Engine 1973 Heads

1978Cobra2

Member
Mar 25, 2014
69
1
9
Hello All,
It has been a while since I have posted here but I am in need of some help. I have recently got the transmission rebuilt for the car and I figured since I have the engine out I am going to put a mild cam in it. I Have decided to go with the comp cams 262 cam and upgrade the springs to the recommended ones for that camshaft. My question is will these springs pull the stud out of the head? If it is a press fit stud. It is 3/8 in diameter if that helps. I ordered all the parts last night but comp is telling me the cam is out of stock so I am going with a kit off Amazon. Just curious, can't really put the stock one back in and I don't exactly have the funds to put screw in studs in.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Engine is out of a 73 mustang for the record.
 
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I am making an educated guess that you are going with the Extreme Energy series XE262H grind, part # 31-238-3, which would mean you would be after one of these 2 spring sets or equivalent: 942-16 / 972-16?

I don´t believe you will have any problems, but I can´t say that with 100% certainty. I do know that Trick Flow sells a spring kit for the GT40 heads so you can run a larger cam that the stock HO cam and doesn´t specify a rocker stud change, but the rocker fulcrum is screwed in instead of being placed over a stud, so I guess this doesn´t help much. Googling to see recommendations for when to install screw in studs, I come across one board where their general rule of thumb is anything over .480 lift or open spring pressures of 300 #s or more. So, going by their rule of thumb, you may want to consider the extra expense. One thing that you may be able to have done is taking the heads into a machine shop and have the studs pinned? I have never done this and only ran across this idea on the same message board that I found these recommendations. Basically, if I understand correctly, they will drill a small hole perpendicular and slightly penetrating the stud, then press a pin into the hole, effectively locking the stud in place. They could drill completely through the stud, but I don´t know if I would recommend that route. But pinning the studs could be less money and just as effective for you.
 
Sorry for not providing the adequate information. The cam is an XE262 31-238-3 and the springs I was looking at getting are the 942-16. Not sure what comes in the kit, more than likely the 942-16's because they are recommended for the cam. So LILCBRA had it right! Based on the guidelines you provided it looks like the lift of the cam should be OK and the spring pressure is just over. I am more on a time constraint than anything because I have to get the car running to test the transmission so I do not lose the warranty. (6 months goes quick) From what I have read it seems like people have had good success other than a few here and there. It's all a learning experience I suppose! lol.

Thanks for the info!
 
You could try it, you'd want to be very careful in setting your lash. The only real concern is if the studs do pull out, it may cause damage to other components (springs, rocker arms, retainers).