Tim_C.

I think the comp test is good enough to rule out a lifter. I agree it provides more information. I just don't think it is needed to find a miss when it has 130+ PSI. Most stock cam and head setups are light on the lifter preload. Like .015" when it should be .035". They can tick with light oil or just a little dirt in there to cause the lifter to not extend out. I still don't see that as the miss issue. Not sure about the Holley EFI, but the stock TBI required very clean injector clip electrical pins on both the clip and the injector. If the advance isn't retarding then that is still the most likely suspect. Either that, or I'm missing something about the Holley set up. I'm not familiar with it.

Pictures can be deceiving but it looks deeper to me, like it wouldn't work. What did you find?

Many times the pump leak is due to a gearbox issue. The wide body gear boxes wore out much faster than the narrow body. I figure it is because of the added stress on it. I rebuilt an '83 PS pump with the Rock Auto kit with no issues.

I would never run both fans all of the time. That's a band aid on a broken arm. With a properly working cooling system, you rarely need the first fan, let alone the 2nd. Fix whatever problem is causing the temp to rise before touching anything else. At most, you can run the 185 thermosensor in both locations or wire the secondary to come on with the primary but I never needed that after having the radiator professionally gone through.

Actually, you can use hydraulic shafts with mechanical rockers. Only the shaft area needs oil, so the extra hole to feed a hydraulic rocker doesn't hurt anything and actually provides more oil volume to the rocker. The extra holes are still covered by the mech rocker so there is no loss in oil pressure either. It's the other way around. You can't use a mechanical shaft on hydraulic rockers because there is no hole to feed oil to the hydraulic lifter. The shafts are the same diameter and everything is located in the same place.

Yeah, that's great!

Yes it needs to be from a non-intercooled from a 4 lug car.

'84 is actually a very good year for a reliable fuel system. This would be a great driver with an engine rebuild.

Looks like North Detroit. I'm going to that area for work next month.

Wow! This is a great opportunity for someone!

The factory fuse link design isn't worth duplicating. The design flaw in the fuse link is why you need a fuse link. LoL! It is best to solder in new links using the proper sized new fuse link wire. Get rid of that bogus link box. You can solder new link wire to the old terminals too. All they need is a good cleaning and maybe some tightening up on the female terminals.

Wow, that's like 2 PSI of free boost!

I remember that in Mesquite years ago. LoL! Wish I could do the same. Still travel for work about 60% of the time.

Reinstalling bushings and the assemblies back to the car body is best done by professionals who know the little tricks to helping them grip correctly and quietly. Some get grease on the inner diameter and some don't. It makes a big difference in the performance of the car. Done incorrectly and the bushings will slip around and contribute to sway like a large majority of the DIY'ers do. I chose to have pros finish my poly bushing assemblies and it was worth every penny.

I'm on the West Slope. I have an '86 ESiR. My sister used to live in Fountain, but they are up in the Springs now.

Good to see you around again. I thought you were still up in MT?

Since I have no intention of being a vendor again, I can say that my source for the cams is Colt Cams in Vancouver BC. One reason they were a little expensive is because shipping to and from up there added another $40 or so. I usually sent them up in lots of 6 or 7 cams. I sent up cores to be ground, with him Geoff, supplying cores when he found one that is unacceptable, etc... So, yes, he has the grinds and if you want one, be my guest to order direct. He does have a US core regrind of the Aussie only stock roller that will work even better with 1.6 ratio rockers. He is professional with his grinds, but he probably won't supply a cam card with the minute details on it. Most of you have the list with the general details. Someone had already posted the source without my asking, and if you disagree with that like I do, please tell him on this thread. That is not how business is done, even though I was already done with supplying them, it is proper to send me a message to at least ask and discuss it first. It is never good to just post up a source like that. I live a blessed life in peace, so I'll try to not let it get to me, but still, that isn't right. I have told many people in PM's over the years, so it wasn't like I was trying to hide it and not allow people the chance to get the cam they want.

Good luck to you guys. Like I said, the perfect cam will cost due to the need for more metal. Those processes aren't cheap and not many if any would want to pay the price. Plus, there is no such thing as the perfect cam that fits every application. Thus the need for different grinds. Grinds that were offered for years with good success except for the few people who were in over their heads and didn't know the basics of what is needed to set up a cam. The Aussie rocker works, but is a 1.55 or so ratio. It is between the 2.0L SOHC 1.5 ratio, and the V6 1.6 ratio. I'm sure the Aussie cam will work with a 1.6 ratio rocker, but it was close and I didn't feel like trying it since I had the 1.55 Aussie rockers with the cam. It seems to me that you are trying to re-invent the wheel when there are good options out there already, unless you want to spend the cash to make your own custom grind. Even then, you will go through a few cams before you get it right. Since my cam source was already posted by someone, I'll say that yes, he has a regrind that is basically the same as the Aussie stock roller cam. Call him up and he can grind it for you, no problem. I will say that it is very bad morals to post up someone's source without asking. However, I would have said that is fine since I won't offer anything ever again to anyone on these boards. Doing business properly seems to be a lost art with these new boys trying to build cars. Again, good luck, you are going to need it.

Be advised that your request does not include the rocker arms that the lifters fit into, which are needed to complete the assembly. I assume you already have them, and I don't want to insult your intelligence, but lifters do not include the hydraulic rockers needed to complete the assembly. I just hate to see someone receive less than what they thought, so I like to make sure everyone is on the same page completely to avoid buyers remorse problems that occur quite frequently.

The perfect cam is easily attainable. Nothing that over $1000 can't cure, just for the cam. Then, simply build the entire engine around it. nothing that another $6000 or so can't cure. For the record, my cams are no longer available. too many morons on this site that can't seem to understand how to set it up #1, or they have some idea that a cam is going solve all of their tuning problems #2, and I could about go on forever to list all of the stupid stuff people try with cam set-ups. I've been out of that game for over a year now. So yes, there are great gains from MPI and even throttle body tunability, but all of which are better with a cam ground to fit the goal of the builder. Everyone says they have such good HP from a stock cam, why go with a special grind? Because you change your 2000 RPM of usable HP into 3000, 4000, or even 5000+ RPM of usable HP in a wide band that will blow the socks off of any HP with a stock cam. Even a 450+ HP stock cam set-up is very very limited as to its usefulness in the real world. That's why I never put much stock into hi HP numbers for so called bragging rights in whatever 'club' your dyno run qualifies you for. Total BS and has very little to do with clearing ground on a track or open road in the real world. So keep your stock cams in your little dyno world, but realize all gains you make with tunability would be better with the right cam to fit your goals. Remember too that all of the cams I offered were admittedly a bit limited due to the stock core to work with. there is where the big money comes in. If you want to do it right like real racers do, you will need to create your own blank to start from. Do that, and your options are wide open to design the perfect cam. I fully believe there are several people on this site that can easily come up with a much better grind for their goal, than what I offered. It just isn't so easy when all you have to work with is a stock core. Take a stock core to a grinder and have the lobes built up with special weld, and have it ground to your dream specs. it isn't that difficult really, but it costs money and lots of it, and it is a world that I never really saw any future in for me or for the club. Then when you reach your ultimate goal, you can replace the rest of the drive train with parts that can handle it. Nothing that another few thou won't cure.

I'll bet you are liking that set-up. The main issue is to not let the egt's get too high, and that is most likely why your guy set you up with a large turbo and told you to keep the boost low. He doesn't know our fuel systems other than they are TB injected, which usually means they can't handle much more boost. So, short of telling you to bring the car in and charge you an arm and a leg for major tuning, etc.. (that they probably can't do on this car anyway), he did the safe thing to tell you to keep the boost low. And like these guys are saying, you probably won't be able to supply enough fuel for much over 15 PSI on that turbo, even with the 1G MAS and RRFPR. I have the same items on my bell ported 17C and it can handle up to 18PSI, but that is with a big cam too. It doesn't nose over until well past 6500 RPM and runs like a Screamin'Banshee. I'd also have to think you do have the 06 hot side if you are noticing a quicker spool than your worn out 12A had. Its all good on your set-up if you ask me. You are doing the right thing and monitoring AF, but be sure to get that good boost gauge on there. The higher the boost, the more everything depends on each other to be working correctly. If the Fuel Pump can't keep up, or filters get clogged, it doesn't take much to detonate and hurt something. Before you know it, major damage occurs. If I were you, I would keep it where you know it is safe and be happy with that runnin' mo fo. When you want more, call those TBi guys who can hook you up! Stay doing things right, and it will last a very long time.

It can't hurt to re-torque. I doubt the PO did, so you really should do it. It is a good idea because the new head will move some and find it's spot so to speak. This will always loosen some bolts like Tom said. Loosen them up one at a time and retorque before going to the next one.

I hate to tell you, but the engine is not balanced and or blueprinted. No way, no how. This is a term that is 99.9% mis-used. If it were, you would be asking $7,500+ for it because you paid $10K to have it done. Maybe the crank, and rod/piston assemblies are balanced, but that's it. Why the low price? How much do you have in it?

You have to be careful about buying these. The bushings are always cracked. You should make sure the seller states no cracks in the plastic bushing, or get a picture if cracked. They will work cracked, but for how long? I would search the local yards too. I find at least one Starquest in every city I travel to in the US yards. You can find one and examine its condition in person there.

Good to know!