I realize that I am in the wrong forum for this question, but this group is way more mechanically inclined than the Corvette forum. I recently completed a minor overhaul of a 235 for my 54 3100 truck. I am now working on a 54 Corvette, the first step (for me) being testing for compression, which in turn had me setting the lash on the valves. Having just successfully done so on my truck, I thought I was teed up for success. Try as I might, I could not get things right using the specs from my 54 Truck Manual (it is frustratingly difficult to find specs for the 54 Corvette 235) to set the lash. At one point, someone on the Vette forum asked if someone had converted the lifters to hydraulic. Researching here, it appears the lifters should in fact be hydraulic and now having pulled one, it was bored. So, does anyone know whether a 54 Corvette has hydraulic lifters and should be so lashed? The 54, by the way, came only with a Powerglide.
The only way to be sure of the cam profile would be to use a dial indicator and a degree wheel to plot a graph of the cam lobe profile. That's something virtually all racing engine builders know how to do, and virtually none of the people who pontificate on internet forums understand, let alone could accomplish on a real engine. The difference in a hydraulic and a solid lifter cam is a very short section of each cam lobe where the base circle meets the lifting part of the lobe. To accomplish your compression test, there's a quick work-around. As the distributor rotor aligns itself with each plug wire, loosen both valve adjusters until there is some visible slack in the rocker arms, and then tighten them just enough to eliminate the slack. Once all the valves are adjusted that way, go ahead with the compression test.
If you want a more detailed procedure for doing an accurate hydraulic lifter adjustment, drop me a PM. I have a technique I've been using for over 50 years that works on all hydraulic lifter engines, regardless of the number of cylinders or the make of the vehicle. Good luck! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I hope I get this correct. If not, someone please correct me. 53 and 55 Corvette 235 engine and the 54 and 55 truck with a 261 engine use the same mechanical (solid) lifters. As it happens in life, they are rare. Figuring out what to do is not easy and it's hard to give advice without more information. Between 53 and 56, Chevy 6 cylinders were going through a design change transition plus Chevy was using up excess inventory (long story).
You should investigate:
*) 53/55 Corvette 235 engine does not have a drilled lifter galley, for oil passage, for hydraulic lifters. *) If you have the correct old cam and lifters, you can have them resurfaced IF you have a shop that knows what they are doing. *) It's possible to purchase a new camshaft and lifters that are close to original specs. *) Small versus large camshaft journal *) Pushrod length
You can search the Stovebolt website for the Corvette cam or 261 camshaft for ideas on what others have done for their 261 engines or hopped-up 235s.
Jerry, before I take you up on your generous offer, let me share a little more information. In the first photo (if I did it correctly), #6 cylinder is at TDC and the 2 rockers that you are looking at in disbelief have bottomed out on the pushrods but still left no gap to measure. The next 2 photos are still TDC #6, but when I was at TDC for #1, each of them looked just like the first photo, they had each bottomed out on their pushrods, but just look at the size of the gap now. Last 2 are just for reference.
"What we have here is a failure to communicate"- - - - -I love old movie dialog! It shouldn't be necessary to remove the adjusting screws to get the valves to close, unless something else is wrong. The "TDC" mark on the flywheel will align with the pointer twice- - - -once when the piston is at the top of the compression stroke with both valves closed, and again at the top of the exhaust stroke, with the exhaust valve closing and the intake getting ready to open and begin the 4-stroke cycle again. I see in one of the pics that you have the side cover removed. That makes things MUCH simpler, as you can watch the lifters instead of the rocker arms to determine where the cam is in relation to the pistons, rather than looking at just the rockers. I already have a good idea what's happening, and it involves some mismatched parts.
The lifters in your photos are definitely solids- - - -there were never any "milk can" lifters made in hydraulic configuration. There were several lengths of pushrods, however, and engines with the milk can lifters use a shorter pushrod than later models with more conventionally-shaped lifters, hydraulic or solid. It appears you've got early lifters combined with late model pushrods, resulting in being unable to back the adjusters off far enough to create any clearance.
Watch the lifters as you turn the engine over by hand. When the TDC mark on the flywheel aligns with the pointer there will be one place where both lifters are bottomed out. One turn of the crankshaft later, both lifters will be slightly higher in the block, and approximately the same position, vertically. The lowest point of travel of both lifters is where you should be able to set the valve clearance. If the distributor is timed correctly, the rotor should also be pointed toward the spark plug wire for the cylinder where you're adjusting the valves. If you can't get a good adjustment with the lifters bottomed out for each cylinder as the engine turns, you've got a lifter/pushrod mismatch.
Drop me a PM and I'll give you my phone number- - - -these types of discussions always go better in a 2-way conversation than a keyboard marathon! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Agreed. The lifter in your photo is a milk bottle lifter. So solid lifter.
Any chance you can post the block casting number and head casting number. The reason I ask is that the vettes used a different casting then the regular production cars and they are very very rare. It may just be that you have a passenger car or truck motor in the vette as opposed to a real vette 235.
When I get home tonight I will drag out my 59 parts catalog and see what lifter is actually specified for the 54 vette.
Problem solved, sorry to have taken your time on something so fundamentally stupid on my part, but it was merely a question of getting on the compression stroke. Thanks for the help.
"I love it when a plan comes together!" I just got home from a 400-mile round trip to east central Alabama to look at a warranty claim for a car that lost the oil pan plug after a Walmart oil change- - - - -looks like Wally World is going to get to buy somebody a 2-liter Hyundai engine! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Your lifter doesn't have a groove so the engine builder probably did the smart thing and installed a new cam and lifters (Elgin, Melling etc.). Enjoy the light clacking sound of solids.
"Adding CFM to a truck will only help at engine speeds you don't want to use." "I found there was nothing to gain beyond 400 CFM."
