ksurfer2
Well-Known Member
I thought I would create of post of the saga of the cam swap in my 512. I am, by no means, an expert mechanic. This was the first time I have ever completed a cam swap. So for all you other beginner wrenches out there...this is how I did it.
First, I watched the complete series on You Tube of Pete's Garage build of a 440. He goes into great detail on every step and explains things in a manner that is easily understandable.
Second, I had no deadline....I was going to take as long as I needed to get it done. All in all, it took about 5 weekends. I would only work on it a couple hours each day. This may seem like a loooong time to those with lots of experience, but I was very careful and methodical the whole time.
Prior to getting started, I cleaned my shop, the work bench was clear of everything, and I organized my took box and other tools I thought I would need.
After spending about an hour and a half with tech support from Comp Cams, an order was placed for a new cam, lifters (solid roller), timing chain, springs, and retainers. Parts came in surprisingly quick and disassembly began. To stay ahead, I ordered a new valley pan, oil pump priming tool, spring compressor, gaskets for the water pump and timing chain, push rod measuring tool, and balancer puller.
I wasn't until after I ordered the valley pan that I realized a normal 440 valley pan wouldn't work with my Edelbrock Victor Max Wedge port heads. To avoid removing the heads, I ordered this pan....https://www.manciniracing.com/hubvapl2pimo.html It is a nice piece and install was a breeze.
One thing I would do different is find a better spring compressor. I ordered this one from Summit...https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-5324 It did the job, but was A LOT of work. It also required removing the master cylinder to get the springs off of #7. My wife was a huge help here as she removed and installed the keepers on each spring as I wrestled with the spring compressor. It was really tough going, but by the time we were done with all 16, we had it down pretty good.
Once disassembled, a lot of time was spend scraping gaskets and old RTV. Lots of patience and frequent breaks during this phase.
Prior to re-assembly, I would watch the Pete's Garage episode that pertained to whatever task would be taking place that day. This was a HUGE help!!!!
A key to my sanity through this was staying organized, and keeping everything clean....Every time I would finish with a tool, it went right back to its proper spot in the tool box. There was no searching for that 1/2" socket or whatever tool I was using earlier. Everything stayed in its place. Several times each day I would sweep up the floor, throw out used paper towels, get fresh rags, etc.
Assembly went very smooth, one key here was EVERY bolt (no matter how obvious) was bagged and tagged when removed. All the bags were kept together and everything was easy to find when the time came. When I measured the push rods to get new ones, it turned out the required pushrods were the same length as the ones I already had...so I was able to save a bit of money.
So here are the two things that went wrong.
1. when I was lashing valves, I missed one. After initial start up, there was a lot of valve train noise. Shut off immediately and found the culprit.
2. When I went to spin the motor for the first time after buttoning everything up, all I got was "Click". At some point during the process, a ghost (I can only imagine) got in the car, crawled up under the dash and disconnected a wire from the starter solenoid (wire pulled out of connector). I cannot think of another logical explanation about how this happened...the car ran fine when I parked it and I wasn't in the car at all during the process. This was a cause of about an hours worth of swearing and frustration...a while back, I moved my starter solenoid to the firewall under the dash to clean up the engine bay a bit.
Since I took pictures of EVERYTHING during disassembly, I was able to get the distributor back in almost exactly where it came out. Only a minor adjustment to timing was necessary.
She is purring like a kitten now. I still need to bleed the brakes, and then out for a test drive. If weather permits, maybe the track on Saturday night. Hopefully, my current best time of 10.74 will be bested!
First, I watched the complete series on You Tube of Pete's Garage build of a 440. He goes into great detail on every step and explains things in a manner that is easily understandable.
Second, I had no deadline....I was going to take as long as I needed to get it done. All in all, it took about 5 weekends. I would only work on it a couple hours each day. This may seem like a loooong time to those with lots of experience, but I was very careful and methodical the whole time.
Prior to getting started, I cleaned my shop, the work bench was clear of everything, and I organized my took box and other tools I thought I would need.
After spending about an hour and a half with tech support from Comp Cams, an order was placed for a new cam, lifters (solid roller), timing chain, springs, and retainers. Parts came in surprisingly quick and disassembly began. To stay ahead, I ordered a new valley pan, oil pump priming tool, spring compressor, gaskets for the water pump and timing chain, push rod measuring tool, and balancer puller.
I wasn't until after I ordered the valley pan that I realized a normal 440 valley pan wouldn't work with my Edelbrock Victor Max Wedge port heads. To avoid removing the heads, I ordered this pan....https://www.manciniracing.com/hubvapl2pimo.html It is a nice piece and install was a breeze.
One thing I would do different is find a better spring compressor. I ordered this one from Summit...https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-5324 It did the job, but was A LOT of work. It also required removing the master cylinder to get the springs off of #7. My wife was a huge help here as she removed and installed the keepers on each spring as I wrestled with the spring compressor. It was really tough going, but by the time we were done with all 16, we had it down pretty good.
Once disassembled, a lot of time was spend scraping gaskets and old RTV. Lots of patience and frequent breaks during this phase.
Prior to re-assembly, I would watch the Pete's Garage episode that pertained to whatever task would be taking place that day. This was a HUGE help!!!!
A key to my sanity through this was staying organized, and keeping everything clean....Every time I would finish with a tool, it went right back to its proper spot in the tool box. There was no searching for that 1/2" socket or whatever tool I was using earlier. Everything stayed in its place. Several times each day I would sweep up the floor, throw out used paper towels, get fresh rags, etc.
Assembly went very smooth, one key here was EVERY bolt (no matter how obvious) was bagged and tagged when removed. All the bags were kept together and everything was easy to find when the time came. When I measured the push rods to get new ones, it turned out the required pushrods were the same length as the ones I already had...so I was able to save a bit of money.
So here are the two things that went wrong.
1. when I was lashing valves, I missed one. After initial start up, there was a lot of valve train noise. Shut off immediately and found the culprit.
2. When I went to spin the motor for the first time after buttoning everything up, all I got was "Click". At some point during the process, a ghost (I can only imagine) got in the car, crawled up under the dash and disconnected a wire from the starter solenoid (wire pulled out of connector). I cannot think of another logical explanation about how this happened...the car ran fine when I parked it and I wasn't in the car at all during the process. This was a cause of about an hours worth of swearing and frustration...a while back, I moved my starter solenoid to the firewall under the dash to clean up the engine bay a bit.
Since I took pictures of EVERYTHING during disassembly, I was able to get the distributor back in almost exactly where it came out. Only a minor adjustment to timing was necessary.
She is purring like a kitten now. I still need to bleed the brakes, and then out for a test drive. If weather permits, maybe the track on Saturday night. Hopefully, my current best time of 10.74 will be bested!
