Slant Six Forum :: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA

Quote:

Just swap out one exhaust valve spring with a checking spring. Spin her over and check it around your TDC position. That is usually where our problem is. If you have plenty of room I would opnly do one. Now if it was close....... maybe I check more?? If you drop the valve, oh well, you wanted to pull the head anyway!

Good luck Greg!

That might work with a lawnmower cam, but real cams can get cozy on the intake side after TDC......

Button it up, spin it over, if it doesn't stop turning, you're good to go.

I had one engine, that when I pulled the head, aftr a season of racing, every piston had two small eyebrows.

I once put together a zero-deck shortblock (for Project V) and THEN realized I cut the valve reliefs wrong (Int/Exh swapped) for 3 of the pistons. Got out a die grinder with a carbide bit and cut em by hand. Hm, I guess I cut the original ones the same way with the pistons on the bench. Masking taped the gaps between piston and bore with each piston brought up to TDC to do the cuts. When Charlie Schmid visited and I showed him, his response was "Aw, bruuutal." Worked great for over 15 yrs...

Lou

Man, I can see how big those lobes look in the pic! Not for mowing lawns...

Lou

I would not be afraid to try it if I didn't have another one? But if I had a new one I would use it and package up the old one for future use. No use to create problems if you don't have to.

Author:	Charrlie_S [ Wed Apr 08, 2026 8:39 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Button it up, spin it over, if it doesn't stop turning, you're good to go. I had one engine, that when I pulled the head, aftr a season of racing, every piston had two small eyebrows.

Author:	Greg Ondayko [ Wed Apr 08, 2026 11:17 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Quote: Quote: Just swap out one exhaust valve spring with a checking spring. Spin her over and check it around your TDC position. That is usually where our problem is. If you have plenty of room I would opnly do one. Now if it was close....... maybe I check more?? If you drop the valve, oh well, you wanted to pull the head anyway! Good luck Greg! That might work with a lawnmower cam, but real cams can get cozy on the intake side after TDC...... Ain't no mawnmower cam here! Taller lift and fatter duration than what was in there before. All the halfassed stuff I do tends to bite me in the fullass. So I do not want that this time.

Author:	slantzilla [ Wed Apr 08, 2026 7:29 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Quote: Button it up, spin it over, if it doesn't stop turning, you're good to go. I had one engine, that when I pulled the head, aftr a season of racing, every piston had two small eyebrows. I bought a Cam Dynamics "stocker" cam from a buddy who ran a 350 Buick GS in K/SA. It would bend valves over 5000 rpm. He took a hammer and wood chisel and made valve reliefs in the pistons so they didn't look machined.

Author:	Dart270 [ Thu Apr 09, 2026 3:20 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
I once put together a zero-deck shortblock (for Project V) and THEN realized I cut the valve reliefs wrong (Int/Exh swapped) for 3 of the pistons. Got out a die grinder with a carbide bit and cut em by hand. Hm, I guess I cut the original ones the same way with the pistons on the bench. Masking taped the gaps between piston and bore with each piston brought up to TDC to do the cuts. When Charlie Schmid visited and I showed him, his response was "Aw, bruuutal." Worked great for over 15 yrs... Lou

Author:	Greg Ondayko [ Thu Apr 09, 2026 7:03 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Quote: I once put together a zero-deck shortblock (for Project V) and THEN realized I cut the valve reliefs wrong (Int/Exh swapped) for 3 of the pistons. Got out a die grinder with a carbide bit and cut em by hand. Hm, I guess I cut the original ones the same way with the pistons on the bench. Masking taped the gaps between piston and bore with each piston brought up to TDC to do the cuts. When Charlie Schmid visited and I showed him, his response was "Aw, bruuutal." Worked great for over 15 yrs... Lou Yes, I have already done similar with this motor/pistons. The Original Valve Reliefs for the Pro-Tru 3.504" Pistons were a shade small, so I dremel'd the existing valve reliefs to a larger radius whilst they were already in the engine. Used tape and all. This time, I am concerned about the depth of the valve reliefs with the new cam.

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Author:	Rick Covalt [ Thu Apr 09, 2026 10:15 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Yes those .800" lift cams cause issues. That's why I use my lawn mower cam!

Author:	slantzilla [ Thu Apr 09, 2026 5:39 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA

Author:	Dart270 [ Fri Apr 10, 2026 2:15 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Greg, You are right to pull the head and do careful measurements with the new cam. You got a lotta comp in that motor! Lou

Author:	Greg Ondayko [ Mon Apr 13, 2026 7:07 am ]
Post subject:	4/13/26
4/13/26 Over the weekend, specifically Sunday, I went for a 42 Mile Bike Ride on a section of local rail trail that is not flat. I might hafta go there many more times between now and the end of May 2026. After the bike ride, I made it to the shop for lunch and some more Ruster work. I got the old Schneider cam with the shredded oil pump drive gear removed. I prepped the new cam for the block by removing all the Schmoo from OCG, then I put some Lobe Lube and Bearing Guard Schmoo on it. Then put it in the block. Now, I need to do some preliminary degreeing, but that might hafta wait for Wed or later in the week, as it is busy here and I am going to see Snarky Puppy tomorrow nite in Pittsburgh with my daughter and some work friends and possibly students. I also realized that i did not have any fresh lifters on hand. I had a bunch of core lifters ready to go off to OCG for refinishing, but no new ones on hand. I ordered some lifters from Summit, and hopefully they will be here soon!

Author:	Dart270 [ Mon Apr 13, 2026 8:48 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Man, I can see how big those lobes look in the pic! Not for mowing lawns... Lou

Author:	slantzilla [ Mon Apr 13, 2026 9:17 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Quote: Man, I can see how big those lobes look in the pic! Not for mowing lawns... Lou

Author:	Greg Ondayko [ Mon Apr 20, 2026 6:35 am ]
Post subject:	4-20-26
4-20-26: I found some time to get back to the shop yesterday. The valve locks were really tight on the valves, and with the triple-wound springs that Mike J has installed, I cannot remove the spring retainers or locks with the head-on-engine-type valve spring compressor. So, off with your head! The old AP-210 Big Bore Aussie Gasket looks good enough to reuse (installed in 2020). Do I dare to try something so foolish as to reuse this seemingly mint AP-210 Big Bore Gasket? Maybe blast it down with some copper schmoo and see what it'll do? Easter is over, but this egg has a good treat inside: Silly Putty for checking that Piston to Valve clearance. When I set the head back on and adjusted the lash to 0, I did not have the head gasket on. I rolled the engine around, and I had interference with the intake valve. I later found out that the Intake ℄ of something ridiculous like 88°. I found that I had been one tooth off on the Chain, so I slipped things around retarding the cam by 1 tooth (or so I thought), but later found out that I had retrated it 2 teeth. So then I advanced one tooth and boom! 99.875° Intake ℄ I rechecked it, and the measurement is the same, and if I round it is dead nuts on 100°. I rechecked the valve to Piston Clearane again, with the correct Cam timing, and added a compressed ~0.047" Head Gasket on, and the Silly Putty says I am not too silly, but safe! Now I can begin to button things up, do some painting/cleanup, and begin to fabricobble some fore/aft limiting for the engine plate.

Author:	Rick Covalt [ Mon Apr 20, 2026 7:35 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
I would not be afraid to try it if I didn't have another one? But if I had a new one I would use it and package up the old one for future use. No use to create problems if you don't have to.

Author:	Dart270 [ Mon Apr 20, 2026 7:46 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Did you cut a cross section of that putty to see what the actual clearance is? I use play dough as silly putty can flow a little. You could cut across it with a fresh single edge razor blade and leave 1/2 on the piston and measure with a caliper (or with your eye if it's clearly thick enough). Sounds great on the valve timing. So you were using the 210 gasket with 13.5:1 static CR? Wow. No o-rings? I would worry it wouldn't work a second time, and like Rick's idea... I guess you are using head studs and plenty of torque? Lou

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Author:	Greg Ondayko [ Mon Apr 20, 2026 9:09 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 1968 Valiant Ruster Racer IRWIN PA
Quote: I would not be afraid to try it if I didn't have another one? But if I had a new one I would use it and package up the old one for future use. No use to create problems if you don't have to. That's what I'm going to do. I was just ragebaiting you as the youngins' say!