Hey guys, I finally got to work on my 383 build today. I have not touch it since I got the cam to properly fit. Anyway started from scratch and used plastigauge to measure the bearing clearences on my main caps. They all check good. 3 were .002, 1 was between .015-.002 and the cap with the thrust bearing measured .003. I torque the inner main bolts at 70ft/lbs and the outers at 65 ft/lbs.

I have a video by Boxwrench that I have been following, once the main caps were tight their crank seem like it turned easier than mine, but they used clevitte assembly lube and I'm using Royal Purple. Has anybody ever used the Royal Purple assembly lube?

I installed my new Cloyes timing chain set and I had a little trouble lining up the dots. I may be making this too complicated. I lined them up the best that I could but they are not exact. Is it possible to get 1 tooth off while doing this? I laid a straight edge from the center of the cam to the center of the crank, but I still question it. Here are a few pics: Does it look right?

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/7003/chain1jpgzc5.jpg

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/49/chainjpgiu7.jpg

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/7812/chain2jpgiy8.jpg

I was about to call it a day, but then I thought I would put the rod bearings on the rods. The only one that I could seperate was the one that the machine shop used to clearence the block. On the others I can't even see a line between the top/bottom of the rod caps. I tried to lossen the bolts but they would not move. I was afriad I was about to tear something up so I quit. I guess I will have to run them back to the machine shop. Here is a few pics:

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/1230/rod11jpgfn8.jpg

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/4177/rod1jpgdl1.jpg

The other 7 look like this. I'm guess they were put together and machined. I suppose you need a special tool to seperate them. What do you think?
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/7408/rod22jpgsx3.jpg

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9244/rod2jpgcr9.jpg

Thanks, Russ

What's the question with the rods? You can't get them apart? back off the bolts and tap the rod ends with a plastic hammer would be my guess..

Yea, I can't even get the bolts loose. I put a rod in my vise and they are really tight. I was neverous I was going to bend one. Thats how tight they are on there. The one that the machine shop used to clearence the block was no problem. I just loosen the bolts tapped the cap with a brass hammer and off it came, but the others ??? Thanks, Russ

Use soft jaws in the vice and clamp the rod cap. If those are ARP wave lock bolts then good luck, they are some of the hardest bolts to get the caps off. I just grasp both sides of the piston and try and rock the assembly back and forth while pulling on it to separate them. Some times you have to get a little rough with them to separate them. Alternatively you can clamp the cap and tap on the rod nuts (loosen them off until you have them half way threaded on) with a brass hammer until they release.

timing set looks ok to me...remember, it's possible to degree the cam (timing set) either way on most installations, so don't fret about it being perfect...

Dont know about the rods,but your camera takes some nice closeups.

Dont know about the rods,but your camera takes some nice closeups.
I have to agree, nice pictures. It looks to me all you have to do is turn the engine over a smidge to line the dots up and be in perfect line with the crank and cam

Just keep in mind your timing has been set to #6 TDC, NOT #1! Common error on SBC's if you weren't aware.

As for your crank being tighter than the one in the video, its because you are slightly tighter than the preffered 2.5 thou all the way accros the mains. You are OKAY for sure, don't sweat it, even as tight as 1.5! Though that is as low a clearance as I'd want to see on mains.

Good snaps and thats the way for us to see what your doing so we can help!

Ohhhhh just wait, the real fun is yet to come when you start bolting rods on the crank and SMACK!!! the rod bolt shoulder smaks the cam. I didn't see any clearancing on the rod bolts from the pic's posted. Have fun ;) :) ;) ;)

Being able to see no parting line in the rod bore is PERFECT,, and what you typically see with a set of refurbished rods. Be SURE and protect the sides of the rod when you clamp it in any vice. A soft jaw insert is ideal, but I've used heavy cardboard on both sides of the rod and it seems to protect things OK. You have to get the bolts loose before you can part the cap, so that's step one. If your uncomfortable, take them back to the machine shop. And might as well ask if they will rough clearance the rod bolt shoulders for the 3.75" stroke and ???? base circle cam. Mush easier to do it now before everything is cleaned up and ready for assembly.

Oh, just as a BTW, I use a wooden dowel to help coax the rod cap off the bolts. Like Rust said,, the WaveLock bolts do their job well, they hold things nice and TIGHT!!!!

I wouldn't risk damaging the rods. Take them down to your machine shop and ask to use their rod vise. That's what I did anyways.

Rod vise, now that sounds painful :confused: :D

Thanks for the replies and compliments on the pics. Yesterday I took the rods to the machine shop and all is good now.

Marv, and others, the machine shop clearance the block around the pan rails. I'm a little worried about the clearence between the rod bolts and the cam. My cam is a WG1173 Blue Racer. Its a mild/stock cam. Here is a link to the cam card:

http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67178

The tech at the machine shop said I need about .060 between the cam lobe and rod bolts. This is my first engine build. If it doesn't clear, then what? Grinding? I'm not sure how much you can grind off and the bolt still be ok. Also will this mess up the balanced rotating assembly? I may be jumping the gun and just have to wait and see. Thanks, Russ

That doesn't look like a small base cam from the cam card....

The stock rods and bolts will need to be clearanced like Marv said. You don't know for sure until you mock it up...

BTW - I used a standard base in my 406 with plenty of room, but they were SCAT 6" rods that were clearanced from Scat.

If you clearance the rods, you'll need to rebalance IMO.

Good luck!

Bear with me, this is the second time I am typing out a response for rod clearancing (about 10 minutes lost) when I hit the wrong button and lost all that I had typed :mad:

Visualize this:

With a vertical belt sander, place the rod sideways on the table, pin end facing to your right, bearing tangs facing you, opposide side of rod and rod bolt parallel to the sanding belt. Rotate the pin end of the rod in the direction of the belt about 30° and grind on the rod closest to the head of the bolt until about .010" of the bolt head has been removed. (if the pistons are on the rod wrap a rag around it to keep it clean)
Blow the rod off, install it in the block with the bearings (leave rings off at this point) and slowly rotate the crank at least twice, stop if it feels like it hits anything and investigate. If all is well put a wide tie strap between the rod shoulder and the cam lobe just before they pass over one another and rotate the crank. If they clear without clamping on the tie strap your good to go, pull that rod out and proceed to the next one. If it's too close use a feeler gauge (bent ones work best, working from the opposite cylinder) to gauge how much more needs to be removed. Do not grind so far that you get into the shank of the bolt!! You may need to adjust the angle of the grind, 30° is an estimate, I just do them by visual. Naturally, you want to keep the clearanced rod with it's cylinder since some may need a little more than others. .060" is lots of room, but remember any time you change camming or even cam timing, clearance will change as well. When all 8 are done, reclean as necessary, install the rings, and finish the shortblock assembly.

Life will suck with the wave lock bolts during re and re, get a brass drift to use on the rod bolts. You will NOT need to rebalance after doing this, 1 to 2 grams max per rod is nothing to the balance.

Hey guys, I mocked up rods one and two and I have some serious clearence problems. Rod 1 does not hit anything but there is only about .020 between the edge of the rod and the cam. Rod 2 hits the cam pretty hard. Again its the corner of the rod, It will probably hit the bolt as well once I get the corner to clear.

Here are a few pics:

Rod 1 with a .020 feeler gauge between the rod and the cam.

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/8862/rod1clearencejpgde5.jpg

Rod 2 smacking the cam.

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/7366/rod2clearencejpgac7.jpg

Now I didn't think it was going to be this bad. Talking about Rod # 2. The worst I thought I would have to grind a few of the rod bolts, but not on the rods themself. This is a 383 balance assembly that I purchased from white performance, so thats what lead me to think that the most of it would be already clearenced since it was already balanced.

Too me it looks like I will need to remove alot of material from # 2. I read some about small base circle cams, I may have to go that route. I know that my heads were already set for the cam that I purchased.

I thinking of calling my machine shop in the morning and talking to them. I may mock the rest of it up to see how bad the others are. At this point I thinking of taking it back to them, letting them clearence it and re-balance. What do you guys think I should do? Thanks, Russ

Russ

What you have is standard 383 issues, nothing to get upset about. Pull the offending #2 rod and grind the area that get's close to the cam lobe, with that excellent photo you should now have a good idea how it needs to be ground. Once you have that rod properly clearanced grind the other 7 the same way, no need to rebalance or talk to your shop. Don't bother with the small base circle cam either, once the rods are properly clearanced you can use whatever cam you like down the road.

I use a plastic hammer with the sand in it, (I think they are called dead blow hammers), and a wooden closet rod for hanging clothes on. You can get the round closet rod at the hardware store.

My Eagle rods were already clearanced for my build. They grind the bolt all the way into the rod itself. They do it on all the rods so that the balance is more even.

Hey guys, I got a few more questions, Rust, I was able to get the rods clearanced between the cam and the shoulder of the rods. I ended up with about .056 between the cam lobes and rods.

I pre-assemble the short block today. All the bearing clearances checked good. The machine shop clearanced the block for me and I'm a little concerned with the clearance between the rod nut and the block. There is only about .020 in the tightest area. What is an acceptable amount of clearance in this area. I have read that you can get into the water jackets if not careful. Is there a different rod bolt I can use or should I just grind on the nut a little



Here are a few pics:

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5220/rodboltclearance1jpgya1.jpg

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9137/rodboltclearancejpgca0.jpg

Also I am using speed pros coated pistons. The rotating assembly turns great. I have noticed a small amount of the coating rubbing off the pistons. There is a slight black trail up/down the cylinder bore. Is this normal? I coated the bore with oil and the sides of the piston, before insatllation.

My oil pump came with a stud, instead of a bolt. Do you guys install the the stud with any locktite or just oil?

At least the oil pan clears the stroke::D

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4959/oilpanjpgiy7.jpg

Thanks, Russ

Ive been told not to use loctite on any assy bolts as it dosnt transfer heat away.. Use oil and properly torque I would think..
Let Rustbucket verivy as he is more qualified..
Hulk

Hey Russ,

Let's see here...The rod bolts being close like that is because they didn't grind the block enough in the right places. As you can see, if they had chased the casting lump (for lack of a better word) nearest to the nut a little farther forward/rearward you wouldn't have this problem. If you look at the same area in a virgin block it looks pretty much the same as far as the lump is concerned, I grind into the lump (again, this is grinding towards the front of the passenger side, rearwards for the driver's side) a good .060" or better, then I grind towards the pan rail, keeping my carbide vertical, until the relieved area is even with the pan rail, then I grind opposite of the lump to about .060" beyond where the other rod will be. Your issue since the engine is already together now with cam bearings installed, can be corrected by purchasing 12 point nuts for your rods. ARP sells those nuts, and I would think a "brother in law" deal should be given to you on those nuts since they didn't remove enough material in the correct places on the block. These nuts are about 2 to 3 grams lighter than your current ones, but I wouldn't worry about the balance since the rod weights will be consistant, and your balanced crank will now be slightly overbalanced which some builders prefer.

Depending on the surface finish of the cylinders, you can get a little rub off off the coating. There is little you can do about it, and little to be concerned with......

When it comes to holding the oil pump on, I'm a big fan of red Loctite. At the very least use a dab of Loctite on the stud where it enters the cap, and use the suggested lube on the nut and the manufacturer's recommended torque.

Just had another look at the photos, do the rods even come close where they ground into the pan rails?!?! I've had a few 350 blocks in the Bridgeport and various end mills when aluminum rods were part of the recipe, but never for steel rods.....

Looks like you're close on finishing the shortblock, you will soon be a master of building 383's. ;) Very nice!

Russ, I just want to toss something in here,, I use 0.035" clearance in a stroker. As long as everything 'clears' there is no issue. As things flex and move around under high loads, you need to make sure you still have room for components. 0.050" is a safety margin IMO,,, if you can touch things up and have 0.035" MINIMUM,, she will survive.

Now I want to go back to a pic you posted,, WTF is those two marks on the cam lobe??????? Is that just debris sitting in there (which is a BIG no-no) or did you damage the cam while rotating the assembly looking for clearance. If that is nicks in the cam lobe, do yourself a favor and replace that cam before startup. I can almost guarentee you that lobe is not going to survive cam breakin. And when it goes away, all the debris is going to get circulated through your brand new rotating assembly.
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/7366/rod2clearencejpgac7.jpg

Now I want to go back to a pic you posted,, WTF is those two marks on the cam lobe??????? Is that just debris sitting in there (which is a BIG no-no) or did you damage the cam while rotating the assembly looking for clearance. If that is nicks in the cam lobe, do yourself a favor and replace that cam before startup. I can almost guarentee you that lobe is not going to survive cam breakin.

I was just going to post the same question. Those do look like lobe damage from trying to spin the motor over :eek:

My oil pump came with a stud, instead of a bolt. Do you guys install the the stud with any locktite or just oil?


I always follow the fastener's directions for what lube to use.


At least the oil pan clears the stroke::D


You will have to clearance your oil plan gasket too if you didn't buy a "stroker" oil pan gasket.

Heys guys , that pic does look bad, but the cam is fine. Actually that is two pieces of lint from a paper towel that I used to dust out the bores with. The camera is very good and picks up everything. This is just pre-assembly, no rings or rear main seal installed. I plan on taking it back apart doing a final cleaning, painting the block, installing the freeze plugs and then final assembly.

Anybody got any tips on controlling lint? The book I'm using suggested a paper towel vs a shop towel. When I got it back from the machine shop it had several red fibers in it.

Before I pull it apart I still need to check piston/valve clearence, degree the cam, and port match the intake/heads.

I hope the 12 point nuts that Rust mentioned will give me enough clearence between the rod nuts and the block.

Rust the rods have plenty of room on the pan rails. I'm not sure why they removed that area. Thanks, Russ

You want to use LINT FREE shop towels. Go to any fine cabinet or furnature refinishing shop and ask them to buy some of their lint free rags they use for refinishing. I buy them by the 25 pound bag. (lasts me a year!) The red shop towels are the worst for leaving lint, but I hate paper towels, all that crap you see in the pic is going to be circulating and clogging the oil filter.
However, I guess in this one case,, I'm glad it was lint and not damage to the cam,, really looked NASTY!

At least the oil pan clears the stroke::D

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4959/oilpanjpgiy7.jpg

Thanks, Russ[/QUOTE]

Are you sure that pan will fit a second gen. Camaro? Looks just like the one I had and it would not clear frame crossmember.???

OH BTW, what a great job your doing I cant wait to see more now.

John

That pan looks just like the one I use and it clears just fine.

Hey guys, I finally got the 12 pt ARP nuts in and what a difference they make.

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/4725/12ptnutjpgqj7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5220/rodboltclearance1jpgya1.jpg


Now just have to double check the valvetrain, pull it apart, clean everthing, paint the block and do it over again for real. THanks, for the help and stay tuned. Russ

Excellent that all worked out! :cool:

Well I back at it, hopefully to be in Final assembly soon and then to make a little noise. I did upgrade to the Lunati 60103k cam. I mocked it up to double check clearences and they seem to stay about the same. For me #2 and #6 are the ones that was an issue.

I did notice a scratch in the #2 bore. I can just barely feel it with the tip of my fingernail. Somewhere along the line I have it the bore with the edge of the rod. Here is a pic:

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/682/borescratchjpgyq8.jpg

How bad is that going to be for my engine. I did use a small piece of scotch brite pad to knock it down. Should I be concerned? Thanks, Russ

Russ. Read my PM regarding the bottom of the cylinder bores. Nice pics too. :eek:

Those scores are likely from material dragged between the skirt and the bore. It will have no affect in operation, and unless there's a high spot leave it alone, just make sure there isn't any grit embedded in the piston skirts.

Whatever happened to this 383 build-up?

Whatever happened to this 383 build-up?

DriveWFO, Thanks for asking. To update everybody I changed my mind on my valvetrain parts selection, so that got into my wallet alot. I'm just starting to get back to it. I'm wanting a kinda engine eye candy look that will also perform great. So here is a list of what consist in the updated combo:

Procomp balanced rotating assembly, (cast crank)
Speed Pro h859cp30 pistons
Speed Pro e-251k rings
Porfessional Products 8in balancer
Moroso 22139 oil pump
Moroso 20191 oil pan
Lunati 60103lk cam
Aluminum timing cover/dipstick
Edelbrock 88114 water pump
MSD 8361
Edelbrock 608919 heads
Felrpo 1003 head gaskets
NGK-5155 spark plugs
Edelbrock 75014 intake
Felpro 1205 intake gaskets
Comp pro magnum 1.5 rockers,
Headman headers 65104 from Jet hot.
March 22050 pulley system
Holley 670 street avenger carb
Holley 12-327-11 fuel pump
Turbo 400 trans with Hughes 2500 stall / Hughes deep aluminum pan
10 bolt posi rear with 3:42 gear ratio

I still need to decide about pushrods and check pushrod length. I need to check my piston to valve clearance. I also need to check my ring gaps.
Once that stuff is done, I will take it apart, paint the block, install the freeze plugs, final clean and start final assembly.

I still need alot of little stuff, trying to decide about using an aluminum radiator with electric fans, also need an exhaust system.

I have more money in this thing that I can count. If I could do it over again, I might have just purchased a ZZ4 crate engine, but I have never had enough money at one time to buy one. I have just bought it part by part as I have had the $$'s. Once its done I will have what I want. I just hope all these parts work well together. I will be a nervous wreck when it comes time to start it. I'm not sure if I should have it dynoed before I install it or not. I'm going to look into it. I think there is one a couple of hours from me.

I'll keep you guys posted. I'm sure I will have more questions once I get to working on it again. Thanks, Russ:)

I am right with ya. I have my head gaskets but am debating whether to check for v/p clearence or not.I don't have any solid lifters to check with nor do i have any pushrods yet.i will use a pushrod checker to confirm correct size but heads and lifters must be on to do so.My pistons are .013 in the hole and cam is same as yours 488/504 lift.Not a big cam by anymeans so i can't see there being any clearence issues.My current motor is sold and will be coming out in 2 weeks so i need to finish it up.

I am right with ya. I have my head gaskets but am debating whether to check for v/p clearence or not.I don't have any solid lifters to check with nor do i have any pushrods yet.i will use a pushrod checker to confirm correct size but heads and lifters must be on to do so.My pistons are .013 in the hole and cam is same as yours 488/504 lift.Not a big cam by anymeans so i can't see there being any clearence issues.My current motor is sold and will be coming out in 2 weeks so i need to finish it up.

You are mistaken if you think that cam lift is the only thing to do with piston to valve clearance. Please read the following from my buddy on our nova forum:

There's some faulty logic going on here. First of all the top of the piston has nothing to do with piston to valve clearance. If you look at most pistons they have valve relief pockets. It's the depth of the pocket that you need to be concerned with. A domed piston could have more valve clearance than a stock flat top.

Next is the faulty assumption that maximum valve lift is the variable that causes insufficient Piston to valve clearance.
The point where the valve comes closest to the piston is not TDC or maximum valve lift. The valve is not fully opened when the piston is closest.
It's closest during overlap about 7-14 degrees ATDC for the Intake and 7-14 degrees BTDC on Exhaust. Usually the Intake valve is the problem because it's bigger, but never assume.

It's a good idea to check valve to piston clearance with clay before you bar the engine over. You don't need the cam to do this. You can mock it up with one piston and rod, and old gasket of the right compressed thickness and a dial indicator. Use a light checking spring to make it easy.
If your valve clears the pocket by .100" at TDC and maximum lift it's ok. If not you need to do further checking with the degree wheel.

Don't ever assume you have adequate valve to piston clearance!

Guys, I finally got a chance to start working on my combo again. I'm Hoping to finish pre-assembly soon. Anyway I have some questions and need some help.

Piston/valve clearance, my pistons are .015 in the hole and I am using a Felpro 1003, .041 compressed thickness. Anyway when I checked I had .195 on the intake, and .275 on the exhaust. Does this sound reasonable?

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9282/pistonvalveclearancejpgoy9.jpg

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2173/pistonvalveclearance1jpdg5.jpg

My edelbrock rpm heads are already assemble so I used a pair of solid lifters. Now something I noticed that may make a difference is the cup sitting height on these solid lifters is .430 below the rim of the lifter. The hydraulic ones that I plan to use are .300 below the rim. Will that affect any of my measurements?

From here I went on to check my pushrod length. I don't have an adjustable length checker yet, but I do have a set of new .100 longer and a set of clean used stock ones. I tried them both and to be honest I could not really tell which ones I need. It almost looked like the intake prefered the stock and the exhaust looked better at .100.:screwup: Anyway I guess I need the tool. The rockers are the comp pro magnum 1.5's.

As far as the edelbrock heads go, the guide plates and studs are already installed. Now this may sound stupid, but are they ready to go or do I need to check the torque of the studs, make sure they have anti-seeze, etc? Thanks, Russ

room to spare... IMO

don't listen to me, I just want to tell you that your doing an awsome job!

What kind of camera do you have?

Thanks for the compliment. My camera is a Konica Minolta, Z10. Its a couple of years old, so I'm sure they have come down in $$$.

Well, I measured #2 on on the other side this evening and came up with about the same #'s as I did on # 1 for the piston to valve clearance. I also messed around with the geometry a little, and too me the stock pushrod looked better, but this is all new to me. The .100 longer pushrods put the rocker a little to forward on the valve. Hopefully you guys can tell if its close with these pics. These pics are with the stock length pushrods.

Ex. Close

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/162/exopenjpgpp8.jpg

Ex. Open

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/6674/exclosecr4.jpg

In. Close

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/496/intakeopenjpgzo0.jpg

In. Open

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/5008/intakeopenjpgio8.jpg

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/6200/intakeclose1jpgwi6.jpg

Thanks, Russ

What you want to do is, put some Dykem (layout fluid, comes in blue or red, any machine shop will have some) on the tops of those valve stems. Put the pushrods you think will work best in. Lash the rockers, and spin the motor over two revolutions. Then take the rockers off and take a picture for us. The rocker will smudge away the layout fluid where it contacts the valve stem. You want that smudge to be in the center of that valve stem.

Thanks, for the help. I will try to get some Dykem and get some more shots. Do you think it will be ok to do this during final assembly? I don't really want to put the head gasket back on in fear of pre-crushing them.

Anyway, I ran into another snag today. I was working with the oil pan and found some things. My first issue is my oil pump pickup clearence. The oil pan is a Moroso 20191 pan. I have the 22139 oil pump. The pump is factory welded and is made for the pan. When I clayed the clearence it came up as .370. The gasket is a Felpro 1880 and it measured .175. This gives me around .545 of clearence. After looking at the pics again, I noticed that I am on the back (lower) side of the pickup. So I think I'm ok. I may try to check it again.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/6922/oilpumpclearencejpgfh7.jpg

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/9948/oilpumpclearence1jpgbb3.jpg

My second issue is with my Arp stud kit for the oil pan. The stud kit is nice and I really like it. The problem is that the pan rails do not allow for clearence for the nuts to go onto the studs.

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/4648/oilpanstudjpgut7.jpg

I was really to hoping to use a stud kit, because this pan is warped from the factory welding. The instructions say that a 1/4 inch rock/warp is acceptable and it should not leak once torqued. Now with the warp and the thicker felpro gasket I would feel better torqueing this pan down with a stud kit instead of breaking a bolt.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/9735/oilpanwarpjpgmx1.jpg

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/602/oilpanjpgjt6.jpg

Anyway, I called Moroso but I have not been able to get in touch with their tech department. Summit said that my best bet would be to fasten it down with a set of allen bolts. My other option was grinding on the nuts but the other side is so tight I'm not even sure if that would work. What have you guys done? Thanks, Russ:bowtie:

The only comments I have (other than WOW your engine looks very nice - what a hobby!) are that instead of shelling out for dykem, you can just use a sharpie for valve tip checking.. used it myself and it's peachy.

Pretty motor...........

My second issue is with my Arp stud kit for the oil pan. The stud kit is nice and I really like it. The problem is that the pan rails do not allow for clearence for the nuts to go onto the studs.

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/4648/oilpanstudjpgut7.jpg

I had the same problem and bolt will be the same. I got mad and tightend anyway and touched up with paint...:(

instead of shelling out for dykem, you can just use a sharpie for valve tip checking..

I've done that as well and it works. Its just much harder to see than layout fluid. When I did it that way, I must have done it a dozen times before I was confident I got it right. Layout fluid is much easier to see.

Russel. I just used the same pan and screen this week and you will need to clearance the pan for the pump. The side of the oil pump touches the side of the pan, and if it pushes into the pump too much as you tighten the pan down, it could lead to the pump body breaking like you have probably heard of. I had to clearance mine. As for your rocker geometry, you need to watch the roller wheel as it travels across the valve tip when it opens the valve to full lift. You want the wheel to roll away from the stud till mid lift then back from mid lift to max lift. Then as it comes back down it will do it again. If it only rolls out and doesnt come back in before max lift the push rod will be too short. If it only rolls out a touch then rolls in alot then the pushrod is too long. I did a little thread about doing the rocker geometry in the building stages of the engine, but your beyond that point so you can do it this way. I think that from what i've seen in the pix , you may need a bit longer pushrod. Also the bottom of the rocker looks close to the stud unless its from the camera angle.

doechsle, I read that you may have to clearence the pan for the pump. What method did you use on your pan? I guess I should take the # 5 cap with the pump mounted and lay it into the U bend in the pan and see what I have.How much clearence should I shoot for? I know its a pain to get the pan onto the block because of the pump, and windage screen.

I will check the geometry again. What should the retainer to rocker clearence be? Thanks, Russ

I clearenced the corner of the pan today. Its kinda tough to tell how much it needed. There was one area in the right corner that looked questionable, so I ground off a little there. I'm going to wait until I take everything apart for final assembley and then re-check. I wonder with everything out of the block except the #5 main cap, oil pump and oil pan if I could see inside using a mirror / flashlight.

I'm going to re-check the valve geometry this week. This is a hydraulic cam and I'm using a pair of solid lifters. Can somebody walk me through setting the valve so I know if I'm doing it right. Also the cup height of the solid lifter is different than my hydrailic ones. I'm not sure if that will matter? Thanks, Russ:cool:

I finally had a chance to work on my 383 again. I'm just about done with pre-assembly stage. I just have a few issues to work out. Then I will take it apart, tape the block, paint, Final cleaning and then Final assembly. I still need to check all the ring gaps.

According to the Moroso tech dept I should be ok with the bottom of the oil pump at .545 from the bottom of the pan. The Felpro one piece gasket push it up a little higher. I replaced the ARP oil pan stud kit with a set of stainless allen bolts. I hope they work. I'm concerned because the pan has about 1/4 inch of rocking due to warping from the welding on it. Moroso said this should also be ok. With the gasket and the pan, it's going to take a little torq to pull it all down.

Has anybody ever check the spec on the play in the oil pump drive shaft? My book said it should be .010-.040. Well with the Arp shaft I measured .080 and with a Moroso one I measured .139 of movement.

I measured my pushrod length and came up with a stock length. Here is a pic of the pattern:

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/365/valvepatternjpgsu3.jpg

I'm going to run a set of headman 65104 headers. I also had trouble with another ARP stud kit with these headers. They just will not fit. I will need to find some bolts. I'm aslo trying to figure what gaskets to use with these headers/heads. Overall the header look good. Looks like they have plenty of room for the starter and oil filter. I hope they fit in the car good. Here are a few more pics:

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/7426/picture232jpgey0.jpg
Shot with DiMAGE Z10. (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=DiMAGE+Z10.&make=KONICA+MINOLTA.) at 2007-06-24

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/5904/picture003bv1.jpg
Shot with DiMAGE Z10. (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=DiMAGE+Z10.&make=KONICA+MINOLTA.) at 2007-06-24

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/3963/3835jpgmw9.jpg
Shot with DiMAGE Z10. (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=DiMAGE+Z10.&make=KONICA+MINOLTA.) at 2007-06-24

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2567/3836jpgki7.jpg
Shot with DiMAGE Z10. (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=DiMAGE+Z10.&make=KONICA+MINOLTA.) at 2007-06-24

One more question. I'm wanting to use these valve covers:

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/991/gmperformancevalvecoversy3.jpg
Shot at 2007-06-22

I want to run pcv in one and a breather on the other one. I'm not sure what the best way to do this is because I want them to be baffled. Anybody got any suggestions? I have seen some baffled grommets. I'm not sure how well they work. thanks, Russ:bowtie: