My Teardown @ St Louis.....

[X-TECH MAN]

One more thing to remember.....not all dial indicators measure the same. When I worked for the Dept. of the Navy I used to calibrate all kinds of precision tools. The standard or tolerance of a dial indicator is plus or minus .001 (one thousanth) of an inch. Some "OFF BRANDS" are allowed .002 plus or minus so use a quality brand such as Starrett or Brown and Sharp. If you check dead on at home there is always a chance you could be one over during tear down. Its best to be a few thou. under to be safe. A couple of thou wont make your run faster but it could get you DQed.
Same deal when C C'ing your chambers and runners. ALWAYS use a certified burette and rubbing alcahol with some food coloring in it and check your heads while at room temp. Hot cylinder heads could make your chambers come up a little short if your close to begin with.

[art leong]

Originally Posted by X-TECH MAN

One more thing to remember.....not all dial indicators measure the same. When I worked for the Dept. of the Navy I used to calibrate all kinds of precision tools. The standard or tolerance of a dial indicator is plus or minus .001 (one thousand) of an inch. Some "OFF BRANDS" are allowed .002 plus or minus so use a quality brand such as Starrett or Brown and Sharp. If you check dead on at home there is always a chance you could be one over during tear down. Its best to be a few thou. under to be safe. A couple of thou wont make your run faster but it could get you DQed.
Same deal when C C'ing your chambers and runners. ALWAYS use a certified burette and rubbing alcahol with some food coloring in it and check your heads while at room temp. Hot cylinder heads could make your chambers come up a little short if your close to begin with.

I agree with Terry on this one. Years ago with the Hemi. We worked for weeks to get everything right on. Shortening push rods, grinding valve tips, shimming rocker stands, etc. Everything was just about right on. We had to knock the oil out of the bearing with a mallet before checking the deck height.
We were lucky and never got tossed. A thousanth of an inch isn't going to make you go any quicker but it can get you tossed.

[Rory McNeil]

Originally Posted by X-TECH MAN

One more thing to remember.....not all dial indicators measure the same. When I worked for the Dept. of the Navy I used to calibrate all kinds of precision tools. The standard or tolerance of a dial indicator is plus or minus .001 (one thousanth) of an inch. Some "OFF BRANDS" are allowed .002 plus or minus so use a quality brand such as Starrett or Brown and Sharp. If you check dead on at home there is always a chance you could be one over during tear down. Its best to be a few thou. under to be safe. A couple of thou wont make your run faster but it could get you DQed.
Same deal when C C'ing your chambers and runners. ALWAYS use a certified burette and rubbing alcahol with some food coloring in it and check your heads while at room temp. Hot cylinder heads could make your chambers come up a little short if your close to begin with.

Totally agree with Terry on the burette & fluid issue. First time I tore down my Mustang in 2004, I ended up .4 of 1cc shy on combustion chamber volume. To their credit, the NHRA Tech guys let me clean any carbon from the piston top, and re measured it several times, but it kept comimg up short. Turns out the alcohol my machinest buddy used in his berette was dollar store stuff, between that, and changing the spark plug heat range, it put us under the min spec. Got disqualified, and had to leave the track without getting any money back, and had to arrive with the heads off at the next race for inspection, before being able to compete again. We just had to sink the valves a tad to get back in spec, but the embarrassment of being caught "cheatin`" was no fun at all. The teardown was entirely expected too, as we were setting a record that had been at a minimum for some time, so obviously we THOUGHT that everything was on the up & up.As Mike Carr mentioned, that never would have happened at a bracket race!

[Greg Reimer 7376]

I remember a 283 racer of immense merit from Div.6 years ago talking about how he went through about a hundred stamped Chevy rocker arms to get the 16 that he liked.It never hurts to have an assortment of push rods of every length from .200"long through .200" short in .050" increments. It's unbelievable how much that can affect lift.Lifter plunger and pushrod cup depth can vary by .100" or more,depending on the brand of lifter,as well.A tall lifter combined with a long pushrod could affect the overall height of that part of the valve train by as much as .500" from the extreme of a deep cupped lifter and a short push rod. Try those extremes and see what happens to lift. You might even run past the design limits of the rocker arm slot to further add to the madness,mayhem,and misery,not to mention the issues in teardown.

[SS Engine Guy]

Also it is good that the total length of the push rod and lifter to be checked are taken into consideration as Travis noted. If not, there is no assurance that the "checking" lifter seat profile and the push rod end profile from the engine fit together at the same height. The checking lifter seat I use is machined to form a conical "V"shape with a large enough radius that the pushrod cannot be deflected up through out its range of motion.

Another variable is the flatness or how parallel the retainer is around its diameter. For example: Spin the retainer around and check lift at several places and you will get different readings on some depending on the accuracy of the machining. In extreme examples, where the spring winding ends will slightly cant the retainer in that spot.

As others have stated, minus .010 lift won't affect much, however, +001 will ruin your day. So plan on cutting it as close to possible to the edge but keep it within the limits regardless of the circumstances.

[Darrin Christen]

There was some really good info talked about in this thread. I'm also currious as to how temprature will affect readings during tech. Do they allow the engine to cool completely before teardown. Also, what about during fuel check, is there a certain temp. they use? Doesn't temp. affect specific gravity?

[Alan Roehrich]

Wade, hold your head up high, you're a great guy and a great racer. Some of the best professional engine builders in the game have been bitten by the exact same thing, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You and your family should be very proud of what you have managed to accomplish.

[Dwight Southerland]

Wade -

The way you have handled this situation moves you to a position of respect in my eyes. Using a venue for communications like this forum to come forward with the facts, readily admit mistakes and errors and ask for forgiveness is exemplary for the entire Stock/SS community. It is such integrity that has built value into this form of racing that is rarely found anywhere. Believe me, there are very few if any racers who have been involved for a period of time and who have gone fast enough to get torn down multiple times who have not been caught by honest mistakes. The complexity of the machinery and the rules we race by makes the challenge formidable and the successes inspiring. We learn from every situation and build on that experience for excellence.

I have not met you, but will be honored when we do. I have followed your performance and been impressed that you can make a 283 run as fast as you do. Periodically a racer will exhibit a performance level that will grab my attention, but this situation has added respect for character to my opinion of you.