While I have my head off to replace the bent valves im going to get the head shaved and go with a thinner head gasket...but ONLY if someone can DEFINITAVLY (SP?) tell me what we have for valve clearance stock. Also, will this change with stage 2 cams installed? do i have less clearance?

PLEASE

Bumpidy Bumpidy??

 

Yes, you have less clearance with 'bigger' cams, the increased lift and duration brings the valve closer to the piston at times.

You want to be 100% sure, have the clearance checked on your motor. It's not something I would leave up to guesswork.

 

and i would do this by????

nvm
did some research and found

would appreciate any tips though!!!

 

Simply put, you put clay on the top of the pistons, install the head with the actual gasket and bolts and torque you will run the engine with, install the timing stuff as you will to run the car, and bar the motor over. The valves will depress the clay as they come down, and the thickness you are left with is the clearance.

It's a time consuming process for sure, but search the net for more info, there is lots of established information out there that can be of more help. I've never done it personally so I can't give great specifics, but i've never built something that needed that kind of checking.

 

so did you find our ptv clearance specs or just what he said bout claying it? i bought some playdoh for mine but i think ill prolly end up using the good stuff called plastigauge. do you know what our factory head gasket thickness is?

i did some searching and i found in the gm build book factory hg is .043 but i idnt find ptv clearance

 

i didnt find the clearance. i found the clay method and will prob do that just to be safe
i saw people that have shaved anywhere from .015"-.050" and are running ok, but i want to stay on the safe side so this doesnt happen again...

 

saw i also read too that when you shave a lot off the head the timing chain will get loose. i think max im gonna take .010 off so in total with my smaller head gasket it will net me .013

 

yes then they invented the timing chain tensioner.

 

lol, i was reading that not only would it get loose but you could risk it not being in time...but i suppose if the links lined up right, and the tensioner takes the slack that it wouldnt make a diff...but if the tensioner cant take all the slack then yes...chain will be loose and possibly come out of time...and that is NOOOOO good

im going to use a stock gasket (buddy has a new one extra) and shave some, im going to shave some...i think max i would go is .020 total, but im going to do a clearance check and find out....

 

if you do .020 and results are good im gonna go get my build started but if clearance becomes an issue i think ill end up buying a stock headgasket and start checking clearance from there

 

ya, ill post valve clearance results when i have them, but just rem this is for my engine and you may want to double check yours

 

i'll prolly still check it but it would just be an ease of mind as well too knowing that i'll be safe since yours would be more then mine. what do you think your static ratio will be with .020 off? like 11:1

 

i have no idea what its going to put me at
but we have changed plans a little...he has a spare head, so we are going to shave it .020 cause from what ive read that seems pretty safe, we are going to check it with that and then if it is too much we still have my stock head we can reassemble, if its good then we are going to go with that and put it all back together. this is the plan...but plans can change