Stock Predator Valve Springs Question
- Thread starter DRC21
- Start date
Did you have to cut the pockets out to fit the 26ers? I did for the 36 lb springs.
right...been using the 26 pound springs for a couple of seasons without cutting the pockets at all...I've had them on hemi heads, 730 heads and clone heads (running one now that's had 40 thou shaved off and running stock rockers).....and are you ready for it astro? i'm using 5.175 push rods!! lol!!
Ok I was actually talking about the spring pocket being big enough around. I guess I should've been more specific! The 36 lb springs wouldn't fit in the pockets in my head. So I had to open up the diameter of the pocket. I put the .350 lift cam in and it's a LONG way from coil bind with those springs. I'd say you could get an easy .400 lift using the 36 lb springs without deeper pockets. Funny though, they fit the aftermarket retainers fine. I may have had a funky head. I've got a few more I'll take a look at.
I got the 5.25 push rods, billet lifters from Isky (.180 longer than stock) and my adjuster stays almost perfectly centered on the valve tip (lash cap). No mill from head, factory head gasket (.045).
Brad id say if you check, the 36lb springs wouldn't work with stock retainers, so your aftermarket ones are probably a little bigger diameter. I know my billet retainers that I use are a little bigger than the stockers are, I believe they are made that way to accommodate more spring choices but I'm not sure. IV even used the outer springs from a set of dual springs I had for a flathead and put them in clone heads and rtc-6 heads using the billet retainers and they worked fine, even though those springs were a bit larger diameter than the springs made for clones and predators.
I went a different way. Now running a .050 shaved down head. 26 or 36 lbs valve spring. 1:3 bullet steel rocker arms. SS valves. Moly Chrome push tubes. I just didn't wanna put this goof assy. On that's why I asked about the spring tensions. I went ahead and just put the good stuff on.
Watch your piston to valve clearance with 1.3s and shaved head Hemi. I'm sure one of these guys can tell you the limit before eyebrows are needed.
i don't know about cutting on the piston, but i think that i'm going to shave the hemi that i have and then use the 730 bottom end with the dish piston (foregoing any eyebrows!). i figure that the dish should equal out what i feel safe with shaving the head....but with that being said, i could also have the head welded up (which does that same as shaving) and use the hemi bottom end.....so many ideas, so little time!! bradh....you welded your head, but did you shave it down or just cleaned up the bumps after you welded it?
astrowrench
Member
Welding a head does a lot more them "shaving" it it changes Flame front,travel and speed,affects detonation,and Preignition,The Idea of shaving the head to equal the dish ain't happening unless You shave about a 1/4" I have to ask what pushrods are you using if Brad will weld your head? and do you have a mono-brow?..............LOL Just a side note HEMI heads cut .050 with much more than a .280 lift cam,.032 head gasket, 28.5 25mm valves, No Reliefs.... your tempting Imminent Destruction above 8200 RPM
The trick with the Hemi is to weld it, not shave it. Use the depth of the bowl to protect your valves and weld that sucker up to a D-shape to heart shape depending on the compression ratio you want.
Note that it's not that hard, IMO, to weld up the chamber. It took me maybe an hour. The time was in grinding and shaping the chamber afterwards and facing the head flat again. If you're capable of doing that on your own it would only run about $30 to get a bunch of weld on your head.
Note that it's not that hard, IMO, to weld up the chamber. It took me maybe an hour. The time was in grinding and shaping the chamber afterwards and facing the head flat again. If you're capable of doing that on your own it would only run about $30 to get a bunch of weld on your head.
Guys, this statement I made is not true. In the bonehead move of the year I somehow grabbed the stock cam and started putting the motor together. When searching around my table where I took the engine apart looking for the tin bolts (yes, that's how far along I was) I noticed a cam with some big lobes on it. SMH I about passed out. So after trying it in the block I now have to cut lifter pockets to accommodate the .350 lift cam. I'm giving up on it for a few days and going to mourn the loss of a fair amount of work. I'll let you guys know what the spring looks like at .350 lift once I get that far. Sorry for the false info, hopefully nobody is paying attention to me anyway.
