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Valve spring change - seeking opinions/recommendations

Started by myleslong, March 11, 2021, 10:27:59 AM

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myleslong

 Hello all, I'm in the process of restoring my 71 Challenger R/T that has been sitting in my garage for far too long. When i bought the car in 1990 it had been swapped from the original 383 to a 440. I was told it was .030 over with a mild cam. I didn't question it because the car ran great and felt strong. I drove the car for 6 months before parking it with the intention of doing a full restoration. then...life got in the way. Anyway, I'm determined that this is the year to try to finish it.
I pulled the oil pan, one rod cap and one head to determine exactly what I have and yes, it is .030 over, the cylinders are round and I can see cross hatch. steel crank, rod bearing looks excellent. I'm considering changing the valve seals and springs because it's been sitting for so long with tension on some springs. I wasn't aware enough to loosen the (stock) rocker shafts when I put the motor in storage. My dilemma is, don't know what cam is in it. since the motor seems to be in great condition, I'd rather not go any deeper on a teardown unless it's absolutely necessary. Is there any way to determine what the correct valve springs would be without pulling the cam out? or, should I be content to just change the seals and go with that?
Any and all recommendations/opinions are appreciated.

northerncuda2021

Distributor correct forsure.  Would above 2000 RPM. That's it

Chryco Psycho

You could end up doing more damage than good , you need to know the cam to get the correct springs to match , otherwise you can pull a few springs & have them tested for pressure so you can match that way , but I bet it will run fine with what you have now .


jimynick

In the immortal words of Jimmy Scott- "pace yourself!"

myleslong

 I've been told the same thing by a couple of other guys. Soooo... I've decided to leave well enough alone and install the motor "as-is" and see how it runs.  If I need to make a change I'll do it in the car.
I appreciate the feedback!
Best regards...

jimynick

Good call. If it's not a race car, you should be ok. I've watched quite a few of the "will it run?" videos and those 30 sit-behind/in the- garage/barn year vehicles never seem to have an issue regarding bad valve springs. If you have nothing else to do in these covid days, you could sequentially pull them and pressure test them if it'd make you sleep better at night.  :bigthumb:
In the immortal words of Jimmy Scott- "pace yourself!"