350 with a flattened cam lobe

[townsend]

sup guys, been a little bit. havent been on much due to being knee deep in sidework and stuff. here is my problem this time round. i purchased a 94 c1500 5-speed with a '70 350 in it. supposedly it has some aftermarket cam in it, holley intake, comp 1.5 roller tip rockers, edelbrock 600 cfm carb. got it for 500 due to a burned #1 exhaust lifter and flat cam lobe.

now heres the good part, upon further inspection, i noticed the pushrod guide hole in the head for the #1 exhaust pushrod didnt look right. there was something epoxied in it, like a bushing. i put the pushrod through it, and it gave it no play or wiggle room. i have honestly never ever seen someone do this to a head before.

i pulled it out since it was loose and found the guide hole to be slightly rounded:

now my question is, do i just get a new cam, lifters, and pushrods? or do you guys think i need new heads as well? ive seen this wayy worse on bent valve/pushrod motors before, but never this little bit, hence why i really would rather try to get the heads i have to work. other than this one spot, everything else on em looks great. any advice would be awesome. thanks guys

[zraffz]

Never seen it nor do I understand why it was done (other then it being ovaled) but they seem to have sleeved that pushrod hole.

Better question... how do you flatten a lobe on a roller cam - and how do you manage to do that and not damage anything else?! I can see if that exhaust pushrod bound and whipped the lobe but that's a stretch since it would bend the pushrod before it would damage the cam. Makes sense that it bound and burned the exhaust valve.


I'd wait for more responses but I'd imaging if you ran a NSA rocker and guide plates you can salvage that head.


Edit:
Just read it's a flat tappet motor. Sorry for the first half of my statement lol.

[townsend]

yeah man. its no fun. im wondering if i can get away with it for a while, or if anyone has any cheap 350 heads layin round haha

[townsend]

edit: the pistons and valves are fine. i pulled the head earlier and the lifter that was cooked had paint stuck inside it, hence getting 0 oil!

[zraffz]

Dude I don't understand why they honestly put a bushing in there. It's better to let it move however it wants than to restrict it's movement. Seriously wonder why some people do the crap they do sometimes lol.

[WildBillyT]

I think it was a brokeass way to try and keep the pushrod "somewhat" guided.

I do not think you need new heads but pushrod guideplates are probably needed. New cam, lifters, and pushrods as well.

What concerns me more is the wiped lobe, and all that metal that went through the engine.

[townsend]

Originally Posted by WildBillyT

I think it was a brokeass way to try and keep the pushrod "somewhat" guided.

I do not think you need new heads but pushrod guideplates are probably needed. New cam, lifters, and pushrods as well.

What concerns me more is the wiped lobe, and all that metal that went through the engine.

this is what concerns me as well. in theory though, since the pushrods are ball-end and the rocker is a comp magnum that the pushrod kinda "pops" into, do i really need guideplates? i really hope not, because then that involves machine work to the heads, etc.

im at the point now that im thinking of selling what i can of the motor, and buying a junkyard/running lt1 out of something, slapping a carb and distributor on it, and driving it through winter.

[LTb1ow]

I haz a LT1 shortblock.

[townsend]

Im still interested in it haha. Know anyone with heads?

[LTb1ow]

Plain old stockers, I think Brandon (transmaro93) does.

[WildBillyT]

Originally Posted by townsend

this is what concerns me as well. in theory though, since the pushrods are ball-end and the rocker is a comp magnum that the pushrod kinda "pops" into, do i really need guideplates? i really hope not, because then that involves machine work to the heads, etc.

im at the point now that im thinking of selling what i can of the motor, and buying a junkyard/running lt1 out of something, slapping a carb and distributor on it, and driving it through winter.

I was thinking if you stick with the current heads it may be a good idea.

I'd look for a bone stock carbed gen 1 for a good price.

[LTb1ow]

Pushrod guideplates don't keep the pushrod to rocker, they keep the rocker to valve stem no?

[WildBillyT]

I was thinking that the enlarged hole in the head might mean something funny is going on. He would need hardened pushrods as well but I think it's a non issue as he's looking for a new motor.

The oval slot in this case is what used to guide the pushrod.