SOLD my 1969 SS396 300 Deluxe Post Sedan

[x Baldwin Motion]

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I just recieved my new license plate!!!



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VERY cool!!!

[69 Post Sedan]

For those that aren't on some of the other sites I'm on, I pulled the motor out of the Chevelle last Sunday and during the week slowly pulled it apart except the crank, rods and cam.

I found out that the motor has .060 over 12.5:1 pistons with 840 closed chamber heads. Now I understand why it ran better with a 104/93 fuel mix.

The crank is cast iron with standard rods. I have a couple 6223 cranks but probably will be looking for a different set of rods.

I'm still on the fence of building this motor or taking the 512 2-bolt main block I have and building a 427.

Here are some pictures.

[markjohnson]

You should probably replace those economy aluminum rocker arms with something better. They are NOT extruded aluminum or billet but a low-cost investment casting. You could also save some yourself quite a bit of hassle when it comes to lashing valves by losing the stud girdle. Sure, I know they're exotic-looking and neat to look at when the valve covers are off, but unless you have an .800 lift Pro Stock camshaft in that motor, they are just not needed in a cast-iron headed engine and complicate a valve lashing. Try it yourself sometime, loosen the girdle, lash a few valves, tighten the girdle back up and re-check the valves you just did and see how much they changed! Let me add this......please don't think I'm criticizing your car, I'm just trying to chime in with some good advise for when you re-assemble that motor. I've wasted a lot of good money over the years on parts that just don't work well and would like to think that I've learned a thing or two from that.

[69 Post Sedan]

Mark, any help/info that I can get is not criticism...it's exactly what I want/need which is good advice.

I figured the rocker arms were not anything special. I hope to use Comp Cams Pro Magnum rocker arms. You are not the first person to say the Comp Cams stud girdle is a pain in the butt and not needed with cast iron heads! My goal is to use 077 aluminum heads and want to make sure that the rocker studs don't pull out.

Is there a more user friendly stud girdle out there or if the rocker studs are installed correctly it won't be needed?

[markjohnson]

Well, I currently have a set nice set of #077's on my LS-6 and I knew that they have a history of breaking rocker stud bosses. It's rare to find a set that have actually never been welded on. Anyway, it's very important to purchase a set of ARP Rocker Studs that have the deep threads on bottom. Also, get a bottoming tap to add an extra 2-3 threads to the bottom of ALL the rocker holes. Go slow and use tapping oil, you DO NOT want to deal with a broken tap that deep. That head would be ruined. It's been a few years since I did this, but I think there was only a couple rocker studs (the end ones maybe?) that need to have a thread or two removed so they the shoulder would seat properly. I think if you did this and stuck with a solid lifer cam, and not a wild roller, that you could get by without that stud girdle. I've got a .600 lift solid camshaft in mine with ZERO trouble over several years now. Those Comp Cams Pro Magnum Rockers seem like very good ones and should be fine. I'll tell 'ya, I've had just the best luck you could ever imagine with Harland Sharp Roller Rockers. I think some people are scared away from them by their lower price, but I've used them quite a bit with no trouble ever, even on some pretty radical Roller cam'ed street cars that I ran hard for many miles. And trust me.....I run them hard.

[69 Post Sedan]

Just another update. I am going to run my block and use 402 +.040 pistons.

Gonna have it running on pump gas and also run........with bigger cube motors!

Also I am having the trans changed from a M22 to a M22W...which I should have done in the first place...oh well!

[Postsedan]

Sweet! Now get rid of that Snow Blower!

Dan

[427TJ]

What's an M22W?

[Dave Rifkin]

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What's an M22W?

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M22 "wide ratio" instead of close ratio?

[69 Post Sedan]

Basically I am changing the 4 speed gear ratio from: 2.20 / 1.64 / 1.28 / 1.00

to: 2.52 / 1.88 / 1.46 / 1.00

It will be a lot better on the street and out of the hole at the strip.

Plus the gears are made of stronger material than a typical M20 and they are machined at a 20 degree helix angle on the gearset as opposed to a 30 degree angle.

If my math is correct it will make my 3.73 rear gears feel like 4.26 in 1st changing from a 2.20 to a 2.52 first gear.