The Dodge Challenger Message Board

Looking good mate.

Hello Ian. Looking good for sure. Can you take a closer pic of the wheels and caps........They look a lot different than rallys...........thanks, David

I think they are late sixties Ford GT rims.

yep theyre ford rims we call them 12 slots think they are mainly an aussie thing ive never seen them on international cars
they belong to a mate of mine i just borrowed them for a car show they normally reside on his xy falcon gt shaker replica
cheers ian

heres a few more pics just cleaned the exhaust ports up a little
intakes are now gasket matched
& i took a pic while the heads are off so you can see my shiny new pistons
cheers ian

I always smooth all the sharp edges off new pistons before installing them. Sharp edges get hot and the chances if detonation increases.

I also polish exhaust ports.

thanks dave i didnt thik about the sharp edges on the pistons ill check them to see how they look
i was originally only going to install the heads straight out of the box but thought a little clean up was better than nothing thats the only reason i didnt polish them coz i thought id already got more carried away than i intended
cheers ian

ive just been down the shed & checked the pistons the sharpest edge is along the valve relief but its not to bad it actually feels quite blunt so im hoping itll be ok im not running huge compression so that should reduce the risk of detonation but thanks for the advise dave
cheers ian

Looks nice Ian. What type rocker arms are you going to install?

I think it's Pre-Ignition not detonation. But Ian you should be fine. I did break the sharp edges on my valve reliefs but it was more of a radius I placed on the sharp edge with a nail file and then smooth emery wrapped around a womans nail file board I havent asked yet Ian, But what thickness pushrods are you gonna run? The reason I ask is I ordered a set of Smith Bros. with 3/8 thickness Chrome-Moly and then realised I might have to pull the heads back off for some pushrod clearancing! You might have to do the same depending on thickness and if you have .050 around the opening.(Thats what she said)

airfuelEddie wrote:I think it's Pre-Ignition not detonation. But Ian you should be fine. I did break the sharp edges on my valve reliefs but it was more of a radius I placed on the sharp edge with a nail file and then smooth emery wrapped around a womans nail file board I havent asked yet Ian, But what thickness pushrods are you gonna run? The reason I ask is I ordered a set of Smith Bros. with 3/8 thickness Chrome-Moly and then realised I might have to pull the heads back off for some pushrod clearancing! You might have to do the same depending on thickness and if you have .050 around the opening.(Thats what she said)

i used the smith bros push rods and yes 3/8 inch i didnt need to make any mods they fit just fine it looks tight but hey they are still in there , i broke 2 sets of the smaller units due to bad geometry from the machine shop that set up the heads after that i learned to do it my self and hey its still together

drewcrane wrote:

airfuelEddie wrote:I think it's Pre-Ignition not detonation. But Ian you should be fine. I did break the sharp edges on my valve reliefs but it was more of a radius I placed on the sharp edge with a nail file and then smooth emery wrapped around a womans nail file board I havent asked yet Ian, But what thickness pushrods are you gonna run? The reason I ask is I ordered a set of Smith Bros. with 3/8 thickness Chrome-Moly and then realised I might have to pull the heads back off for some pushrod clearancing! You might have to do the same depending on thickness and if you have .050 around the opening.(Thats what she said)

i used the smith bros push rods and yes 3/8 inch i didnt need to make any mods they fit just fine it looks tight but hey they are still in there , i broke 2 sets of the smaller units due to bad geometry from the machine shop that set up the heads after that i learned to do it my self and hey its still together

That makes me feel better Drew! I am using the Stealth heads however, I think you have Ed's Heads, similar but there are some differences. I hope I luck out like you did

airfuelEddie wrote:I think it's Pre-Ignition not detonation.

Yeah I am always getting them confused.
I'm the same with snooker and sex. I am always hitting the brown instead of the pink.

dave-r wrote:

airfuelEddie wrote:I think it's Pre-Ignition not detonation.

Yeah I am always getting them confused.
I'm the same with snooker and sex. I am always hitting the brown instead of the pink.

that s a funny dave

Yeah, I remember the story you told me Dave.

thanks for putting me at ease eddie i did debur my combustion chamber with a piece of emery
cheers ian

ianandjess wrote:thanks for putting me at ease eddie i did debur my combustion chamber with a piece of emery
cheers ian

Yes, you should be perfectly fine Ian, what type of cam are you gonna run? What about head gaskets? I used the Fel-Pro 1009 with a 4.441 bore size for my 4.375 bore. It cleared the Stealth Heads combustion chambers perfectly. It's vital that there isnt any overhang.

yep checked the gaskets no overhang i only bored it 30 thou gaskets arent felpro unfortunately but are ROL they all look nice enough i guess the proof of the pudding is in the eating so ill find out when i run it if theyre any good has any one one this board used them before?
cheers ian

the cam im using is a comp cams extreme energy 507/510 liftt 284/296 duration the max i can go with these heads out of the box is 510 lift
if i feel i need more i can always make improvements as i go but ithink ill be happy with that for now
cheers ian

yep eddies right as usual i have push rod clearance issues looks like a good job for tomorow its getting late & i think im better off getting some sleep & doing it when my brain is functioning
cheers ian

Well, you arent the only one Ian! Looks like the heads are comin off mine too

Pushrod clearence could be down to rocker offset. Some makes are more offset than others.

gday guys im finally back online after the move only dial up though
ive not got back to any more work on the car but hoping to soon
i shall post pics of my pushrod clearancing when i get a chance
cheers ian

this is what happens when you order parts without checking first
pushrods are a bit short but ive got longer ones coming
cheers ian

ianandjess wrote:this is what happens when you order parts without checking first
pushrods are a bit short but ive got longer ones coming
cheers ian

Aye. Just a wee bit short.

looks ok at least i think so
cheers ian

ianandjess wrote:looks ok at least i think so
cheers ian

Very understated. It looks a lot more than OK to me.

Dude that looks so fresh.........real nice......well done

Right now, before it's installed in the car, you may want to do something to make the timing marks a bit more visible (like filling the engraved degree marks with black permanent marker and a light coat of clear afterwards of something like that - a can or ink pen of black or red or fluorescent yellow paint, then lightly swiping with a paper towel soaked acetone works also). I've checked the timing on a guy's car who had a chrome damper like this one, and to see the marks with the light flashes was nearly impossible, everything reflects the light.

You can also make a special mark at 38° (I usually do this with two stripes of adhesive tape to set the witdth, and an ink pen). Especially if you don't use a dial-back timing light.

I used a black marker pen to mark every 90 degrees.
I also have a fluorescent mark at TDC (pen provided by someone helpful in the pits at the Mopar Nats). I found I have not needed to clear coat over them.

The mark every 90 degrees is for setting lash or preload with adjustable rockers. They are also handy for checking timing variations or for spark on any of the other plugs.

Remember plugs 1 and 6 both fire at TDC just (360 degrees apart).
8 and 5 fire 90 degrees later,
4 and 7 another 90 degrees,
finally 3 and 2.

Any variation in timing between them indicates wear or damage in the distributor. Any plug not firing correctly will also show up as an absent or intermittent timing flash.