ok today was a nice day to work on the 396.......some might already know i did the Q-n-D method few weeks ago(cam retarded)........today i tore the front of the motor down.........this is what i came up with......should i go ahead and button it up?

before engine was tore down i drove the car till it was warmed up completely(about and hour).

pulled it into the drive way and noted the following.

-950 to 1000rpms idle in park....10 to 10.5" of vacuum
-in gear....600 to 650 rpms with 5.0 to 5.5" of vacuum.
-shut motor down...took air cleaner off, wired back throttle, pulled out ONLY #1 spark plug, pulled juice off the hei, cranking compression was 165 psi......did no other redo's on cranking compression.......

this was done at noon.....

2:30 pm........cam advance by 4 degrees (i think because the timing chain i had on the shelf was a 3 way on the crank sprocket) with a tri-angle,circle,and rectangle.......i went with the rectangle.......since i goofed and used the triangle first and that made the cam retarded even more........

anyway cam advanced 4 degrees now.....the retainers are now dead even to the head.........and i checked this many times over and over..........i ran a cranking compression check real quick....

1st try .........on cold motor....160 psi
2nd try....tightened hose aliitle more in spark plug hole....175 psi
3rd try.........186 psi...?????????
4th try......176 psi
5th try.......176 psi
6th try.......176 psi

ok i dont really know what went on with the 186 psi but i kept going til i got the same readings........nothing was changed from first cranking check but the engine was colder now and the cam 4 degrees advance......

so should i go ahead and button this up and run it or should i do something else before i go forward................

got home now (3:15) from picking the kids up and thought i would see what the cranking compression was again........1st try 184psi,2 nd try 184 psi, 3rd try 176psi.........

kinda funny how the compression test jumps around like that......anyway i guess the over all jump is more then the 165 psi i started with.......i dont think i have ever test one hole more then twice in my life........lol......

also the engine might be spinning alittle faster too from the test i took at noon since i dont have the front of the motor together.........

i think i will go out and clean some parts and the garage and check back in later...........i was planning on having it back together by tommorrow evening since i wanted to give sometime for any answers to my questions.........

After the way you jumped on Big James with both feet, I wouldn't think you needed any help on anything. You already know it all.

Troy.

Originally posted by Troy70SS:
After the way you jumped on Big James with both feet, I wouldn't think you needed any help on anything. You already know it all.

Troy. i didnt jump on nobody , i provided some advise and if others take the tone the wrong way then i guess thats the way they see it. i never said i knew everything......

Twenty something years ago I was glad to have a drag racer point me in the correct direction everytime I did something wrong. If it was not for people like Dennis and others on this board, alot of people would never know what they did wrong. What is even better is nobody pays one red cent for this valuable info. I work with thirty mechanics and yes when somebody does something wrong we all get a good laugh. But most of us will help get it right. I say its all good. Mark

Originally posted by ddeennis:
i provided some advise and if others take the tone the wrong way then i guess thats the way they see it. i never said i knew everything...... May as well have. "Did I strike a nerve?".

I think you should turn the radio off and pay close attention to the sounds emanating from your engine. If you hear anything out of the ordinary, stop immediately! Get a tow truck to take your car home. Better yet, to a shop where the mechanics know how to degree a cam properly.

Did I strike a nerve? :rolleyes:

Hey guys,I think we're a little bit more professional than this..I know I would let it go and I did..we're all real people here..stop the drama,and move on.. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

ddeenis,keep us posted..

well it looks like this post is going nowhere..........looks like for some this might be over there heads since they can not provide any advise other then then some smart azz remarks.........i provided some advise with my replys on other post....it seems some didnt see any of my humor in some of my remarks but took it personally.......i humble myself to others to get there opinions other wise if i didnt then i would be a know it all.......then why should i even then post q. on here?

anyway........any other people have some advise or is this just going to be a slamming post that needs not to be here.........

I thought you were a bit harsh on James. I try and not kick a friend when he's down. Met James and he's top flight, salt of the earth. Lord don't make many like him. Ok it was just the bbq pork he done bought with him! But still, kinda felt like you were screwing with a buddy there...as did everyone else. We're a club here man. Negative vibes can stay outside. And its much too easy to misinterpret a little ribbin'on the net. Anyway....

Dennis, cranking compression should be higher with the cam advanced. Sounds like you could schooch it some more, and get up into the 195 psi range and make some POWER! But without a bushing, might be you should just button it up. Plus maybe not all cams run best advanced.

I never hammered on my motor when it was in -6 ( was still breaking it all in), so have no clue as to if it felt really different. Be right curious to hear how it rips now.

You may want to try an off set keyway or bushing,I don't think it is advanced enough.I used a degree wheel but didn't trust my measurements so to be sure I also used the Q&D method and my intake valve was .040 closer to the head than the exhaust!Hope this helps! graemlins/waving.gif

Dennis,
On small blocks it is easier as you can check the pushrod height.
On a rat you need to be sure the in & ex valves were installed at the same height before using them for checking. If they were you want the intake lower than the exhaust to be advanced.
If they were different heights you need to take this into account & adjust accordingly ;)

well all my efferts on advancing the cam 4 degrees didnt pay of as what was going to be expected.

advancing the cam put my cam straight up. both retainers are now the same height.

i gained 1" of vacuum at 1000 rpms and gained 1.5" of vacuum at idle which it is up slightly over before now it runs at 750 rpms at idle.

cranking compression was only increased to 170 psi............the cranking compression reading posted above was higher because the was no drag on the starter so doing the test just like the first time only netted me an extra 5 psi.

the car does idle better and sounds stronger ............it dont feel the same just put it that way.......but it all good........

im thinking i will try this setting and if i feel i need more down low then i guess i still have room for more advancing...........

when i sarted my car after i buttoned up the motor the car was just barely running at 450 rpms......advancing the cam retarted my timming...........it went from 32 degrees idle w/ vacuum hooked up to 14 degrees at idle with vacuum hooked up.........i set my timming back to 22 initial and hooked up my 10 degrees vacuum canister............the i took my reading.......i didnt even touch the carb........once i set my timming back the idle went back to normal...........