My 427 SOHC Build..... Finally the time has come!

[cobracammer]

Hey Barry. Already ahead of you. Not a drop of oil to either side

[jayb]

You had oil pressure, right?  How much at idle, and while driving down the road?

[Nightmist66]

[/quote]

Are you sure you can't pull the cover? Not trying to nag, but maybe a 1/4" drive shallow socket with a swivel and extensions for most and a regular wrench snaking your hand to the bottom ones? Maybe the socket and ratchet would even work for the bottom ones but I don't know. Keep the positive attitude Jason, I know it's hard and frustrating but many have quit far sooner than you. I'm sure you can stick it to the end.

[cobracammer]

No, because I used studs on the covers and not bolts. 

[Nightmist66]

Judging by the pic, the clearance looks similar on each side from that angle. Have you added more things to pass. side that hinders removal? Any chance of moving anything else out of the way for a little more access? Don't know how much room there is before you run into something pulling the cover, but if it comes down to it maybe see about removing the studs. You can get 1/4" drive hex bit sockets that would work to remove the studs if space permits. Doesn't look as bad as some of the F-150 5.4 3v engines that I have relplaced cam phasers and solenoids in before. Some of those are a real chore. The pass. side is always the worst with trans dipstick, injector and coil wiring, heater hoses, A/C lines, pcm (including bracket and wiring), battery cable, and other misc. items. Some of the v/c bolts are by feel (can't really see them) and others only by a 1/4" drive swivel socket.

[blykins]

Jason, did you ever prime the oil pump with the valve covers off?

[Barry_R]

Going to agree with Nightmist66 here - I think you can get that cover off.  And you are going to need to.  Might have to loosen the motor mounts and jack/lift it up on that side to rock it a few degrees.  Its a Cammer, so you can remove the cams pretty easily compared to a wedge motor.

Hate to hear that both sides are dry.  My workaround is easiest on the driver side.  I had a customer SOHC that had a habit of eating cam bearings on the driver's side after time.  After having it happen to me I decided to see why.  Took the valve covers off, reinstalled the spark plugs/tubes and ran it without them.  Passenger side threw a huge amount of oil out but the driver's side stayed about the same as on the drill - just a drool from each rocker.  This was a factory block and head combination.  I can promise folks that the chains do not require any extra oiling - it sent a spray across the fenders and onto the walls at 3000 RPM.

I put an AN fitting to the oil filter adapter and ran a piece of braided up to a bulkhead connector mounted to the fuel pump block off plate.  inside the plate I mounted and routed a piece of bent up 1/4" steel tubing (needs to be pretty convoluted to clear sprockets and chains) to connect to the head's front 1/4" NPT oil galley plug.  We now have plenty of oil and the car gets driven around all over Michigan and Ohio.  I took a line from the rear plug across to the rear plug on the other side'd head to connect them, but that might be impossible on your installation depending on access to the rear of the block.  You might need to go through the front cover on the passenger side.

A whole bunch of unanswered questions here still.  But steel cams can often be repolished and repaired, and rockers can definitely be rebuilt - so all is not as bad as it seems dollar-wise. Even if you do end up removing the engine for the repair.

[My427stang]

If you have to, bring the nose way up and drop the K member a little, there has GOT to be a way.

[Bolted to Floor]

I feel for ya Jason.   
 I would spend some time trying to remove the valve cover before pulling it out of the car.

[jayb]

Jason, I should have said something about studs in the valve cover holes in a tight engine compartment.  You gotta use bolts if there are clearance issues.  I had to do the same thing with my Galaxie. 

I still think you can get the cover off, like everyone suggests.  Pull the bolt out of the passenger side engine mount, put a wood block on the oil pan on the passenger side, and jack up the engine on that side a few inches.  I think you will get the clearance that you need.

[cobracammer]

Got it off. Wrecked valve cover gasket, but that can be fixed. No oil to this side either. Ran the drill counterclockwise for like 5 min. It looks better than the drivers side. Less discoloration and all rockers are ok. No metal flakes

[blykins]

Did you get any oil to the top end when you were priming?

[cobracammer]

Hey all. Update....  Engine is being pulled, crated up and send to Mr. Jay Brown....  Cant wait to find out how badly I screwed up. 

Should have it shipped out the weekend after next.

[WConley]

Good move Jason.  Jay will get it sorted out!  I agree that the cams will probably polish out just fine.  The needle bearings and rollers on the rockers are probably toast though.

While the engine is set right, it would be good to think of every possible improvement you can make in that engine compartment package.  Then she'll be ready to rock when the engine comes back.

Best of luck with this ambitious project.

- Bill

[cobracammer]

Thanks bill. Trying to think of that now!  Have an appointment for ceramic coating the headers. Also I want to move the efi computer inside the car and clean up a the wires..... And finally move the radiator forward