[eman88]

ok so im about 6 grand into this car and i cant get it runnin now it ran fine before i done anything to it but i upgraded ignition and intake systems the problem hit was with a trickflow stage 1 cam with .499 in and .510 ex everything together and it bent pushrods i bought a used set of heads e7 with trickflow springs for upto .542 lift cam now will i have the same problem with the valves hitting the piston and if so what do i need to do to stop this ive completely pulled the engine and am now going to just rebuild the damn thing its getting vatted and all that shit then ill go to buyin parts to put it together exactly what do i need to do like really not funny shit to make this motor go im thinkin of a 331 stroker kit from scat but dont know yet someone with some sense not just the guy that has a mustang please get back to me thanx guys

also the block says xxx on it is this significant to anything or what

[trueblue01]

That combo is right at the point where valve to piston clearance is close and a possible issue. The cheap way out would be to check clearances and fly cut your pistons. I have several sets of E7 heads, I'd be happy to send you the valves you need to put you heads back together provided that your heads didn't suffer any damage. PM sent

[jrh_1980]

I have an F cam in my stock block 302 and i don't have any clearance issues. I would venture to say that the issues your haveing with the bent push rods is in the valve train geometry itself. have you changed push rods? went to roller rockers? properly set your valve lash? there are a number of little things that could be the culprit. Good luck bro. let us know what you end up doing.

[r.barn]

TFS stage-1 cam will not have P to V issues.

You bent pushrods due to some other reason.

[eman88]

i would greatly appreciate the valves trueblue and guys what else could it be and will i have the same problem with a 331 or a 347

[95StangMX]

yeah stroking your motor is not going to fix the problem...sounds like maybe your rockers or pushrods....did you change either of those during this build?...I agree with r.barn as far as the p to v issues with a stage 1 cam....as far as the stroker go talk to woody (jim) at FordStrokers.com 331-347-393-408-418-427 stroker kits and ford parts. and if nobody else has the answers to your problem he can help you with both and is a great guy and knows his stuff

[fogged306]

I personally would say you have your cam installed wrong. I'm not experienced with this but I'm just looking at it logically. Lift plays a small role in PTV clearance, it's the timing thats the issue. If you have your cam too far advanced or too far retarded, you're going to run into valves being open while the piston is coming up on its stroke, they will make contact and you will have bent valves... someone correct me if I'm flawed here.

[93hatch]

i have the tfs 1 cam with my gt40p's and i gots no clearance probs

[fairlane_68]

Are you using hardened pushrods? Are you using double or triple valve springs? How about guideplates? Did you install the cam "straight up" or was it degreed in, or did you just slap it in there? There may not be piston to valve clearance issues, but with those intake/exhaust lobes that big, if you're running non-hardened pushrods and no guideplates, there's your problem.

[GoodOleBoyzRacin]

the clearance probs would come to the lift and duration both put together. duration more than the lift. durationis how long the valve stays open and if it stays open long enough yes it will hit the piston and cause lots of probs. make sure your timing marks line up on the timing gears. i had the same prob when i put in an E CAM. i wasnt paying attention and installed it upside down and thank god i turned the motor over by hand before i tried to crank it. just somethin to think about

[eman88]

sonds like it could be anthing really well i pulled the damn motor and am stripping it down now i dont know shit about strokin in what all would i need to do to im goin to have the block vatted and all and probably bore it 60 over what extra do i need from the machine shop to stroke it and what would a 302 bored 60 over and with the stroke of a 331 be

[e3sean]

did u just slap everything together? did you check the ptv clearence before putting it together? what rockers are you using?

[fogged306]

Originally Posted by eman88 sonds like it could be anthing really well i pulled the damn motor and am stripping it down now i dont know shit about strokin in what all would i need to do to im goin to have the block vatted and all and probably bore it 60 over what extra do i need from the machine shop to stroke it and what would a 302 bored 60 over and with the stroke of a 331 be

I wouldn't go .060 on a stock block. .030 is usually the consensus of the most you should go.

[93mustank]

Originally Posted by r.barn TFS stage-1 cam will not have P to V issues. You bent push rods due to some other reason.

lol...has nothing to do with the valves hitting the pistons

Valves just dont bend buy them selves..... not a spring problem

This thread is ridiculous .....

Did you really say you had p/v problems the first time and did the same thing the second time....?

Why?

You deserve to spend all that money.....and it will take more and more if you keep making the same mistakes over and over.........

All engines are different.....

Always check ptv clearance no matter what....I dont care what any internet person says.....

If i were you I would have a shop put a 4 cylinder in the car because you dont need to ruin another 302.........

the "xxx" means you won a tic tac toe prize

Dont mean to be a dick but come on now......

[GoodOleBoyzRacin]

i agree but like i said i put a E303 cam in my old 302 and accidently had the timing marks upside down and when i tried to turn it over by hand the valves wouldnt let me turn it anymore cause they were touchin. NEVER get in a hurry when workin on an engine. especially on critical areas like camshafts etc. lets not be stupid. it sounds like he slapped it all together and isnt checkin or somebody told him the wrong way to do somethin

[GoodOleBoyzRacin]

Originally Posted by eman88 ......it ran fine before i done anything to it.....

maybe you shouldnt do anything else to it at all besides take it somewhere and let somebody fix it and then just drive it.


take the block get it cleaned new cam bearings blah blah blah bore it .030 over buy the stroker kit from scat. get the short stroke 347 kit (i think this is the one where you dont notch the block) take it somewhere and have them put it together. seriously. go 347 whats the point of goin 331? and if your strokin it might as well buy some good heads and an intake cause the e7's are gonna choke it down ALOT ALOT and throw some long tubes on there too. oh yeah throw in some subframe connectors as well because all the new gobs of power will soon be splittin your floorpan

[1slo5.0]

Originally Posted by eman88 ok so im about 6 grand into this car and i cant get it runnin now it ran fine before i done anything to it but i upgraded ignition and intake systems the problem hit was with a trickflow stage 1 cam with .499 in and .510 ex everything together and it bent pushrods i bought a used set of heads e7 with trickflow springs for upto .542 lift cam now will i have the same problem with the valves hitting the piston and if so what do i need to do to stop this ive completely pulled the engine and am now going to just rebuild the damn thing its getting vatted and all that shit then ill go to buyin parts to put it together exactly what do i need to do like really not funny shit to make this motor go im thinkin of a 331 stroker kit from scat but dont know yet someone with some sense not just the guy that has a mustang please get back to me thanx guys also the block says xxx on it is this significant to anything or what

Did you check valve to piston clearance at all? I'm assuming no. Did you check the installed height on the valve springs when you installed them? Did you check for coil bind? Did you install the cam correctly? How did you time the cam? You need to determine why the pushrods are geting bent. If in fact the valves are hitting the pistons, you will need valves as well as pushrods. With the new valves you will need a valve job.

[1slo5.0]

Originally Posted by r.barn TFS stage-1 cam will not have P to V issues. You bent pushrods due to some other reason.

Are you sure about that? I can show you that cam causing valve to piston clearance issues.

[1slo5.0]

Originally Posted by fairlane_68 Are you using hardened pushrods? Are you using double or triple valve springs? How about guideplates? Did you install the cam "straight up" or was it degreed in, or did you just slap it in there? There may not be piston to valve clearance issues, but with those intake/exhaust lobes that big, if you're running non-hardened pushrods and no guideplates, there's your problem.

The cam doesn't dictate hardened pushrods or guideplates. Screw in studs and roller rockers need guideplates, pedastal mount rockers like a factory Ford head uses does not use guide plates. Guideplates and/or heavy spring pressures require good pushrods, neither of which he has. He is running a very small cam with stock heads and a slightly stiffer than stock spring. He does not need aftermarket pushrods or guideplates.

[fairlane_68]

Originally Posted by Darrell The cam doesn't dictate hardened pushrods or guideplates. Screw in studs and roller rockers need guideplates, pedastal mount rockers like a factory Ford head uses does not use guide plates. Guideplates and/or heavy spring pressures require good pushrods, neither of which he has. He is running a very small cam with stock heads and a slightly stiffer than stock spring. He does not need aftermarket pushrods or guideplates.

Well, if he's not slapping his pistons, what is it then? Is he using flat tops, domes or dished pistons?

I had a friend a few years back who owned a '69 Firebird drag car, with a Pontiac 428. It had 11.5:1 compression, forged this, balanced that, and the car kept bending pushrods. We found the problem after reinstalling the cam and degreeing it in. The builder (hack job shadetree builder), didn't use hardened pushrods and guideplates, nor did he use double springs, because he claimed the cam instructions didn't say he needed them. After we got those parts installed and fixed a bad torque converter, the car ran low 11's all day long.


I'm throwing out questions to eliminate problems he could be having. I'm not trying to be argumentative. I was taught that once you get into cams with .500 or more lift, you begin to get into valve clearance problems if the cam isn't installed properly. Maybe not right at .500, but it can happen. If he's putting these parts on a worn engine, all of the above mentioned factors come into play. It could be a lifter that's pumped up solid, the wrong cam being used, pushrods that are too long, or a stretched connecting rod.