Hey guys I am fixing to put the top end together on my 80 fxs. Got new valves head work, and piston, cam and oil pump. Any suggestion,helpful tips, tricks, or advise when putting together.

 

the "mechanic" that did mine used valves with longer stems that made the top spring retainer hit the the side of the rocker box. that was found only after i had to remove the rocker box do to oil oosing out of it. this was caused by acorn rocker box nuts were not holding rocker box tight to the head. the rocker box was not tight to the head because dumb *** filled acorn nuts with red lock tight and when torqued to specs it was do to the pressure of the liquid that had no ware to go rather than the force of the rocker box to the head. jest to top it off the the acorn nuts did come off but the stud came with. the rockers were not shimmed or profiled to the valve stem. they topped it off this fine workman ship by being 5 weeks late on the due date. i was so pissed that i could not trust them to make it rite so i wrote it off as a learning experience re did the top end myself witch i was going to do in the first place but i had money and some one recommended this place as a shovel head authority. if you want to know the shops name and the mechanic the did the work p.m. me

sorry for the rant but the the message is make sure the parts fit well this may require modifying parts a bit.

i would also recommend using a shovel head head builder to fit the guides in the heads for you.

the cam for shovels can have different gear pitches be sure you have the correct one

dont use solid lifters on horologic cams

drain all oil from horologic lifters before rod install and if you don't do it correctly you have to remove and drain lifters again they will suck up oil to take up any slack you if that happens and you set your rod to it it will not be correct.

this is jest a few simple ones a real shovel head builder may not agree with what i said here and i would take his advice over mine plus know a lot more tips and ticks that are only gained by training and experience


good luck with the rebuild


top end break in procedure do some reading on this

this is kinda like the oil weight debate

 

When you put in new pistons keep in mind that on a shovel if you run a domed piston - because of the sparkplug location you will not get the spark traveling over the high top of the piston.I either run a flat top piston or I really like dual plugs.Dual pluging makes more of a diff to me than a hot cam or a big bore.

 

I have built a few engines in my years and just have never talked about horological engineering and really would like to know what cams that would apply to.When I buy a Andrews or Sifton I have never seen the term used on the box.So how about helping a old guy out and explain it to me!

 

Make sure you ck and trim any excess on the oil pump gasket, if you don't it could end up in the pump gears and shear the key. Trust me it's worth the little extra to prevent an unnessessary bottom end rebuild.

 

my understanding is that a cam designed for solid lifters uses a expansion ramp on the lobe that reduces the shock to the valve train when solid lifters are used.


sifton still around?

http://www.stony-point.com/sifton/si.../001_Page1.htm

http://www.andrewsproducts.com/PDF_f...ShovelCams.pdf