While I was assembling the new engine for the 55 Chevy, I took a few photos of trouble spots that I thought I'd pass along.
First is the cam gear. This is a Cloyes steel gear and as many of us have found out, the four slots cut into the surface that contacts the block are sharp.
Sometimes there is no problem but sometimes they will chew away at the block.
There are a few ways around it, like a bronze spacer or a Torrington bearing but lately, I've just used fine emery cloth to dull the edge. That has been working fine for me, but the main thing is don't just install the gear the way it comes out of the package.
Here's a picture of the gear after the edge of the slots have been smoothed off...
Another thing you'll notice is that the dowel holes on the FelPro and Cometic gaskets don't line up with the dowels on the block. They're close, so you can probably force them down but it's easier to just give them a few strokes with a round file.
I thought I'd mention this because you don't want to run into this problem right at the last second, especially if you've already sprayed the gasket with sealant.
One more thing. On this engine, the tip of the spark plug was almost touching the piston so I wanted to grind a relief slot into the piston. I've also had to modify pistons a bit when using oversized intake valves.
The problem was that the pistons were already installed when I got it from my engine guy and I sure didn't want to completely disassemble everything.
It's a little time consuming, but you can safely tape off the entire engine and use "dum dum" putty to seal the bores. It's a seam sealer that you can get at a body shop supply place.
It works perfectly. It'll squeeze in and completely seal the bore, and when you're done, it'll pull right out without leaving any residue.
Of course, you've got to completely seal up the rest of the engine and just work on one cylinder at a time.
First is the cam gear. This is a Cloyes steel gear and as many of us have found out, the four slots cut into the surface that contacts the block are sharp.
Sometimes there is no problem but sometimes they will chew away at the block.
There are a few ways around it, like a bronze spacer or a Torrington bearing but lately, I've just used fine emery cloth to dull the edge. That has been working fine for me, but the main thing is don't just install the gear the way it comes out of the package.
Here's a picture of the gear after the edge of the slots have been smoothed off...
Another thing you'll notice is that the dowel holes on the FelPro and Cometic gaskets don't line up with the dowels on the block. They're close, so you can probably force them down but it's easier to just give them a few strokes with a round file.
I thought I'd mention this because you don't want to run into this problem right at the last second, especially if you've already sprayed the gasket with sealant.
One more thing. On this engine, the tip of the spark plug was almost touching the piston so I wanted to grind a relief slot into the piston. I've also had to modify pistons a bit when using oversized intake valves.
The problem was that the pistons were already installed when I got it from my engine guy and I sure didn't want to completely disassemble everything.
It's a little time consuming, but you can safely tape off the entire engine and use "dum dum" putty to seal the bores. It's a seam sealer that you can get at a body shop supply place.
It works perfectly. It'll squeeze in and completely seal the bore, and when you're done, it'll pull right out without leaving any residue.
Of course, you've got to completely seal up the rest of the engine and just work on one cylinder at a time.
