Thanks Mick and Killer! I think I have access to an infared thermomter. Gonna take her for a drive and check her with that first!

hey folks! just been putting some serious summer miles on the ol' girl, just rolled 1300 miles on the hemi, and things are still dry underneath, thank the car gods!

one kind of unsettling thing has popped up, a loud lifter noise. started out as 'tick tick tick', then got really audible. i got spooked, so i removed a valve cover, (THAT was fun.....n't.)

she was rtv'd reeeeeal good on there. anyway, exhaust valve on cylinder number two was about .005 out, all the others on the comp hydraulic roller rockers were at zero lash, as recommended per comp cams.

the adjuster was tight, so not really sure why one rocker got loosey goosey on me. i adjusted it, and it sounded fine, but i have a slight 'tick tick tick' again, which scares me a little more. it has stayed steady right where it's at, so i am just going to ride it out, and see what happens. anyone else have an issue like this?

i tried to contact my engine builder with a few questions on troubleshooting/remedies, as it's his engine, he would know, and i thought it a fair question for such an expensive investment. but, eddie haines stuck to his M.O. of not responding to me at all, with any help or suggestions.

HORRIBLE customer service, end rant.

stay tuned for the next adventure!

well, my antique auto battery brand mopar replica, (the glass mat version), took a dump on me. it had a loose negative post, and would not hold a charge anymore. it would charge, and show fine, but it would not recover once a load was put on it. crank on it more than a few times, and it would be dead. tried several methods of trying to help it get it's 'memory' back, but to no avail. contacted antique, and they were STELLAR to work with. i was out of the one year warranty, but they said pay for shipping one way, and they would take care of it. got a brand spankin' new battery, and it works great! while it was out, i put in a new battery hold down setup, mine was too short, and was looking it's 40 plus year age, even after refurbing it a bit.........

finally found an air filter! it only took me a year plus, but i got a fram for the car, and i will save the factory original filter i have now, for show. who knows, maybe i should pick up one of the new repops too. but dang, that would be a lot of cash spent on air filters!

here she is, all dolled up with her new air filter, battery, and hold downs. (still chasing a few valve cover leaks, but aren't all hemi owners doing that?)

hemi down.
as soon as i got her going, another hiccup. started running like crap on the way home from a drive, missing on at least one it felt like, but intermittently. by the time i got home, a steady miss on cylinder one....

checked plugs, ignition, wires, and oh, had lifter noise again. it didn't seem like a slightly out of adjustment lifter could cause this, but i had no other ideas, so off comes the valve cover.....

everything seemed right, zero lash on all holes at tdc. then, i pushed on the exhaust rocker on number one, and it compressed over a 1/4"! it felt like the lifter didn't/wouldn't pump up, and hold oil....

i managed to get the pair of roller rockers out of the head hole with a magnet probe. (wonder if i can get the new pair back in! sure would be nice to not have to tear the top of the engine off). i found a teeny tiny piece of rtv stuck in the oil feed hole. since i have chased this rear main leak so many times, and the engine has been out and apart several times, i must have missed a piece, and somehow it made it past the filter.....

anyway, it appears it got plugged, ran dry, and beat it self up, breaking the valving plate in the lifter, rendering is useless, and not really opening the exhaust valve......

well, at least i figured it out, and hopefully i can get it sorted out quickly......

a close up of the debris, this is a 'macro' pic, it is actually very small......

.....What brand of lifters are those??? Good luck on the repairs.

but hey, i have no rear main leak now! lol............. Very Good!!

Pull the distributor out and feed the lifters through the hole.

good tips, thanks fellas!

parts should be here in a few days, i will let you all know how it goes.......

all ready for surgery. dang, i love the looks UNDER these valve covers, wish i could see it while it's running!

here they are, and the tools i hope to get them in with.......

target locale, cylinder number one, off to the left. the exhaust is a shoe in, but that intake one is in a real blind spot.....

whew! got 'er done, but not how i envisioned it, just had to roll with it, and do whatever worked. ended up being a mishmash, long needle nose, stainless wire, long screw driver, and multiple lights. finally got them in and seated, all put back together, primed, and fired for a few seconds to verify all was well. all doned up, just waiting for the rtv to dry, and maybe take her for a test drive tomorrow!

man your brave if I lost a lifter I would tear the motor down searching and cleaning the whole thing out. Were all the pieces there when you took them out to out the lifter back together?

Good Job!! Keep us posted.

got her all back together, and fired her up. i had a real bad miss in the rear cylinders, but couldn't nail it down to one hole by unplugging spark plug wires, so i figured it was fuel related. ran fine under load, but part throttle and idle sucked......

tore the rear carb apart, cleaned it all out, put it back together, and it ran great!

stay tuned for the next un fun filled chapter. pics downloading as i write.....