68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Please

[Jim A.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

More good info duke, Thank you

[Joe L.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

.


Then they foisted that nylon tooth cam sprocket on us...

Duke

Duke------


That occurred in 1966 for small blocks. Big blocks had the nylon-toothed camshaft sprocket since their inception in 1965 and even included L-88 and ZL-1

[Rod K.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

Sorry, I missed the timeline reference so, yeah, unlikely timing chain failure is related, however, I looked up L79 and see it's an 11:1 engine, so possible interference if timing is off a couple of teeth. I can't think of another reason for bent pushrods, etc, but I'm not that familiar with those engines. Best of luck with your next moves.

[David M.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

Time to pull it and tear it down for some forensics. Could be a broken cam shaft, wiped lobes, cracked lifter valley, to many things to speculate sight unseen.

If the timing chain and or gear assembly let loose (at higher RPM) it most certainly would have stressed the valve train.
If several push rods are bent Ill guarantee valves kissed pistons and valves are bent.

Did it come to a violent stop accompanied by bad noises?

Whats in the oil pan and filter?
Did you have good oil pressure throughout all of this?

If its damaged beyond what another crate engine would cost, think about a new short or long block with a warranty. Look at what Summit & Jegs offers for a base 350 long block. You could go 383 or even the LS route for the same money you'd have into rebuilding???

Keep us posted on what the carnage looks like with some pictures.

[Jim A.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

Good Morning Duke,
a fellow NCRS long time member and friend Dave Strickland suggested I talk to you about parts selection for the rebuild. Dave tells me that you are also a mechanical engineer. I graduated MSME Delta Tau from Northeastern 1983.

Would definately appreciate and advice you can offer. Can you please reccomend the best camshaft and valve train components to replace in this motor. My goal here is to keep it as original as possible.

[Duke W.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

Call me

310
372
5527

Duke

[Thomas N.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

Jim
Sounds like you are in good hands and have some good contacts. It probably makes sense to pull the intake and heads off to see what the real picture is. If you need any help, let me know.

Tom

[Jim A.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

thank you Duke,
I'll try you tonight around 6:00 if thats convenient for you
Jim

[Duke W.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

I don't know what time zone you are talking about. I'm on Pacific time and should be around all day, but I know I have a couple of other fairly lengthy phone calls I expect today, so if the line is busy just call back a little latter.

I don't understand why it's so bloody difficult to make a phone call. Back before message machines people just called. If the line was busy you called back later.

Nowadays it takes an email thread and two or three days to "arrange" a phone call. No wonder nothing gets done.

I think only about half the people who contact me by email with a something that needs more than a simple yes or no answer that I suggest calling to discuss I ever hear from. I seems all people want to do nowadays is pound on a keyboard or get callouses on their index fingers banging on one of those intolerable "smart" phones.

No wonder more and more kids and even adults are need "mental health" care. They can't even talk to each other anymore, on the phone, much less in person.

Sorry for the rant.

Duke

[Mark E.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

I don't know what time zone you are talking about. I'm on Pacific time and should be around all day, but I know I have a couple of other fairly lengthy phone calls I expect today, so if the line is busy just call back a little latter.

I don't understand why it's so bloody difficult to make a phone call. Back before message machines people just called. If the line was busy you called back later.

Nowadays it takes an email thread and two or three days to "arrange" a phone call. No wonder nothing gets done.

I think only about half the people who contact me by email with a something that needs more than a simple yes or no answer that I suggest calling to discuss I ever hear from. I seems all people want to do nowadays is pound on a keyboard or get callouses on their index fingers banging on one of those intolerable "smart" phones.

No wonder more and more kids and even adults are need "mental health" care. They can't even talk to each other anymore, on the phone, much less in person.

Sorry for the rant.

Duke

Duke,

Sounds like you're ready for holiday. Perhaps a long Corvette roadtrip adventure...

I, and I'm sure many others, appreciate your generosity with your time and expertise.

[Duke W.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

Naaah... I don't need no stinkin' vacation... just a bigger soapbox to rant on.

Take the subject of "texting". This is just a slightly improved version of 19th century telegraphy, but instead of tapping in dots and dashes you get to tap in whole letters. Wow, what a quantum leap in technology!

I guess there's one other improvement that i'll admit to, grudgingly. There's no need for someone at the receiving end to interpret the dots and dashes and write down the letters as they arrive that might, or maybe not, end up as some coherent thought and then a kid on a bicycle to deliver it to your house.

$End of Rant.

Duke

[Jim A.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

Thank you Tom, I will. do you think this has to do with the timing chain issue ?

[Joe L.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

Thank you Tom, I will. do you think this has to do with the timing chain issue ?

Jim-----

If the engine has never been rebuilt, I'd say that the timing set issue is a virtual certainty to be the root cause of the problem. However, if the engine has been rebuilt, presumably including a new timing set, I'd say it's unlikely the root cause of the problem.

[Thomas N.]

Re: 68 L79 cam, pushrods and lifters swallowed up, need help with parts / vendors Pl

Thank you Tom, I will. do you think this has to do with the timing chain issue ?

Jim
It is hard to say without seeing anything. Right now, the car is broken, and needs to be assessed. I think it warrants your mechanic pulling off the heads and intake to see what damage is done, and you'll be able to see the tops of the pistons, your valves, lifters and the cam lobes. At that point you will have a better idea if it is just redo the heads, pushrods, cam and lifters, or if it is more. You've got a great car there that checks a lot of the boxes, and I know that you want the car in a condition where you can turn the key and go. There are a lot of helpful people here to assist you. Sounds like Joe gave you a lead on a reputable machine shop, and others here have lots of experience. It stinks, but as you know, this happens to all car guys (and gals) every once in a while. Keep your chin up!