351 Cleveland Rebuild

Background
Specifications

The Bottom End:

The Top End:

The Transmission:

Credits:

The Top End:
The Hydraulic Roller Conversion Kit

One of the things I wanted to do in this rebuild, was to install a roller cam. This would be my first roller cam engine. Crane had an intriguing kit, a hydraulic roller cam. I thought, gee that would be neat, probably a bit quieter than a mechanical roller set-up. So I bought into it. The whole assembly consists of the Steel roller camshaft, hydraulic roller lifters and a "spider" assembly to hold the lifters in place. I apologize, I forgot to take photos of the cam and a lifter.

	Here, the heads are both in place, and torqued to spec. The cam has not been re-inserted since removing it after degree'ing it. Again, they are not painted, but will be before dropping the assembly into the car. At this point in the build up, things are really starting to shape up and look like a powerplant.
The cam gets cleaned with mineral spirits as recommended by Crane. Afterwards, the am is lubed with regular engine oil. DO NOT use a moly cam lube on a roller cam, the manufacturer (in this case) said so. Getting my hands all oily, I put the cam in, using the cam sprocket as a handle. Be very careful when putting the cam into the block. You don't want to damage the bearings on the way in. Also note here in this photo, I have installed the extra thick thrust plate with the first of two Torrington bearing sets. The screws are countersunck Torx drive and are torqued to factory specs.
	T is the backside of the cam gear. The Pete Jackson set-up is already machined to accept the second Torrington bearing set, as illustrated here. The set consists of two thrust washers and a bearing. Here, the bearing sits on one washer with the other sitting off to the side to show the bearing.
One of the first things that must be done, is the installation of the "spider" studs. The kit provides two and you must select two of the four valley holes to install them in. When I experimented with the different placement and what I thought would provide the most consistant pressure, I selected the first and third holes from the front of the block. A "riv-nut" is installed and crushed to the block. Then a stud is lok-tite'd in place. I let these sit for two weeks.
	Here, the Hydraulic roller lifters have been installed, the keeper bars put in place across each set, and the spider positioned over the studs and keepers. Now, I forgot to take a photo of the lifters, but I did determine there is a right way and a wrong way to install them. A small lube hole is located on only one side of the lifter, and that side must point down so it comes into the oil galley. Otherwise, the oil must travel around the outside edge, then up into the lifter.
Here, the locking bar is set into place on top of the "spider". This bar equalizes the pressure along the spine of the "spider" so all locking bars stay inplace. You can clearly see here, the selected first and third holes.
	To tighten the locking bar in place, Crane supplies two nylock nuts. VERY IMPORTANT: The studs were originally installed to a depth of one half inch. Any further and the stud WILL COLLIDE WITH THE CAM. This can be visually verified by looking down the cam bore (without the cam) and seeing where this stud is located. You must HOLD the stud in place with a hex wrench to keep it from turning further into the block when you tighten the nut on the locking bar. Tighten "snugly", that's the spec they gave me. : )