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do i need machined guides for xp cam?

Seriously, I have no ****ing clue...Car didnt knock any...When it was closer to freezing out, I'd see tiny blips of like .1-.3 degrees of knock..
Parked it one night, went to start it the next day and...knock, knock,knock...so it happened on startup....

Im only 19..and like you, didnt really know jack **** about cars, until I got mine. Since then, I've been learning, and wrenching.
Any of my friends/family has me do their dirty work first....Done a few engine swaps now, in different cars, totally stripped a few down. Complete rebuild of an LT1, etc.

But good for you man, (not being an asshole, I promise)
It's good to see someone with the ambition to do a full rebuild. I'd love to, but that's my only car, so I have no wheels at all, so I need something soon.

Take lots of pics, and make sure every single bolt on the bottom end is torqued to spec, and make sure you grab an angle meter too. No second guessing.
 


That's exactly how mine chipped too. Only reason I can do a build is cause I have an old beater gtp that I use as a bumber car to get round lol. That and I'm forunate to have my dad helping me out on the money aspect. But I figure this gives me experience to help him build up his WS6 or rebuild his SS 70 chevelle afterwards. And like you mentioned, doing the dirty work. So i'll work it off lol.

I already have side projects I'm workin on too. Including a cafe racer my cousin and i are trying to build. Then we'll be doing a second one for myself :th_biggrin2:
 
WOT.. I liked the life story. Keep in mind that with all you've learned, life will continue to teach you every day if you are willing to learn. I constantly learn more and didn't listen on the rebuild vs another motor info I received. 200 miles.

On these motors, they are very picky about being rebuilt. Not sure why, but they are. Ensure it's align bored and the machine shop puts the bottom end together. All the clearances need to be spot on for it to last. And thats all any of us want, a good running motor. :th_thumbsup-wink:
 
I like to do milled guides on S1x / XP.

I believe the lift on stock rockers is a bit higher in reality than on paper. You also have some spring harmonics you need to worry about.

The last higher mile XP cam car I demodded had very very little left of the guide seals.. strangely enough they didnt leak much oil.
 
Just for my 2 cents...

I had the machine shop align bore my block for the main studs...but the rotating assembly wasn't installed by them...and if it doesn't take a crap within the first couple thousand miles...I'd say your golden.
 
Thanks everyone for the input, it's very helpful.
I think I decided I'm going to push for the modded retainers and milled .100. Seems like I could get away with not machining the guides but I want this car to last through college without problem, and I might as well drop the time and money now while it's convenient.
 


I'm also pretty confident my dad and I are plenty capable of putting the bottom end together ourselves. My dad has experience as a machinist and has all the tools to do it accurately.
 
Since you are going to have the heads at the machine shop. Have the spring seats milled as well to make them a 1.800" install height with your retainer of choice.
 
darkhorizon said:
Just run a XPZ cam if you are going to be putting all this time into building it.
Click to expand...

The reason I'm putting so much time into it is because I want it to be as reliable as possible with minimum budget and maximum power. Very time consuming to get the balance right. Especially for someone learning as they go like me.

I'll be looking at what head work I want done as soon as I have the spare time to do it. But i'll definitely look into that
 
Lol, money to power says go Turbo...even a budget kit.

But A good cammed m90 setup will make plenty of power too..

Didn't realize you're up in Jacksonville...might have to swing by sometime and ninja some parts off of your build. XD
 


Well I'm too deep now to go in the turbo direction :p

You stay away from my goodies, they're mine! :th_nanana: You don't touch, don't look, don't even think about them lol.

But what part of florida are you from? It's nice to see someone on here from my side of the country ha
 
Im in sunny little Welaka, FL.

Never heard of it, no one has...Population 700 old people.

Im between Gainesville and Daytona. About 1.5 hours from Jacksonville.
 
hour and a half? put me behind the wheel and make it a solid hour :th_biggrin2:

But ya, I never heard of it. Welaka just sounds like a desolate place lol
 
Haha, it is..old people.

and no..no making it in an hour. I go from Welaka, to NC about 4times a year.

Fastest way is to jump on I-95, and its just over 1.5hours to Downtown Jax.
Taking 17 up through orange park is closer to 2hours.

But I may need to swing by once my car is done, and check yours out. Sounds like you'll be putting some power down.
 
For sure bro. Mine may take a little bit though. Still working out a few kinks and I'm working two jobs while going to school so I got little time for the build even if ALL my spare time goes to it. Hope to have it done in a couple months. That's what I'm aiming for. Could easily push a little into summer depending on which direction it goes in.
 


Same here...Im up in NC working atm...since theres not jack **** for work in my neck of the woods.
So I probably wont start til the beginning of march..hoping to finish by april...which means sometime in 2012 for me. XD
 
That's how I am. I was expecting to have this build done like a year ago? safe to say that was a lie... :th_laugh-lol2:

What kills me is I go hey... I want a new cam. Then I choose a possibility based on price and reviews to get an idea. I ask opinions. Then based on those usually I change my mind so I research every aspect of the part to see how it affects performance etc. EX... I started looking into how lobe separation, duration, idle vacuum and all that good stuff is caused by a cam and what are the pros and cons of each just today. Then researching consistently for a couple weeks leaves me very well read then that leads into convincing my dad to get just that one more part to make it so much more reliable. And he can't argue cause I have all the research to back it up so he'll give in to reason and he submits to me having the ambition to learn all the information.

I've done that ^^^ For literally every part that needs to be replaced. Pistons, cam, timing chain, gaskets, all down to the bolts.
 
Well, that's smart to do. Dont want to get tearing into a motor, not knowing what you're doing, or how you'll fix it.

So have you picked a cam yet???

Im going with the VS, simply because I do want to keep my awesome-o gas mileage, and I dont have the money to drop into valve-train components.
Plans for mine are:
L26 shortblock
New timing chain and dampener
VS Cam
Ported LIM (I do plan on going FS IC)
Ported Heads (got a shop doing a decent job for free)
Ported Gen III (Already have it)
Ported L67 TB (probably going to send it to Reptile)
Balance Shaft delete
Either a 3.4 or a 3.6 pulley...which is on an 8-rib setup(already have)

So it's just getting the cam, and TB ported...then $250 worth of gaskets, painting it all. And then getting it tuned.
 
Well I bought the car from a guy in tampa with a blown piston.

Already had...
CAI, MSD coils(going back to stock), 3.4 MPS, U-bend delete, pillar gauges, headlights and some custom led tailights

Adding...
Set of pistons, gaskets, XP cam, 105 springs, modded retainers, lifters, pushrods, SD headers, .100 milled guides, ported heads and maybe getting the s/c ported. And of course a tune when it's all done.

Me and my dad are gonna do our own porting since he is pretty capable of doing it himself.
If I have the money... I want to get some borla mufflers but i can always do that later. But the headers+cam may free it up enough for the sound I want, we'll see
 
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