New guy, Newish Boat

Gary, if you can find a roller block for little $ over a flat tappet, sure. The tie bar lifters are a real nice solution (and work great on a flat tappet block) and are "only" ~$400 for a SBF. Joe and I are both running tie bar lifters on our rollers.

Orlando76 wrote: I know more about the female brain than I do computers

Try F12.

TRBenj wrote: First off, I'd be very careful about changing too much on the induction side (heads, cam) on a gt40 as the ECM is not capable of making tune variation based on different (better performing) components. P heads are a proven deg upgrade over gt40 heads but i probably wouldn't push it much beyond that in terms of flow or cr improvements. Eddie, is your 383 roller? I can't remember.

Good point Tim. Didn't even consider the whole ECM thing on an EFI engine.

Yes, I went with a complete roller valve train. Retrofit roller lifters and roller rockers. Is it worth the cost (about $1200 total on a non-roller block). Yes and no.
I don't have to be concerned about the oil I'm using having enough ZDDP but if that oil provides better lubricating properties over non-ZDDP oil, I find myself still using it so that's not really a benefit at this point.

When I first started the engine, there was fuel delivery issues i.e. dirt from the fuel pump that messed up my needle/seat flooding the engine. Then again, after installing a new fuel pump that was putting out too much pressure holding open the needle/seat, flooding the engine. These issues only allowed the engine to run a few minutes each time I got it started before it flooded itself out which didn't hurt the roller cam at all but would've probably wiped a flat tappet cam.

As for the performance, I'm sure it has to be better performance than the non-roller setup but I really can't say what that difference really netted.

You also have to consider the other "gotcha's" when upgrading to a roller setup that might be overlooked. Stock valve covers are no longer usable. The roller rockers required new locking stem nuts which required taller valve covers. Granted, that's if you decide to go with roller rockers. I personally feel that a roller cam/lifters deserve roller rockers to complete the whole valve train package but that's just me.
Then different length pushrods, valve springs, spring keepers, possibly spring shims, etc. etc. etc.
In the case of my SBC, a new cam cover was needed for the roller cam thrust bearing. I have no idea if the SBF would require the same thing but I assume it would.
Again, all these things are not horribly expensive but the overall cost is effected and needs to be considered.

A block that is setup for a roller cam would be much less expensive than a non-roller retrofit type setup that I had, but I humbly feel your $400-$500 upgrade cost is still terribly underpriced if you consider all the potential "gotcha's". Not putting in roller rockers will definitely be a much cheaper overall cost.

Is the performance increase worth the cost in a non-roller cam...probably not when figuring what gives you the most bang for your buck...the stroker kit or the retrofit roller cam setup (which were both very close to the same cost each for me)????? Then again, was the overall engine package worth the investment?
With almost 200 hrs. since the rebuild I can honestly say ABSO-FREAKIN-LUTELY.

Still nothing like yours or Joe's rockets but it still puts a smile on my face every time I fire it up and even more when I holler "Hit It".
No regrets at all   

For Trey .. do you need a new cam?   Somewhere posted around these parts is a spec for the original gt40 cam, I am sure there is one on summit available for relatively cheap, I wouldn't change much there for the reasons stated previously.

Gary, for your shamrock I would get a 50,000 mile roller 351 out of a junkyard and run the whole longblock. Not the easiest thing to find but not the hardest either- 96 broncos or f250s on www.car-parts.com used to get it done for me. If I told them I was using them for the block and didn't want a warranty it used to be about 600 delivered for an engine but it depends greatly on the area. I have been buying fully machined and ready to go stroker prepped roller blocks for around 1k shipped - not cheap but good machine work and you don't have to root around the junk yard - but like tim said you would still need all the rockers and whatnot, a whole junkyard pull out comes with all that and you can just add the cam of your choice.

Joe,

I'm guessing that I would need a cam just based on what the rest of this thing looks like. This poor boat and motor have seen some serious use and neglect. I just figured a fresh new cam was a good plan as opposed to a regrind. I will see if I can dig up the specs.

Trey
I have a cam and lifters that came out of my '95 GT-40 at about the 475 hour mark if your interested.

So yesterday I unhooked all the fuel tank lines and moved it up to pull the factory ballast tanks. More than a few folks talked me into separate bags for the back. The fuel tank probably has 6-8 gallons in it that have presumably been in there for a few years. I will eventually need to suck it all out and replace but that lead me to a question. It's probably going to be a few months before I am ready to fill it back up.....

Should I leave the gas in it until I'm ready or go ahead and "drain" it? For some reason in my paranoid head I have this notion that the tank would dry out and get brittle when empty. But, I would like some imput on the matter.

Great! Thank you... It will make it much easier for the time being to work in there without the tank present.

The tank will be stored in the warehouse at my office that probably won't get above 80* or less than 60* ever so I felt like it was a good environment.

I wish I could just leave the whole boat in there to work but we don't have a ramp just loading docks. Doors are even tall enough leave the tower up

Haha, I like it.

TRBenj wrote: Orlando76 wrote: I know more about the female brain than I do computers Try F12.

F12 doesn't work for me neither...

john

Any ideas what would have mounted here?
The bimini Mounts are on the inside of the tower and it has clamp on swivel racks so i wondered what these are.

Treybizttu wrote: Any ideas what would have mounted here?

That looks like the same mounting connection for my High Fly board racks, the racks have square that goes over the square in the picture and you drop a pin through.

Could also be a boom mount (that was my first thought), but I thought all the tower boom mount connectors wrapped around the tower legs.

I wouldn't have even thought to pressure wash the carpet honestly. The plan is to yank the bottom end, trans, and fuel tank on sunday after I get back from the lakehouse. It will be mostly empty from the driver seat back so I will do just that. I actually just made myself a note to snag the pressure washer before I head home sunday.

I need to take pictures of my garage one day when I get home so you guys can share in the disaster. Everything is OCD labeled and in boxes but there is pretty much an entire boat worth of parts and pieces taking up one whole side of our little two car garage. I'll snap one for historical sake before I bring the rest of the interior up to my office.

Thanks! I should have the block out and to my machine shop early next week so I will know better what I'm going to need.

Treybizttu wrote: I will spread it around to the cars in little bits mixed with almost full tanks of good gas.

I made this mistake and cost myself a fuel pump in the car... mine had flakes in it that plugged up the fuel filter in the car, back pressure took out the pump.   Make sure you strain the gas before you put it in, and be cautious about how bad the gas really is.    If you do use the old fuel, mix about a 1/4 tank of old gas at a time

Treybizttu wrote: Took a shower and the wife said I still smelled like gas.

I like Borax (laundry aisle at the grocery store) or Boraxo hand soap for taking the smell out. Works great on grease, and odors, and in your laundry when you have oily clothes. My wife has a sensitive nose too