408 with Victor Jr's Clearance issues
 

ok, some of you may remember the 408w that I was working on a few months back. The engine only put down 308 rwhp, but it has come to life after attending to a few tuning issues. The engine has edelbrock rpm heads with 1.90 valves (I think). The owner went and bought a set of Victor Jr. heads off eBay, kind of on a whim. Here are the problems.

I am thinking there could be some clearance issues, meaning valve to piston, in the way of the new heads having 2.05 valves. We may have other problems, because I think he may have bought a set of Victor Jr's with 70cc chambers vs the 60 cc chambers. I have the engine build sheet right here, but there is a ton of numbers, so I am only going to provide the ones I feel are essential, unless someone asks for something specific.

cam -http://www.compcams.com/Technical/Search/CamDetails.asp?PartNumber=35-250-4

351W-1969 block
Pistons - BRC inverted dome with 30cc piston dish
Compression is 9.27
Scat 4.0 crank/eagle 6.200 h-beam rods
Deck height is 9.49, bore is 4.03, and stroke is 4

There are tons more numbers on this sheet and I know some of you guys are great with this stuff. Heck, some of you may be running a combo similar and can help me out. I am not sure on the rocker arms, until I pull a valve cover. I was suppose to begin swapping these heads tonight, but want to hold off until we figure out if they will clear and until I can check part numbers and realize if he bought the bigger cc sized heads.
Thanks guys,
Ryan

Re: 408 with Victor Jr's Clearance issues
 

Victor Jr heads ( part no.77189) have 60 cc chambers with 2.05 intake, 1.60 exhaust, same for no 77189 which is a complete head with vale springs and retainers. part no's 77389, 77399 are 70cc chambers , same size valves.preformer rpm heads are 60cc chambers and either 1.90 valves no's 60229 or 2.02 valves no.s 60259,69,602519. piston to valve clearance has to do with the cam profile9 straight up , advanced , retarded etc.) head gasket thickness , piston to deck clearance and depth of valve notch. I assume the pistons are not for a twisted wedge head or something similar. hope these specs help

Re: 408 with Victor Jr's Clearance issues
 

according to the engine build sheet, the pistons are dished, leaving compression to be around 9.25. I assume the builder did this for a reason, but that seems a little low to me unless there was plans for a turbo/super charger. Either way, we looked at the heads today for those part numbers ....and can not find them. Called Edelbrock help line and the guy was flat out rude with my buddy about helping us. He provided no help other then saying the cam in the car now was not nearly sufficient enough for the new heads.

he is gonna run the heads by a local machine shop tom and see if they can be of any assistance.
Ryan

Re: 408 with Victor Jr's Clearance issues
 

Check how much piston to valve you have with the old heads. If you have a ton, continue with the swap, but be sure to check it with the new heads. If you can get the head to East Moline, I can cc the chamber for you.

Andy