Stopped at my local machine shop again today to drop off my valves, springs, retainers and locks. (Dropped of pistons also)

As soon as he saw the locks and retainers, he asked if I could return them. I bought the 7 degree, and he said I'd be better off with the 10

He then weighed the pistons to compare to the old ones. I forget how many grams difference, but said if I wanted to balance, it would be about $225, but also said it wasn't that bad of a difference and I really didn't 'need' it for a street engine. I told him I'd get back to him on that one. Is it worth the $225?

He also mentioned oil pumps. I'm almost positive he said to get a high pressure, not a high volume pump. Does that sound right? Said I high volume can leave the oil pan dry. Seems like most on places like Summit are high volume/standard pressure

Bill,
1. On the retainers and locks, there are as many opinions as there are manufacturers. Comp pretty much uses 10 degree, but Crane uses almost all 7 degree. Unless its a real high spring pressure mechanical roller, I would not worry too much about it. Mercruiser uses all Crane 7 degree stuff on thier Hydraulic Roller engines .... if they can run for hours at a time at 5000 rpm with 150 lbs seat pressure then there cant be much of a problem. I would be more concerned with the quality of the parts.

2. I would say if the pistons are much more than 10 grams different from the old ones, it would not be a bad idea to balance it.

3. I agree with the High Pressure pump, not High Volume. By the way, it is a myth that the HV pumps can "pump the pan dry" They can only pump as much oil as the clearances in the engine allow.

Just my opinion,

Can't you just change the spring in the pump to achieve higher pressure?
That's all we did with my last 396 buildup. IIRC It runs 60-65 lbs on startup.

$225 for balancing the rotating assembly sounds right. Is it a stick or auto?

I am just relating what I have read about a Chevy B.B. "Oiling System "
" The Big Block Chevy has a very good internal oiling system, And needs little or no improvement, A stock G.M. oil pump is fine. "
" Mark Donahue "
Older B.B.s cam bearings. From the 60s the song " Feelen Groovy "
Old guys only! Did you ever notch a cam for a 55 Small Block?
Bob

Can't you just chnage the spring in the pump to achieve higher pressure?
That's all we did with my last 396 buildup. IIRC It runs 60-65 lbs on startup.

$225 for balancing the rotating assembly sounds right. Is it a stick or auto?

Stick, saginaw 4 speed, which my new BB will probably destroy

Even if you took 2 of the plugs out!!

Bill,
If its a Big Block, the Melling pump comes with an additional spring for high pressure. It is the spring that was used in the Vette Engines. Thats all you need.

I am just relating what I have read about a Chevy B.B. "Oiling System "
" The Big Block Chevy has a very good internal oiling system, And needs little or no improvement, A stock G.M. oil pump is fine. "
" Mark Donahue "
Older B.B.s cam bearings. From the 60s the song " Feelen Groovy "
Old guys only! Did you ever notch a cam for a 55 Small Block?
Bob

fwiw, the 1955 265 doesn't even have an oil filter !! Not even a provision for one on the block!!! bet there's a few people that don't know that.

Bill, if the pistion weight is greater than 10 grams across the SET of pistions from your old set of stockers then yes please rebalance the assembly. If this is a standard trans car it will be very well recieved by the trans. aswell. If you can or ever have seen the balancing of a crank most of the time it is a good place to spend money the cranks are ment to be generally close not a nats ass close. If your new pistions are forged and your old ones are cast it's a must to balance. As for the valve locks, if you have standard shift trans I would use the 10deg locks as insurance against valve float if nothing else. The real concern is you use high grade material in this area, locks and retainers. You make no mention of the RPM range you are caming for; 7 deg locks are good for approx. 6000 rpms but, "not on a consistant basis". As I see it you are upgrading your BB to be more reliable so 10deg locks and a crome moly retainer or better is a step in the right direction. Oh and once bought chances are you'll never have to replace them again. Just alittle exp I got racing on dirt in a 8000 rpm sbc.

Bill, the high volume pump is the way to go. if you try to push an inch of liquid in a half inch hole it takes more pressure to make it happen that if you push it through a 3/4 hole. if you really need 90psi IE oil cooler lines dual filters ect then jack up the pressure aswell if not the high volume pump will raise the pressure some and insure the volume need for uper end lube as well even with oil restictors with out creating excessive heat in the oil. Remeber to ask your builder of machine shop based on the oil clearances which weight oil to use. not all oils are compatable with a .003 to .0038 main bearing clearance. the general rule of thimb is a .001 of clearance for every inch of journal size. IE a sbc has a rod jounrnal of 2.1" it is ok to use a .0018 to a .002 if you are using synthic oil but not on 10w40 or 20w50 standard oil these will reguire more of a .0022 to a.0025. If you are of the old school thinking and require 50w oil then the .0025 to .0027 is good. many factors dictate oils and thier weights it's all about your bb's purpose. hope this helps.

Can't you just chnage the spring in the pump to achieve higher pressure?
That's all we did with my last 396 buildup. IIRC It runs 60-65 lbs on startup.

This has always been my standard practice when I've built engines in the past...it has been a lot of years since the last one went together though...