Is it normal on these FE's to have more oil being pumped into the Passenger Side of the Head than the Drivers Side? It seems like there is a huge amount of oil being pumped up in the passenger side compared to the Drivers side.

 

IF the rocker arm shaft is worn more oil will be present because there is too much clearance between the under side of the rocker arm shaft and the rocker arm. That is the only thing that I can think of.

 

...Or the oil drain backs are obstructed.

Regardless, the FE engine builders say the heads are over-oiled and the main bearings don't get enough especially at higher RPMs. That's why restrictors (drilled brass stock) are installed under the rocker pedestals to divert more oil to the mains.

I understand that installing a size 70 carb jet works just the same.

 

The Bolt that holds down Rocker Assembly on that side that has the Oil Port In it is stripped. Im Wondering if that is why I seem to have more oil on the Passenger side than the Drivers.

 

That is a BIG PROBLEM. If that bolt is not holding the shaft is seeing stresses that could result in a failure. Sounds like you will be rebuilding a set of heads.

 

I have kind of came to that Conclusion on the Rebuild. I am thinking that maybe what I should do is a Light Rebuild. New Mains, Cam, Lifters, Pushrods, Rings Whone the Cylinders, New Timing Chain, Have the Heads Rebuilt and it probably would last a long time. Im sure who ever rebuilds the heads would be able to put a HeliCoil in the Stripped out Oil Passage or will that cause a restriction in the oil passage on that head? I don't want to sink a lot of money into the Engine and If I can do the Rebuild myself, short of the heads I would rather do that.

 

I was thinking that an oil passage may be partially clogged, but I don't know. Funny though, with my 390 the driver's side gets more oil.

 

I'd measure how deep that threaded hole is an run a thread straightener down the striped hole. Then use a bottom hole tap to cut as many hew threads as possible. The tip of the bottom tap may need to be cut off so you'll cut new threads all the way to the bottom of the hole.

Now buy a new longer grade 8 bolt grind the new bolt shoulders down on the unthreaded area part of the new bolt down like the oem bolt is.

Use compressed air to clean all metal cuttings out an a magnet remove if needed.

I had to do this 50 yrs ago on my first 1961 Fe engine as it was striped when I got it.
Worked for me.

But these days their is studs kits to use that you could run down in the oil hole thread so to just leave it in there .

Orich

 

Thanks for the Info, I have decided to take the Heads off of this truck and have them rebuilt. The guy I talked to at the machine shop said this is a common occurence and he would put a helecoil in to fix the stripped threads. He said they would put Stainless valves, Hardend Seats and Bronz valve guides in and do a triple cut edge on the valves. All this for $450.

 

Sounds good to me.
Have them keep track of how much farther in the heads the valves go after he does that. Either have him cut the valve stem tips that same amount or get shorter pushrods that same amount.

 

Yes. My understanding is that the FEs would not stand up in the endurance racing and were burning up and breaking crankshafts because of oiling. Hence Ford developed the four-bolt main side oilers. It is an area where GM beat Ford.
Am I right?

 

Something to consider-

If excessive oil is allowed it may pool and overwhelm the umbrella type valve seals (that and causing rocker cover leakage).

If the vehicle is used for towing on grade (or even used off-road) the pooling can cause oil ingestion thru the PCV System.

Make sure the drain-back holes are open and clean.

 

Well, yes and no (IMO).

The 1961 390HP block had the oiling system modified for solid lifter and more volume to the bottom end (The 1960 352HP was actually a 1958 solid lifter block). This continued to the 406 and 427 LR and HR. The cross-bolt/side-oiler/steel crank was introduced on the 1965 MR as NASCAR said no more bubble hoods.

Where GM beat FORD (IMO) was with the canted valve heads. GM then dropped out of NASCAR.

 

GM ( Chevy and Pontiac) CHEATED in NASCAR late 50's and early 60's. I already knew this so found this on the web to explain it:
In 1955, during the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a catastrophic accident where a Mercedes 300SLR exploded and careened into the crowd killing 83 spectators (injuring dozens more) caused a major stir among auto manufacturers and in 1957 the Automobile Manufacturers Association. Made up of members that represented all American auto makes, the AMA formed a gentleman’s agreement to back out of organized auto racing and motorsports of any kind. Some in the industry felt this was a method that would prevent Congressional involvement that might force the auto makers hand in some other more unwanted way.
Buck Baker and his 1957 Chevy Black Widow.

Racing is a fickle thing though, and as soon as the gentleman’s agreement was made it was already being circumvented by manufacturers. GM was no exception. The 1957 “Black Widow” was a perfect example of a way to create a factory race car without factory support. GM brought former Hudson lead race engineer Vince Piggins into the company and sent him to Atlanta where he created SEDCO, the Southern Engineering and Development Co.
Jim Wangers driving a Catalina Coupe at the 1960 NHRA Nationals in Detroit. Image: Jim Wangers.
Piggins had SEDCO create the first Black Widow for racing competition, and each step of the creation was documented in cook book fashion so that others could produce the same car on their own . The car was not based on the top of the line Bel Air coupe, but instead the cheap and rugged One-Fifty Utility Sedan. It featured the famous 283 cubic inch, 283-horsepower fuel injected engine, a three-speed manual transmission, six-lug wheels, a 20-gallon gas tank, and numerous other race inspired changes.
SEDCO issued the “1957 Chevrolet Stock Car Competition Guide,” which documented the step-by-step instructions required to build each car, including the 170 individual GM parts that would be necessary. The Guide was mailed to over 400 Chevy dealers and the legend of the Black Widow was born. With no official factory support the Black Widow Chevy’s campaigned all season long, with Buck Baker winning the championship.
Around the same time as the gentleman’s agreement, the Pontiac Division was undergoing a massive image change under it’s new director, Bunky Knudsen. Bunky’s task was to improve Pontiac sales, and to do so he knew that he’d need to change Pontiac’s “ho-hum” image into something far more appealing. He also knew that racing and styling would be the ticket, and despite the AMA gentleman’s agreement he pushed Pontiac forward into support for factory backed racing.
Junior Johnson's winning 1959 Chevy running in the 1960 Daytona 500.

Junior Johnson claimed his only Daytona 500 victory as a driver in the 1960 running of the race while driving a 1959 Chevy. He stated that when compared to the Pontiac’s his Chevy was so slow that it couldn’t compete. In some sessions he was nearly 30mph slower in his Chevy that the superior Pontiac’s. How did he go on to win the race, then?
During practice sessions he discovered that if he tucked in behind a faster Pontiac that it created a slip stream effect and allowed him to keep up, despite the fact that on it’s own his car was far slower. He could save up his energy and slingshot by the lead car for a short burst of speed, and used that method to win the race. Junior discovered what is now commonly referred to in racing as “drafting!”

 

Does that $450 include replacing the rocker shafts and rockers? That alone is usually in the 3-bills range. And it sounds like yours are going to be toast. Mine were so I bought new shafts from Summit and found some NOS rockers on Ebay. I think the whole setup was around $200-$250. Cheapest I found. I also used Alex's Parts for springs, keepers, shims and push rods.
https://www.alexsparts.com/
If everything mic's out, a bearing/ring job will work. That is what I ended up doing. Don't expect a machine shop to invest a bunch of time measuring your stuff to then not get the machine work. That's why their answer is always 30/10/10. All you need is a dial bore gauge, a set of outside micrometers, a notebook and time. Procedure is well outlined in the FSM.