The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop wobbly valve, time to pull the head?

I have done some basic cleaning and upkeep on my 1960 C10 that had been sitting for an unknown number of years and got it to start up and run yesterday. It has the original 235 straight six motor. When I 1st got the truck home I found some loose parts under the valve cover. One of the rocker arm adjuster screws was loose under there and one of the valve spring retainers was gone. There was an extra head in the cab with all the valves and springs but no rocker arm assembly. I don't know why the head was in there but maybe the previous owner knew they needed a new head for parts or some other reason.

Things that I've done so far
replaced the points and serviced the distributor
rebuilt (single barrel Rochester B carb
cleaned out rocker arm assembly and replaced middle oil connector (old one was broken)
replaced valve spring retainer
new plugs
set timing (was pretty close but not perfect)
oil change
throttle linkage clean and spring replace (old spring was missing)
new fuel pump, filter, and hard line to carb

The engine will start and run but the valve that I replaced the keeper has some play. It and the spring can be moved by hand. I don't want to cause more damage by running the engine with this problem so I am looking for advice on what I should do next. I'd like to use the engine and now that I have verified it will run I am willing to put some money into getting it fixed up. I guess I should pull the head and see what's going on with that valve and address any other issues that become apparent. Is it a waste of time to just pull the head? If there are deeper issues I figure I need to pull the rest of the engine anyway (although I'd like to avoid that if it's not necessary).

HenrytheWound Sounds like you better pull the head,see which head can be made the best inspect your bores check your cam. Does it smoke now?? If not would try to fix that one also listen for noises,see how oil pressure is when up to operating temperature.

Being able to move the top of the valve stem around tells me you've got a badly worn valve guide. That's a major repair that involves removing the head and getting a machine shop to rebuild it. If your extra head has a casting number that ends in "848" that's the correct one for a 1957-62 engine. How about getting that head rebuilt since it's already off, and swapping the rocker arm assembly to it when you install the rebuilt head? That will let you keep running the present engine while the replacement head is getting rebuilt.

Don't let a machine shop talk you into installing hard valve seats. It's not necessary unless you're planning to run a "dry" fuel like LP or compressed natural gas. The stovebolt six exhaust valves are identical to the ones used on a Chevy small block V8, and stainless steel ones are available dirt cheap in sets of 8 on Ebay. You'll spend much less than buying six "numbers correct" valves for a stovebolt engine.
Jerry

Thanks, I’ll pull the head and drop both off early next week to see which is the best candidate for fixing up. There was some smoke but I suppose it could have been from a bunch of things since it has been sitting and I used a bunch of stuff cleaning under the valve cover.

One issue I don’t know how to handle is the rear push rod hits the back of the engine bay. I had taken them all out to clean earlier but I couldn’t get the farthest one back to come out. I’m not sure how to get that one out so I can remove the head.

Take the pushrod cover off the side of the engine and tilt that last one so it can come out of the bottom. It might also be possible to unbolt the head, slide it forward and/or sideways a little, and get enough clearance to slip it out of the top. Don't forget to manipulate it the same way as you reinstall the head!
Jerry