Sounds really good. The only thing that concerns me slightly is that tick. Almost sounds like a lifter or rocker arm. These engines are noisy tho so it may not be any real issue.

 

Thanks. I'm hopin not. It's really silent especially on cold start. Once it warms up it's still real silent. That tick is pretty much gone at 2k Rpm. Who knows hopefully it's all good

 

Thats good to hear on the noise.. i thought the same when i started mine and even the tuner was amazed lol.. He started asking what lifters i ran, who ground the cam, and all of the valvetrain details.. I can't hear the sewing machine sound until i listen real close to the head and i can kind of hear it, but once i step back i can't hear a thing, which is pretty awesome.

I found some pretty sweet exhaust clamps on amazon that are 3" and are kind of a sleeve style with thinner material that fits to the exhaust better.. try this link.. Seemed to seal mine up pretty well!

 

Ok awesome, will do. Thanks! I'm also running straub bushing kit. What are you running?

 

Cell phone microphones pick up highs very well and amplify them. I doubt that's how it sounded up close.

 

Very true. It's really not loud at all. Wonder if my oil I'm running might have anything to do with it. Amsoil break in straight 30. Maybe makes it a lil more hell idk. Ima keep drivin it

 

Yes, I am also running the straub kit also.. Our valvetrain is set up very similar

 

O wow yea that ain't no lie. What motor mounts you running?

 

Poly motor mounts.. The motor doesn't move too much.. poly trans mount too

What injectors did you end up going with? I think i missed that if it was mentioned

 

ah nice, FIC 42lb. Well that ticking noise on the driver side has gotten a lot more noticeable. Cant hear on start ups or at idle, only when cruising. I mean would i really have a bad lifter already?

 

i would say its loudest when around 1500 rpm in neutral then after 2k its follows rpm but is a lot faster of a tick. i know i have a small exhaust leak at collector but i don't think its that damn loud

 

That is valve train noise for sure. Did you measure the preload across each cyclinder? Sounds like one or two is still a tad light on the exhaust side.

 

no sir i didn't. well ****, ill check tomorrow after work.

 

Why would one side be different, well question is, why would any be different?

 

This seems weird to me that you were too short and had that noise and now with 7.375 you pretty much have the same exact noise.. do you have a stethoscope to pin point to a certain cylinder? Does the noise sound exactly the same to you or did the tone change a little?

 

It is bothering me for sure. Couldn't find anything with stethoscope. Cylinder 7 has a very small tick maybe but nothing like what it sounds like out of the car. I gonna take off valve cover tonight and check rockers/push rods and prolly header and check gasket..

 

It's common with heads that have been worked over and had a valve job. Sometimes you end up with slightly different valve lengths. Pull the rockers and put a straight edge across the valve tips. That is why several posts back I mentioned initially measuring 2 cylinders and came up with 7.325, but I would get a little noise after running it hard. Went back and measured all cylinders and found 2 that were .010-.015 lighter then the rest. Several here have ran into the same issue.

Soultion.

1) find a common pushrod length that gets all lifters in advertised preload range.

2) go with different length push rods to get a closer preload average.

3) go with a adjustable rocker setup and have precise preload control over each lifter. I am not sure why more folks do not go this route....It's what the SBC crowd has been doing for 30+ years.

I believe some of it has to do with the limited market for rockers. Stock is easier to control since they are light, but they cause premature valve guide wear at high lifts because they slide across the valve tip. Stock also makes getting proper preload a real chore in some applications.

Comp now makes a Ultra Pro that looks like a solid affordable piece and it can handle spring pressures north of 800lbs. The issue is they only come in 1.8 ratio which will not work for most and the adjuster nut will not clear stock valve covers without spacers. There is no perfect solution currently imo.

So I would definitely measure each cylinder even though it's a pain in the *** and see where you are at, then go from there.

 

Ok gotchya. Thanks again. Gonna pull them and check them tonight hopefully

 

I ended up with four different pr lengths on my old hydraulic setup. That said my lifter travel was only .058". Pretty much had to nail it.

The answer is stacked tolerances. Slight variation in many components slightly different valve seats, stem lengths, cam lobes, rocker cups, lifter heights, etc. if each one of those is 002 long you gain 010.

Usually though unless you have short travel lifters there is enough tolerance in the hydraulic lifter travel to compensate.

 

This thread is packed full of great info! Thanks to the OP for sharing for sure. I will continue to reference this when I set up my valvetrain. I went with 7.4 PR's because I am a newb and was hoping to swap my stockers (7.4 in length) with the same measurement for my replacement. Hopefully I can use the 7.4's but I also am OCD lol. Look forward to seeing your results and also the car sounds great with your mods! Nicely done