Doing the Head/Cam swap this weekend - Any last minute tips?

red94fiveo

New Member
Apr 12, 2003
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Wichita, KS
I talked to Ed C. today and my stuff will be here tomorrow. :D I think I'm going to try to do everything this weekend since I have 3 days this weekend (no class on president's day). Any tips or helpful advice before I get going would be appreciated. FYI - I already have everything off the car, I'll just be assembling. Heres a few things I thought of:

-Clay the piston to check for PTV clearance
-Rocker geometry (Don't know much about this, Ed said he'd help)
-Get my cam degree'd right and timing set OK
-Double check all electrical connections and vacuum lines when putting everything back together.

I'm going to try to use the stock VC's with a set of comp pro Pagnum rockers and a pretty thick VC gasket, hopefully they will fit. If not, I saw a bunch of fox body VC's on Ebay.

BTW - Here is waht my combo will be plus the mods in my sig
AFR 165's 58cc
FTI custom cam
Comp Pro Magnum rockers
Aeromotive AFPR
GT40 (ported by TMoss)

I am hoping for somewhere in the neighborhood of 290-300 rwhp, althought I'm not terribly concerned with peak numbers. Also, I painted everything on my engine (bracketing, intake MAF, etc. etc.) gloss black with red trim, so I'll post some pics when everything is put back together. I can't wait!

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
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I am just subscribing but thought it was funny that you just recieved your fti stuff. Ed is currently starting on mine and is consisted of the same things as yours except I went with the edelbrock intake. Its also funny because you are in wichita and i'm up in overland park. 2 KS guys getting done up at the same time. good luck

Jeremy
 
Wow...very interesting indeed.

I currently have my FTI stuff in the mail coming to me, should be here within the week. I am planning on putting my FTI AFR 165's, FTI Cam, 1.6 RR's, Longtubes, and other supporting hardware on in one big "modfest" the first weekend in March.

Mark, it sounds like our cars are going to have very close combo's...we'll need to keep an eye on each other to see similar problems that pop up and/or successes. I have a box stock Cobra Intake that I"m using for now...I'll switch to an Edelbrock probably later in the year and be able give the differences in performance.

As for you install, my "list" of parts and supplies is a mile long, but I'm pretty sure I have everything. Just be aware that if those valve covers don't fit, you'll pretty much dead in the water...you'll want a backup plan unless you can carry it over into another weekend etc... I am also trusting Ed with my pushrods...for if they are the wrong length, this is another dead in the water scenario.

I pretty much am shooting for 108mph trap speeds...dyno numbers are just a bonus and dont' mean much to me...performance at the track is what counts.

Keep us updated on your progress and what the main hurdles/obstacles are. I'll be pulling my engine and doing a lot of the work on a stand, so that should help me, but it's all new territory for myself...I am extremely excited about it though.

Jeremy
 
Might have to grind off the corners of each rocker arm on the ends if you want the stock valve covers to fit. I did it with mine. It doesn't mess anything up. If your not comfortable with that then get FOX covers. Be patient, don't rush it. Have help, bandaids, AFLAC card handy and BEER if your old enough. Take pictures post them here if you need help. Ask lots of questions. Lots and lots of people have done this before. Good Luck!
 
VibrantRedGT said:
Might have to grind off the corners of each rocker arm on the ends if you want the stock valve covers to fit. I did it with mine. It doesn't mess anything up. If your not comfortable with that then get FOX covers. Be patient, don't rush it. Have help, bandaids, AFLAC card handy and BEER if your old enough. Take pictures post them here if you need help. Ask lots of questions. Lots and lots of people have done this before. Good Luck!

Vibe - I'm in not hurry, I just have a three day weekend so I figured I'd start and see how it goes. If nothing else my dad is off the next weekend so we'll work some more then. If the stockers don't fit, I'll just buy a set of Fox body VC's off ebay and wait a week, I'm more comfortable with that than grinding the rockers, plus I have a 3/8" spacer ready to go. If I have any real hangups I always have Ed to call anyway, when I talked to him today he said to be sure and call him if I have any questions. Oh, and I am old enough for BEER (not that that ever stopped me), we always seem to have a large supply of Coronas on hand when the projects start, funny how that works, its the easiest way to get some of my buddies to help me.

Dream - I'll be sure to let you know how it goes, I am more of an auto-x guy than dragstrip, but I still want to be making some mad power. I'll probably have it dynoed shortly after everything is on. I am going to try to get out to the track and run the 1/4 sometime this year, just to see how I do. I have some Nittos on the way, so I'll do it after that.

Jeremy - That is a little wierd that 2 KS guys are doing this at the exact same time. I'll have to drop you a line the next time I'm up in the KC area. I go up quite a bit for Royals games, plus to visit people, I used to live over on the Missouri side of KC, kinda by the plaza. Good luck with your stuff as well.