i put one of the heads on last night. i did have to take the rocker arms off when i dis assembled it. however when i put them back on it cranks them down until it got hard to rotate. basicallt i brought them all the way yot the block. the valves are working well. the correct ones seem to be open and closed at the right time.

 

DO NOT START THAT MOTOR

Dude, you are not totally hearing them. You are going to kill the cam.
Putting the rockers on isnt something you just do. The rockers are what set the valves.
YES, You must set the valves. You removed all valve settings when you took the rockers off. If you just put the rockers on you WILL flatten that cam before you get out of the driveway.

 

You're going to bend, snap, break, or ruin something.
Go back to the previous page and follow the procedure in the first of the two links I gave. And read the second link so you can see what the cam and valves are doing.

 

okay! gotcha now. me and my friends mom "retired bus mechanic" will be setting the valves later today. well she will be and then showing me how to. i dont plan to start the engine for another week yet. not until i know everything is right on.

 

Follow what Camaro69 and I have been trying to tell you. You are working on a Chevy small block and there are things that you do to this engine that are not done on all engines. Your bus mechanic friend will be used to working on diesel engines which are different critters than the SBC. If in doubt head to your local auto part store and pick up a chilton book that specializes in the SBC. I know my store carries the SBC and the SB ford book. It goes into detail how to recognize what version of the engine you have (NOT ALL SMALL BLOCK CHEVYS ARE THE SAME!!!) and how to rebuild the engine and set the proper torque settings and valve adjustment.

I dont have the part number for the book right now but I will try to find it for you and post it here to help you.

Massey

 

the bus mechanic friend works on everything from diesles to gas to small engines. she owned her own shop for many years, worked at a few others, along with now working at napa.

here are some pictures i shot last night. maybe this will clear up some confusion. i believe earlier you all were asking me if they were mounted indevidually or on a shaft. i think i said shaft, but wasnt quite sure what you meant. these are indevidually each mounted on a shaft. heres a picture. sorry for any confusion, i appreciate the help!

 

To avoid confusion next time, those are "stud" mounted rockers you have, which is a conventional setup. You need to follow the individual adjustment procedure already given you.
A "shaft" style is a horizontal bar that the rockers (different type) ride on.

 

okay cool. thanks for the help. got most of the engine back together and will be adjusting the valves along with putting it in time later this week. completed photos soon!

pretty happy with how it has turned out, being my first dress up and all.

 

okay so heres a few questions.

i found a real nice set of edlebrock valve covers on craigslist near me. $25, chrome and red. they dont have the bolts or gaskets. is there a sertain gasket i need to get or is there just a universal sbc valve cover gasket?

also... i would like to get a new air cleaner, but the spot on the carb that it would set on is not round like the 350's i have seen. it is mor of a 3/4 moon, kinda like a D where do i find one shaped like that? or do i just use the round ones?

thanks again guys

 

heres one more. if i were to replace the stock, dual jet carb with a quadrajet. i would have to replace the intake also, correct?