BuffaloBillPatri

I assembled my 355 14 years ago, but never started it. It sat with cam, hydraulic roller lifters, heads & valve spring pressure. When I started working on it again, I found that 5 of the lifter plungers were stuck in the bottom. There was no 1/8" give when pushing on the pushrods. I adjusted the rockers before starting as best I could, but they weren't right. For break-in, I used good oil (Shell Rotella) + EOS + a quart of Rislone with hopes of the lifter plungers loosening up, after a couple of hours run time, they did. Today I adjusted them hot with the motor running method. My Scorpion roller rockers make quite a bit of noise & I couldn't hear very well. At 900 RPM almost no oil escaped onto the headers. So I used a 3/8" x 24" wood dowel rod pressed against the rocker nut & along side my ear & It worked GREAT. I could hear exactly the point when tightening the nut would stop the rocker clatter. I gave them another 1/4 turn. Happy, BBP

I used the top manual brake hole in the brake pedal. This aligned the pushrod perfectly with the HB unit Due to the short distance between the brake pedal & the rear of the HB unit, I threaded a 3/8" nut tightly up to the firewall on each of the 4 brake booster studs to space the HB forward a bit. To make up the pushrod, I had to cut the 3/8" coupling nut shorter in length to about 3/4" I threaded the HB rod & cut the useful threaded length down to about 3/8" I made up a 1.5" all-thread 3/8" fine thread for the clevis end. After threading both ends into the shortened coupling nut about 3/8" I welded them in. I had about 1/2" of adjustment threads into clevis & lock nut. I got it installed & think I have most of the air bleed out. I put on the closest sized Master cylinder nuts that I had, but could tell that they were a bit too big. 1st time I started motor & pushed on brake pedal, one of them stripped & slid forward. Does anyone know what size that the MC studs are? They are bigger than 3/8" Might be 11 MM ? Thanks BBP

some good info & pics. http://www.angryamerica.com/chevelles/hydroboost.html http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=106056 http://www.thehollisterroadcompany.com/hydroboost.html http://www.tallonhydraulics.com/store/in...m00qkc8lk00gog6

I just removed the Astro HB firewall plate from the unit. The 72 A-body Aluminum firewall adapter that I got from Tallon came with a large socket type tool for removal/install of the large nut that holds the HB unit to the plate, very much needed. No instructions so it took me awhile to figure it out. Used my bench vice & LARGE pipe wrench. The new Aluminum firewall adapter plate angles the HB up at an angle for more rocker arm clearance & 3 lines will hook up on the bottom & will look better than if on the top. The 1200psi nitrogen reservoir goes toward the drivers side. I cut the brake rod shaft & am waiting for a new 3/8-24 die to thread it, using vice-grips to prevent rotation of rod. I'm not sure of the length & makeup of the brake pedal to HB rod at this point? I have read that I should use the upper (manual) hole in the pedal. I have a threaded manual rod in there as of now. I have a new Dorman M76162 MC on order, 1.125" piston, normally used with a vacuum PB on our cars, so it has the required shallow pushrod cup. BBP

Scott, I have a 4.56 12 bolt Moroso posi with Gear Vendors OD, same highway RPM's as a 3.56 Thanks for the advice guys. I took it apart again & glad I did. I got the converter fully seated into the crankshaft. I think I found the problem, thick blue paint on the converter snout and/or dirt. WD40 worked, no flexing of the flex-plate now & no washers. BBP

My PS pump was rebuilt by Lee when I got my quick ratio Lee box, best out there. I got an A1Cardone HB rebuilt for 95 Astro, has 90* firewall plate. Got the Metric to AN-6 adapters required by the HB, custom 53" high pressure hoses with AN-6 on one end & US 7/16 inverted flare on the other, Aluminum firewall adapter, pushrod between MC & HB, 3/8 low pressure return line & brass Tee. All together about $500 NOT as cheap as I was hoping. Next is to install all this stuff after Edelbrock & I sort out ECU not advancing timing. BBP

It sat for 14 years without the bolts. Maybe some dirt blew up in there. I have tremendous winter winds, 120MPH sometimes. Jet Stream comes over the mountains just West of me. The wind actually ripped the front license plate off the bumper over a couple winters. I will unbolt it again & squirt WD-40 up into the snout area. BBP

I want to add Hydraboost to my 72. But, Don't want to spend $700 Am looking at rebuilt A1Cardone for 76 Caddy Eldorado. Has angled firewall plate & inverted flare USA sized fittings. OR 76 Olds 88 unit from A1Cardone. Has 90* firewall plate & inverted flare USA sized fittings. I can modify the firewall plate to use my existing 4 bolts sticking through firewall. Can I use my new 1" manual disc/drum MC? Does A1Cardone do good rebuilds? Do I want the angled or 90* firewall plate? Thanks BBP

I don't understand why the centerlines wouldn't align properly? The converter is about 1/16" straight back toward the TH400 BTW, I don't think I have a pilot bearing? as in a stick-shift pilot bushing bearing. BBP

My converter wobbled too much, could feel it in my feet. I have now put 1 small diameter flat washer between each converter ear & flex-plate. I don't see any front to rear runout of flex-plate & don't feel any wobble. Hope this is a good fix. BBP

I bought flex-plate & converter about 15 yrs. ago from Summit. I don't even find the receipts. Just now getting my 72 Monte running again. My son was taking HS auto shop & wanted to rebuild the motor, he just took it apart & lost interest. I had 2 incomes at the time so I bought a lot of speed parts for it, then I lost interest as other more important things came up. Now I'm retired & have the time. So these are new parts, but without any chance of returning them. The flex-plate was being forced to bend as the bolts were tightened down. With the washers, it now has very little runout vs. the starter pinion gear. The converter etc. may have a short life do to wobble. I will find out, because I'm going to drive it & see, street only, will see 6K RPM. BBP

Thanks, I will copy & save that info. I had about 1/4" or so clearance, converter was easy to slide up to flex-plate & think it's engaged & indexed properly. I put washers between converter ears & flex-plate, 2 of the ears, a washer each. I know somethings fishy. I think one or more of the ears are not quite parallel to the flex-plate, B&M issue I believe. BBP

A guy on another site brought up a balance issue. I will go add a washer to the 3rd bolt, but under the head & not between the flex-plate & converter. BBP

I put in the 1" bolts today. They work fine. Converter moves easy up to flex-plate. See my new thread: Converter caused Flex-plate runout about 1/8" ? BBP

I think I fixed my flex-plate runout, it was about 1/8" & messing with starter engagement. It seems? that one of the ears on the B&M Holeshot 3000 converter was bending the flex-plate upon torquing the bolts. I seem to have fixed it by putting thin flat washers between 2 of the ears & flex-plate. Runout looks even to starter pinion gear now & about .100" Anyone else ever seen this? BBP

Thanks Sam, I will use locktite red. The ARP bolts are 1/8" longer at 3/4" For some reason I need 1" to get all the way through the nut. These are real grade 8, not some Chicom krap like I could get locally. BBP

I got the Moroso 3/8-24 x 5/8" long. Too short, only got 3/4 of the threads into the nut? Flex plate is some sort of heavy duty unit that I bought from Summit 15 yrs. ago, lost receipt. Converter is a B&M Hole Shot 3000. So I bought grade 8, 3/8-24 x 1" from McMaster-Carr Had to buy qty 25. Should these be adequate for the task? I have 22 extra now. BBP

I'm looking at the Innovate Motorsports 3802 $249 at Summit I like the analog gauge & would probably paint 3 white lines on the dial, 13. 14.7 & 15.5 for quick reference. I hope it will screw right into my Edelbrock Pro-flo supplied narrow band O2 bung? BBP

I bought a lightly used NASCAR driveshaft on Ebay. ($150) I see that they are up to $188 including shipping now. Made by Spicer 3.5" x .125" wall HD Aluminum. As I have a Gear Venders OD, I had it shortened & balanced ($80). I used 1350 U-joints & forged yokes. BBP

So what brand is a good bolt on? I have a GV OD so mine will go a little further back. BBP

BTW, I bought the B&M TH400 & converter 14 years ago, hopefully before their reputation started to dive. I have read that B&M Hole Shot converters tend to flash loose (to a higher RPM than most). This should get my RPM's up further into power band, but I will need slicks for full throttle off-the-line. Also, some contributing factors to higher flash: More torque, heavy car, more traction, loose & possibly inefficient design. http://www.cpgnation.com/forum/torque-converter-tech-2042.html This info looks like it was copied from TCI "The Most Widely Misunderstood Torque Converter Concept The stall speed rpm of your torque converter is the point at which your vehicle starts to move, regardless of throttle input. Amazingly enough, this lone misconception is the belief of many car builders today. True, when you mash the throttle, the stall speed of the converter does come into play before the vehicle begins to move. But at any throttle level less than wide open, your stall speed is reduced. Case in point, at half throttle the stall speed is cut in half. If this were not the case, it would stand to reason that there would be no way to effectively drive a high stall speed converter-equipped transmission on the street." And from B&M, "Here are some general guidelines for selecting a converter: The stall speed should be rated at about 500-750 RPM under your engine's peak torque RPM. If you don't know this figure, be conservative in your estimate. You don't want to end up with a converter that has too high of a stall speed. Don't be too conservative, though - it is possible to get a converter with too low of a stall speed, which will have roughly the same effect as too high of a stall speed." BBP

All new parts, never fired up yet. Weight is about 3900# with me in it. Torque (at crank) about 400ftlbs @4K RPM. B&M TH400 & Hole Shot 3000 converter. 4.56 Posi, rear tires 28" tall 275/50/r17 Will it just smoke these? If I put slicks on, about what RPM will the converter flash to? BBP

Yesterday I drained the THICK gear lube, took 12 hrs @ 32* I got the front plug out, that socket worked with some heat. THANKS GUYS Today I added lube. Secured funnel in passenger door handle & 3/8" rubber hose down & into rear cover fill hole. SLOW GOING, In about 4 hrs, I got in about 2 qts. Tomorrow I think I will heat up the lube & rubber hose. BBP

Hey Scott, It's the external square "nipple" type BBP

I can understand more air bubbles with more of the ring gear submerged. Ebay seller stays that the TCI cover increases the capacity by 1 cup, so 2.75 qts. would be about right. I also read that I could use a narrow dremel wheel & cut a slot in plug, heat with a torch, & probably get it out with a square shank screwdriver. If that don't work, I will drain & put 2.75 qts. back in. BBP