engine ate a lifter and flattened my cam. advice needed inside!

[The4ork]

hey guys, i recently just purchased my cuda and unfortunately have not driven it yet. i thought i was having carb issues and went to switch the 6 pack manifold to a 4bbl air gap. with the manifold off i found some frightenting issues!

my far aft passenger side rocker arm was loose, since the cam and lifter had aparetnly ate itself apart. this is the aar cuda engine. 340 with J 360 heads, and adj rockers.

i have a set of mechanical lifters and pushrods, new in box i can install. i also have a mechanical cam. suposedly this cam used to be in this engine according to the PO but hes a knucklhead and anything he says could be way off.

the cam is a Erson Hi Flow 1M and there is also a 589 stamping on it. the cam i HAD was a sum-6901 276/286, Lift .441/.441

now i'd like a slightly hot cam that makes good power up top without killing the bottom end. a good mid-range cam would be good with decent flow up top and below. if that makes any sense. but i also am going to be daily driving the car so anything too hot will kill my mpg's to a point i cant afford to feed it.

so im looking for reccomendations.

throw in the solid lifter stuff and X cam?
buy all new hyd stuff since i dont want a too hot of cam and dont need it? and a new hyd cam?
throw in what i got today and run it anyways bc i could always change it later if i dont like it....

cam:

[Chryco Psycho]

do you have a picture of he heads & rockers ?
 Anyway I would look at the Lunati solid designs something like a TF50 intake & a TF54 exhaust ground on 112 assuming you have the springs for .550 lift  that would be 247/243 duration at .050 with .546/.535 lift
 a milder grind would be the TF62 / TF70 243/239 @ .050 with .548/.536 lift ground on 112 CL or 110 cl 
you have adjustable rockers & pushrods & new lifters I assume so I would use a solid cam

[The4ork]

im in the process of pulling the cam out right now....

so far i have all the rockers/lifters/pushrods out, and the radiator and water pump out. then it appears to be a big front engine cover, with the balancer and pulley. thats where im at now. taking a break to eat some food and scratch my head on how to tackle the rest.

i wasnt really prepared for THIS much work. cam is harder to change then ohc that im used to also found a complete gasket set in my parts box. so it should all go back together well. rtv is about the only thing i need to go buy right now.

any idea on where to go from where im at? never pulled a v8 apart before

 my progress:


adj rockers

[Chryco Psycho]

you will need a 1.25" socket for the bolt in the nose of the crank , & a 3 bolt puller to remove the damper , , the front cover will slide off but can be tough to get back in .

[GranCuda1970]

That's scary Most important and probably a DUH!! : I would think the destuction of the part and cam wear , created particulates in the oiling system that needs that needs to be flushed out before reassembling with new parts. 

[The4ork]

nah thats what the filter is for j/k

so i got the harmonic balancer nut off... but it wont come off. what gives? dont tell me i have to pull it off *sigh*

[72cudamaan]

Yes, a balancer puller will be needed. But before you do anything else, take those lifters out of the valley. I can just see one falling down to the crank as soon as you pull that camshaft out. 

Make sure you use a 3 bolt puller and not a 3 jaw puller. I've seen guys pull a balancer apart with one. DOH!

[The4ork]

good call. gonna go see if i can rent one from vato-zone

[The4ork]

Got it all in and timed... Still gotta put the rest of it back together. Calling it a day for now

[The4ork]

The balancer goes back in easierthan it goes out right? I hope....

[GranCuda1970]

Yeah, I was just putting it out there I have read on previous threads warnings from stroker builders about pulling the block and getting it nice and clean to prevent loss of life after failure of parts. a single particle under a bearing can eventually destroy it.

[The4ork]

is there an online manual for the engine? i need a few tech. items... tq for the roller assembly, how to adj the rockers properly, tq for the intake manifold ect.

[The4ork]

i was doing some reading and searching on how to adj the rockers for the valve adj. it seems with the valve closed, adj until the rocker arm bottoms out, then 1/2 turn and tighten the lock nut... but thats for a stock engine with hyd. lifters. would it be any different with a solid lifter cam and lifters? surely there must be a clearance your shooting for, possibly .05" would be sound logic?

[Chryco Psycho]

the cam bolt is 35lbs , i use locktite
intake is 30-35 but I bet you cannot get a torque wrench on most of them .
The way I adjust the rockers is , as the exhaust valve opens set intake & as the intake closes set exhaust . I would start around .020 intake & .024 exhaust , different cams call for different specs , maybe you can find the correct specs for the cam you installed .
 the balancer will go back on somewhat easier , if you have 4-5 turns on the bolt it will pull it on , the torque for that is over 100 but the engine will turn before you reach it .

[The4ork]

i have two sets of push rods at different length and they are both too short 

so ive hit yet another block in the road.