sealed power part numbers question for Joe Lucia - Duke Williams

[Bob W.]

I'AM starting to gather parts to rebuild my 59 283/245 HP motor. I have sealed power cam cs-274 . what I need to know is what lifters , pushrods and rocker arms to buy .Also who's timing chain and oil pump would you use.

Thanks in advance Bob

[Joe L.]

Re: sealed power part numbers qustion for Joe Lucia - Duke Williams

I'AM starting to gather parts to rebuild my 59 283/245 HP motor. I have sealed power cam cs-274 . what I need to know is what lifters , pushrods and rocker arms to buy .Also who's timing chain and oil pump would you use.

Thanks in advance Bob

Bob-------

I assume what you're doing is a stock rebuild. In that case and since you're using a Sealed Power camshaft, you could use other Sealed Power components. These would be as follows:

lifters-----HT 817
push rods----- RP 3093
rocker arms---- R 826
timing set----KT3-163S

oil pump-----Melling M-55

The above will provide a very satisfactory engine that will have stock performance and durability that will almost certainly outlast you. However, if I were rebuilding this engine for myself, this is what I would use:

lifters----GM #5232720
pushrods----Crane 11621
rocker arms---Crane Nitro-Carb #11801C
timing set----Cloyes 9-3100
oil pump-----Melling 10553 (install standard pressure spring)

[Terry B.]

Re: sealed power part numbers qustion for Joe Lucia - Duke Williams

Mr. Lucia please help a green horn out. I understand using a Sealed Power camshaft and a Sealed Power lifter as an "assembly". The cam lobe and the lifter foot should/would be ground to match from the same manufacture. Is there an industry standard when the cam lobe and lifter foot is ground so that any manufactured parts can be mixed and matched (you were mixing a Sealed Power cam with a GM lifter). In looking at some parts in the past I noted that the 097 cam was made by Sealed Power but the only solid lifter they supplied was the "high flow/big block" kind. "Low flow/small block" solid lifters were available from suppliers other than Sealed Power. Is there a good chance of success mixing a cam and lifters from two different companies in all cases? Enjoy your posts.

[Joe L.]

Re: sealed power part numbers qustion for Joe Lucia - Duke Williams

Mr. Lucia please help a green horn out. I understand using a Sealed Power camshaft and a Sealed Power lifter as an "assembly". The cam lobe and the lifter foot should/would be ground to match from the same manufacture. Is there an industry standard when the cam lobe and lifter foot is ground so that any manufactured parts can be mixed and matched (you were mixing a Sealed Power cam with a GM lifter). In looking at some parts in the past I noted that the 097 cam was made by Sealed Power but the only solid lifter they supplied was the "high flow/big block" kind. "Low flow/small block" solid lifters were available from suppliers other than Sealed Power. Is there a good chance of success mixing a cam and lifters from two different companies in all cases? Enjoy your posts.

Terry------


There's no problem, at all, with mixing engine parts, including cam and lifters, from different manufacturers as long as they are quality parts and are NEW. Hi Performance and specialty engine builders do this all the time. Actually, I would have also used a GM camshaft but I figured you already owned the Sealed Power piece. If it were me, though, I would use camshaft GM #14060651 for your application. Some might opine that the Sealed Power parts and the GM parts are the same. Sometimes, this is the case but I don't believe it's the case for any of the parts in question here.

Keep in mind, though, that all of the parts I mentioned that I would use are quite a bit more expensive than the Sealed Power parts.

[Duke W.]

Re: sealed power part numbers qustion for Joe Lucia - Duke Williams

The Sealed Power product line from Federal Mogul is for the most part OE equivalent replacement parts. In some cases there may be multiple number listed, one as "high performance". Whether a "high performance" part is necessary is application specific.

I use the napaonline.com parts search function. You can either search by OE part number, Sealed Power replacement number, or vehicle specific. It's a very easy way to find Sealed Power replacement parts for your car.

As far as timing chains are concerned you have a choice between the late silent chain - steel crank sprocket, cast iron cam sprocket, but the chain is one or two rows narrower than the early silent chain that your engine originally had. I usually recommend the truck roller chain, which may be more durable, but slightly noisier. However in a vintage Corvette I don't think you could perceive more noise with the roller chain.

I believe both of these OE replacement chains are actually made by Cloyes and cost about $25 for the complete set, which is about one-quarter the price of Cloyes aftermarket so-called "true roller" chain, which is stronger because it has larger rollers, but is not at all necessary unless you are drag racing with 5000 rev clutch drops and full on power shifts.

To find the part number for the truck chain simply search any model pickup truck from the fifties to seventies. You can also probably find the part numbers with a TDB search as the subject has been discussed here many times.

283 and early 327 rods are weak, so you should consider replacing them. A new set of Eagle SIR5700 rods is only about $250, but a used set of late 327 rods would be fine for a hydraulic lifter 283.

Your oil pump is likely reusable. It's simple a matter of disassembling it, which is easy and visually inspecting the internal for damage and checking/adjusting end play.

Your engine will likely run on regular unleaded fuel, especially if it has the OE lazy centrifugal spark advance map. You can improve the performance and fuel economy by raising the compression ratio to not more than 10:1, true, measured and the Keith Black piston line may offer a better alternative to the Sealed Power OE replacement line.

If you are interested, contact me through the TDB email function, and I will send you some papers on Corvette engine restoration including how to improve performance and durability without affecting visual appearance or idle behavior.

The performance and quality of the final product will be a direct function of the quality and thoroughness of your planning. There are many engine rebuild disasters reported here and all over the Web, and most were because the owner didn't plan properly or turned his engine over to some "engine builder" who performed unnecessary machining operations and filled up the engine with aftermarket hot rod parts.

Duke

[Pat H.]

Re: sealed power part numbers qustion for Joe Lucia - Duke Williams

If you are using a Melling 55 oil pump, used the pressure spring from your old pump. The Spring in the M-55 pump are too stiff and will cause high reading.

[Bob W.]

Re: sealed power part numbers qustion for Joe Lucia - Duke Williams

Joe/Duke we can always count on the two of you for the best help. Yes this just a stock rebuild.
Thanks again Bob