The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop MNSmith's GMC 302 build

Bill, you called it. I started setting lash, cold at roughly 0.016 intake, 0.020 exhaust just as a starting point. Did 1I E, 2I, 3E, 4I, 5E. Rolled it 180 to get the rest and was stopped before #6 TDC. Only by about 1-3 degrees. So, I backed everything off, and rolled the crank around to make sure it wasn't some new bolt I put into the timing cover, even though I knew it wasn't. I made a crank timing trigger mount off the front timing cover and had replaced a cam cap bolt with a slightly longer one. The crank went around with no resistance (minus the rings and pistons.) So I verified the cam firing order since Bill liked having his cams ground by Donnie Johansen and those race car guys like mixing things up. He already got me with the standard firing order plug wires on the Ford 302 when the dumb thing had an H.O. cam. I think he did that on purpose just to test me!

Everything was standard firing order. So, I zero lashed cylinder 1 and rolled the crank over. The exhaust valve hit the piston. So, I backed that off and zero lashed the #3 exhaust. Same thing. So, I'm going to assume all exhaust valves are going to interfere. My thoughts are that I might need to find an 0.030 or 0.040 head gasket since the pistons are already 0.070 in the hole? That would give me something close to 0.100 exhaust valve clearance from the piston. Thoughts anyone? I'd really like to keep away from tearing into that block.

I could pull the timing cover to see if he set the cam straight up or degreed it.

I don't believe Schultz was hands on for this build, so whoever built it might have missed a spec somewhere? Things happen.