockers to assess what valve length they really require. Standard W2 long valves, which I have in the 65cc heads, are 5.28"/5.29". The massive shaft offset leads me to believe the rectangle-port heads require over 5.400"--nearly half an inch longer than what's in them now. I'll figure them out over the winter after I get enough bravado to mess with those valvesprings again, and they'll reappear somewhere... maybe even on this engine. I don't know yet.
This was not an easy decision, but it's one I've been mulling over since before
@Stretch mentioned that he and Sidekick had
actually discussed this situation... the fact that it troubled them enough to be a subject of conversation in my absence gave it a lot more weight since, though. They get a
ton of credit for me coming to it. Sadly, The Expandable One managed to talk his way out of acquiring the MPFI Strip Dominator in the process. Sorry, dude... it's for what's left of my sanity.
I've spent a lot on this project, but I've reached the point now where I'd be trashing parts literally for the sake of trashing parts and trying again. I'm not hopping on that treadmill. It's too expensive.
. I had the biggest "old Lady" style purple bruise in my arm pit and into my rib cage! It was awesome!
By the man from Natucketed? 
