Cam Break in question

I read that you all said that the shell rotella oil was good for camshaft break in.  Should I still use that even if I have the brea in lube that was supplied with my cam from comp cams?  Just wondering

Yes use the shell oil also.I assume you have an adjustable pushrod to get your length?Pick a cylinder up front,I use either #1 or #5 and get it to TDC so both valves are closed and the lifters for that cylinder should be bottomed out/all the way down.Then put your adj pushrod in,install rocker,leave nut off for now. (are you using roller rockers? kinda need to know that and stud mount rockers? that also).Adjust pushrod,make longer,until the rocker looks pretty level based on the angle of the valve cover rail,you want it at similar angle for now to get it close.If you have stud mount rockers,you should have about 6 threads coming through rocker.Put nut on finger tight,You don't want to preload the lifter,so as your tighting nut,with the other hand,wiggle pushrod up and down until there is no more play and STOP.this is zero preload.You then want to rotate motor over and watch how the roller tip moves on the valve tip.You want it to be even in its motion for and aft.Not much towards either end of the valve tip or it will make the valve ride at an angle in the guide.If you put some lube  or grease on the valve tip before you do this,you can see how its riding when you take rocker offJust keep adjusting pushrod until you have an even travel on valvetip..Also see how pushrod moves through hole in the head,make sure its centered.Its a lot to explain,hope this helps.

One tip on the guide plates.Make sure they go on flat against the head,meaning no washer underneath and also no washer under stud.I have seen people put them there from cars I have worked on.Also 55ft lbs torque on studs and a dab of sealer can't hurt.Make sure you get hardened pushrods for use with your guideplates,non hardened will put metal in your motor from rubbing on the guideplates.Just some tips.Glad I could help.

Rotella is good, as is Valvoline Racing oil, and if you want to give it a belt and suspenders approach, get the GM E.O.S., it's another shot in the arm for zinc content.

That sounds pretty good.  Here is the question.  I am using copper head gaskets that say to let the engine idle until hot and then let the engine cool and re torque.  Do you think that the higher rpms for the camshaft break in will effect the head gaskets?  I do not imagine that it would but another opinion would be nice.

If your head gaskets were properly torqued down and if your block and head surfaces were

Another question.  I am not going to be driving the car much.  Since it still needs the paint and all.  How much should I run the car in the garage to help with the ring break in?

Half the reason that I am using the copper is that I wanted a thinner head gasket for higher compression.  The gasket is .021.  I want the motor to be in the 10.5 range.  What kind of problems did you have with the ones that you used.  The gaskets are still unopened.  So I can probably return them.  Thanks Brendan

A stock felpro is about .040,so your not really gaining much.10.1 is a great ratio,my car is about same at 10.2.If you wanted to gain compression,milling the heads is the easiest and you don't have to remove much to gain more.To pick up a 2/10ths of compression,you only have to mill down the heads by 2cc's,I don't know how many thousandth's that is,maybe 10-15,but its well within the range of keeping the head and intake aligned still.When I had my 5.0 mustang I milled the trickflow heads down from 61cc to 57cc and all was still good,got 10.3 to 1 out of it.Your actually gaining about 6 cubic inches with the overbore and your probably losing a little compression since total cylinder volume is increased,don't sweat it though,its not something your going to notice or feel.stick with reliability for a street car and you be much happier.Hell,I'm sticking with a clutch fan in my torino,it'll be a newer one from a 5.0 mustang,but it's damn reliable and it will always work compared to an electric fan.I did use the coppers once in my 67 mustang years back,they didn't hold up very long before they started to leak and I did use the spray sealant on them.Thats a car you don't want to do head gaskets in being a big block with hooker headers,major pain in the ass.

You can do the electric fan,but I prefer the clutch fan,its all preference.There are some nice ones in summit,If I were you I'd get one like a black magic or the dual mini fans and get it with an adjustable thermostat.This way you can set it to come on and off at a certain temp.If you had them milled then you should be around your 10.1 to 1,thats fine.Your using the windsor now I think you said?It doesn't matter which one goes where,just check to see if there is a large hole at each end of each head,that would be the emissions tube hole,if no big hole then you have pre emission heads and they can go either way.What year is the engine and heads?If your not sure,post some pics of each end of one head.Then I can tell you what you have.

I am really enjoying this forum.  I have been looking for a decent forum for at least 2 years.  My 351 C Q code has the open chamber heads, but I have been told by several Ford Experts that I would realize a lot more power and compression by going to closed chambered versions.  Are there 4V closed chambered heads or are there only 2v Closed chambered heads.  What year model heads should I look for and what are the casting numbers I need to look for?  I have heard I should look for 70-71 heads, but I am also looking at Aussie heads.  Any input?  Thanks.

Danny,you might want to start a new topic aimed at the cleveland owners.I am more of a windsor guy.You will gain more compression from the closed chamber heads,but how much more is the question.If they make it go to high like 10.7 to1 or higher,your looking at having to run race gas because theirs not enough octane in pump gas.You would have to do all the math on this to figure out what final comp ratio would be before you spend $1.You need the cc's of the aussie heads or a 4V closed head to figure that out or any other head your looking at.