I think I got it. If the coils touch at full lift is that bad?

Yes, that's bad. What does your valvetrain set-up look like? Type of head, valve springs, valve length, retainer type(+/-), cam specs and type, installed height?

Jared

Geez, I don't know all that stuff. But that's a funny thing you should mention valve length. I kept telling the machine shop to get longer valves. The machine shop had the heads for almost 3 months and was having a hard time getting springs that would work. After I installed one of my new solid roller lifters and adjusted it. I turned it over 360 degrees and noticed the spring was getting awfully squashed. And, to make it worse I'm .023 over on my cam lift.

Digger I'm not an expert but I think you should have at least .080 clearance between spring coils at full valve lift.

you could go to a smaller ratio rocker arm that might help or a shorter push rod. but either one could throw the geometry of the valve train off

Right now I am using a 1.8 ratio rocker so if i try a 1.73 maybe that will help with both the coil bind and the too much lift.

Digger dropping back to the 1.73 rockers will fix your lift problem but not the coil bind issue. I think you may need to have the spring pockets machined deeper or very possibly just changing the spring retainer.
Your machine shop should be able to tell you if they can get retainers that will give you more spring room.
If you have or can get different retainers it is easy enough to check. I bet your cam card, or the manufacture can tell you the installed height you need on your springs. That is what you are shooting for.
( More installed Height )

What are you setting the lash at?

-Jared

lash?

I think I screwed up??? When you said lash that got me to thinking. I just took for granted to adjust the valves like I did my hydraulic lifters. So now I'm thinking that I have them too tight. Because I adjusted them down to where I could just turn the push rod with my fingers and went 1/2 more turn. So I guess I need a feeler guage and do some clearence between the valve stem and the lifter,,, right? If this is right, how much clearence do I need?

Dig Dug

well, your lash will be on your cam card... probably around .025..... but that should be set hot, so add .005 and run them loose and reset them hot. as far as your rocker ratio, and too much lift, unless you ordered your cam specifically for 1.8 rockers, they pry calculated the lift on stock 1.73 rockers.

as far as your total lift.... I'm assuming your talking about .650 max lift for CTTPA... that is check with 0 lash, so if you're too much with no lash, you won't fit... but again... pry calculated off of 1.73 ratio.

also Doug.... don't forget to check piston to valve clearance. if you're bending push rods, that's a certain possibility.

good luck
sean

Thanks guys!!!

Digger, I didn't realize you were running a solid lifter now. Adjusting the rocker with the correct lash may very well fix your coil bind.
How did you come up with to much lift ?? I assumed you had measured and not simply what was on the cam card. If you measured with the 1.8s going to the 1.73 will help you there. But Sean is right if you are looking at the lift on the card I'm sure that measurement was with the 1.73s and if you are running the 1.8s that will put you even further out of requirements.
You have ran the motor with your current valve adjustment have you ????

be sure to double check the cam card for the rocker ratio because the cam I am running was sent with a 1.7 ratio rocker

No....I have not run the motor. This is my first time with a solid lift cam. Always had a hyd. cam. Went with a bigger cam (.685)than what the rules state(.650)thinking maybe the geometry of the valve train would eat some of the lift up. I'll find out tonight after I put the heads back on and adjust a valve where I am at. I can always switch to a 1.73 rocker. Maybe do a trade with someone. And that might put me down to where I am suppose to be. If not than I'll just keep pulling with my antique tractor friends. They don't care how big I am. haha

Heck come over to minnesota and pull with us we don't have any rules on how big the cam cam be.


the rules we use are on here

www.heartlandtruckpullers.com

Dave

I think Im O.K. on my valve springs now, but I went ahead and adjusted my valves to zero lash and put a dial indicator on it and I'm over by .050 on the exhaust a little less on intake, so I dought that replacing 1.8 ratio rockers with 1.73 would get me down to .0650 where I need to be according to Colo. Truck & Trac. Pullers Ass. rules. (At zero lash no more than .0650).

I got this cam off Ebay with no cam card. I know what the lift and duration is but nothing else. I called every cam company in the world to get a cam close to .0650 and the closest any one could come up with was around .0600. So from everything I've heard about cam geometry I thought this one I found on Ebay, would be just the ticket.

http://www.dougherbert.com/solidlifterrollercamsfordbbv8-c-83_84_87_656.html


Look at the HERCH6K

First of all Doug....... DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOUR READ........

how do you know the duration and lift...... the seller told you?

anyway..... the cam number should be engraved on the end of the cam, call the manufacturer and ask them for a cam card.

Digger I have ran and still have a herberts cam in my truck. I looked at the 2 cam boxes I had but both were the next 2 bigger then you had So I can't help you out on the cam card. But I'm sure Heberts were tell you anything you want to know about your cam.
Now that we know your cam man. I'd said Dave was correct and your cam was measured with the 1.7s. I still think you can get your cam within the rules with the drop in rocker ratio. Do you have any Chevy friends who would let you borrow a 1.7 rocker ?????
What brand lifters did you get ??

buying parts like that off ebay is risky because its a "he said" game.. i got burnt once never again .. i'll wait and save the little extra $ for a cam right from the company.

yup: the cam number is engraved on the end of the cam and I did call doug herbert to get the info and they told me to find it on their web page which is the above link. My rockers are Miller roller rockers, I've had for a couple years.

The person that I bought this cam off of on ebay was a strait up seller. He had in the listing that there was no cam card and also had the part number of the cam in the ebay listing. There was no reference in the ad about which ratio of rocker was used or had to be used.. I've had these rockers(1.8) for a couple years now and am not going to buy another set. All the cam companies that I called were a bunch of assholes when I told them what I was after. Because of the .0650 rule. Including Doug Herberts when I called them for a cam card. And all they did was refer me to their web site. Of coarse Doug Herberts doesn't want to help me because I didn't buy a new cam from them. But since they wouldn't help me do you think I will ever call them back? Its really no big deal, I can always pull with another association. If I come across a 1.7 rocker I might try it just to see what I will lose in lift.

Digger,
Go ahead and set your lash then check you lift at the valve.You will loose more than you think. A rocker arm change will also make a huge difference. I switched from Harland Sharp to Ford Performance rockers and lost .040 lift. There was enough difference in geometry and pushrod length I guess. You can always resale your Millers if you buy a different set of rockers.

Dennis

Ok if you got the Doug Herbert H6K cam the specs in the book are for a 1.7 ratio rocker. What you need is to find a doug herbert catalog and in there it will tell you what the Valve lash should be set at, I can't find one in my house But I am pretty sure that I should have one in the shop. I will try to find when I go there in a little while. Several of the guys I pull with including me run those cams and have very good luck with them, currently I am Running the H6H in my prostock truck. For you if you want to run with the rules of only .650 lift I would definatly get a custom ground cam for it. Heck when the time comes to freshen my motor thats the route I will go. Price isn't that much more expensive for them

I ordered a custom cam from competition cams a couple years ago they were easy to work with i think it was 180 for the cam and i think that was only 40-60 more than a stock grind i jus

I found my herbert book and on the H6K cam you need to have your lash set to .018 on the intake and .020 on the exhaust. make sure to double check all of the and if you are running a rocker stud girdle to check them with that on because sometimes when you tighten them down it changes the angle of the stud a hair and affects the lash on the rockers