Funny enough just won $25.00 on scratch off ticket! and yes the ball was trapped between the push rod and the rocker until I unbolted the rocker shaft then it fell unto the head. Thanks Chris, I will throw straight edge on the valve tips. I'm thinking of replacing the push rods and all the adjusters. Can you mix old lifters and new pushrods? and if so do you have a recommendation for pushrod manufacturer? I think the cam and lifters are fine, no need to change them at this time

Yeah, the pushrod cups don't develop a mating wear pattern like the lifter/cam surface.

Smith Brothers will make you a perfect set. If you would like I have a pair of checking pushrods so you can use to get an exact length. I made them by cutting some old pushrods and tapping for threaded rod.

To determine the correct length you should look at how far the adjuster is out of the rocker. No more than two treads out. Mine are out so that no threads show I'm pretty sure I was using up most of the lifters overall travel capacity,but they didn't make noise so I left them. If I remember right I backed the adjusters off and the lifters were still pushing the push rod up as the adjuster topped out, then I tightened them done whatever the preload spec was. The roller tip is 3/4 of the way outboard on the valve tip with lifter on the base circle. The pushrod to rocker alignment starts off axis on the base circle and travels through axis so the oil holes are aligned. From what I see the length I currently have seems to be correct. Base circle push rod angle first picture, second picture valve tip base circle

Just to prove that I'm actually working on it and not just harrassing Ted. Here's the gear set up, The Mark Williams adjusters are very nice.

The adjusters

Your standard confused old man!

I have never been happy with the amount of vibration in the driveline so knowing that the drive shaft was soon going to be REALLY spinning. I thought I would check the runout. The front was .022 and the rear was .020 didn't bother with the middle. So i spoke to a very nice gentlemen named Cliff at PST and put my $100 gift certificate from the points standings towards a new mild steel shaft/slip yoke,u-joints which shipped the next day! Thanks again to Ralph and all the sponsors!

New shaft in and am very pleased, driveline vibration is gone, order the shaft on Monday had it on Friday. Put it in and was ready for the drive to the Dave Morgan suspension Seminar. Thanks again to Ralph and PST!

Well, I have been meaning to update this sincer the begining of the chilly season and just never got the chance so here it is in one day! Pulled the motor to swap heads I'm having a set done by Dwayne Porter Racing heads. I have a set of original big valve J heads that I was going to use, but at the last minute decided to use the original X heads from the original motor. I also wanted to tyake a good look at the short block to see how 30,000 very hard miles have been to it and to calculate the true compression ratio. with it being a crate motor I didn't know what parts it had in it. The pistons are Icon forged 945 If I remember the number right. the true compression was 9.3 to 1 not the advertised 10 to 1. the pistons had some carbon build up.

They cleaned up nice and there was only a slight ridge in ther cyclinders and one scratch that caught a nail. So with nothing glaring and a new short bnlock in the distant future everything just gets cleaned up.

So after I cleaned up the pistons/block and pulled the pan clean and reinstalled it on to the spare intake manifold. My plan was to mill the divider down and increase the plenum volume as mush as practical.

Setting up the intake in the mill was pretty straight forward.

The old man isn't gewtting any younger or better looking!!!!!!

Man that cast iron was HARD!

I don't have it as bad as Dr. Suess but any weight loss for the intake is a good thing. I also wanted to make a phenolic plate that covers the bottom of the intake running front to back of the valley so the heat cross over must go!