I put a very nice, small base circle cam in my 383 rebuild. No problems on instalation so far except having to rotate the engine to slide it in. ALMOST started beating on it before my brain engaged

I have two questions on the setup. The double roller timing set that I used does not come with Torrington bearings on the back. I know that many have complained about these bearings failing but I'm a little concerned that a roller will be rubbing pretty heavily between the block and the sprocket, even with the good oil flow between them. Thoughts?

Also, I bought a Cloyes two piece timing cover for easy setup. The casting itself was really crappy, but that's another story. It has a built in roller cam button, which is why I got it, but their setup instructions call for setting the cam lash at zero. Their rational is that the aluminum cover has different expansion properties than the iron block. This pretty much contradicts the Comp Cam instalation instructions. Again, thoughts?

 

Well, I did not use a Torrington bearing and have had no issues. GM did not use them either for either roller or flat tappet cams. I also have the Cloyes cover, mine was a nice piece. I ignored their instructions and used the lash recommended by Crane. I have heard one way to set the lash is to put a piece of tape on the roller and adjust to zero lash. Then remove the cover and the tape, reinstall the cover and you should be just about right.

 

with the torrington they recommended doing 2 modifications to get sufficient oil lubricating it. easy to do if your motor is fully disassembled to a bare block but risky if it isnt. i cut the groove in the lower part of the end cam bearing but i doidnt do the other mod of drilling a 1/16 hole behind it into the oil gallery . i didnt want to risk a sharp of metal going down in there.

i used my stock timing cover as it was nice and thick with no flex.i used a nylon cam button and shaved it down to roughly the correct amount of play. once i got close i then used plastesene to see how much it would compress whilst putting the cover on and off. it took me probably about 30 installations and removals to get it right . i used my feeler gauge to compare its thickness.

i think there will be no shortage of oil spraying everywhere in that part of the motor for you to be safe, especially with the speed that the chain and sprocket will be throwing it around.now that you have gone in that direction with a 2 piece and the instruction contradict the cam buttons specifications i would probably adjust your lash to somewhere in the middle. at least that way your not going to be too far off either way . i cant remember what that end lash gap was to the button but geeez it was tiny so i dont think you will be too far off and it would be pretty close to steves idea of the tape to my naked eye.if in the future i use an adjustable cam button i would def use that tape method.

 

I have a Cloyes billet timing chain with a built in torrington roller bearing on my 427. It is expensive but I thought it was a good idea. You have to make sure there is something for the torrington bearing to sit on behind the sprocket. Sometimes the block itself has to be machined. I also drilled a 1/16" hole in one of the front oil galley plugs for more lubrication. Easy to do if it is apart


My timing cover has a hole to set the endplay with a dial indicator, it has a roller button inside and comes with shims to set the endplay. I set the endplay at .006-8". Same with my previous 406ci that had the Cloyes timing cover you are a talking about.

 

why don't you just use the steel cover and a cam button?