Aussie and American V8 tech page

Aussie and American V8 tech page Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Aussie and American V8 tech page, Performance Vehicle Dealership, Guildford, Perth.

30/06/2026

MSD distributor ( and others) utilise a system of bushes to limit the advance mechanism.
Changing the bushes allows the end user to customise this to suit the individual style of engine.
From this short video you can see how much the mechanism moves in distributor degrees, which is around 10 degrees mechanical advance.
We know that the distributor moves at 50% of crankshaft rotation so you effectively need to double the figure to establish the figure .
So if we have 15 degrees of initial timing dialed in at idle we now know that the advance mechanism, via the bush will add around a further 20 degrees of advance as the engine speeds up giving us a total of 35 degrees.
This bush would be good in a closed chamber iron head.

Im using a simple setup which includes the use of a degree wheel.
This setup works great when the supplied bushes are not of sufficient size and need modification to dial it in.
This is needed when using aftermarket alloys in cleveland engines because they typically like total figures under 30 degrees.

28/06/2026

Lucky I have another distributor handy. Installed and fired up. Runs great.

Another 351 cleveland done and dusted.Apart from the MSD ready to run which is faulty. Its a secondhand unit supplied b...
28/06/2026

Another 351 cleveland done and dusted.
Apart from the MSD ready to run which is faulty.
Its a secondhand unit supplied by the client but the internal pickup or module are not playing the game. Waiting on a new replacement so we can dial it in.
Of course we tackled the advance curve and advance bush modifications before it goes back together. These distributors need a custom bush fabricated to suit the unique needs of the alloy heads.
This motor has DRP alloy heads and hardware, six inch 302c conrods, hypatec pistons and Howards hydraulic roller cam with morel lifters.

16/05/2026

All finished, run up and tuned the timing to 15 initial and 35 total.
Could not get the clients Autolite carb to run any good so using one of my brawlers.
Could not get the autolite dizzy to play the game either so went with a modern MSD style ready to run unit.

302 windsor short is complete. Customer wants a stock rebuild which is actually a lot more work involved when reconditio...
13/04/2026

302 windsor short is complete.
Customer wants a stock rebuild which is actually a lot more work involved when reconditioning parts that are 50 plus years old.
Block had some previous damage, I'm guessing some sort of failure and it had 2 sleeves installed which when boring the block revealed that they were slightly askew to the rest. One of the pistons was totally different from the others.
It was still standard bore so it cleaned up at 030 over. Block was decked .
Crank was ground to 030 under.
One thing that frustrates me is that most rebuilder type cast or hyper pistons still have antiquated ring packages which adds considerable drag to the rotating assembly.
I managed to find a set of 5.0 hyper pistons with the 1.5, 1.5, 4.0mm ring grooves which is a slight improvement in that area.

In the process of building a 302 windsor for a client. The only thing unusual about it is that its going to be a standa...
21/03/2026

In the process of building a 302 windsor for a client. The only thing unusual about it is that its going to be a standard build.
I can't remember the last time I ever did something completely stock standard .
Motor was in pretty poor shape.
Standard bore still but had 2 sleeves installed , obviously from a previous failure as evidenced by the gouges in the chamber.
Even had one different piston installed.
Heads are particularly worn.
Valves had sunk so low that I needed to go to a 351W size on both inlet and exhaust just to get a decent valve job .
Hardened exhaust seats are being installed to be compatible with modern fuels. Guides needed replacing and heads will get decked.
A lot of work involved . I'd never normally recommend going down this path due to the labour costs involved vs buying a new set of alloy heads but the owner said "stock rebuild "

Just for my own curiosity I wanted to see if there was going to be any difference in lift values when comparing the stan...
03/03/2026

Just for my own curiosity I wanted to see if there was going to be any difference in lift values when comparing the standard ford rocker vs a yella terra 5006 rocker.
This cam theoretically should have .566 lift at the valve which is around the max amount you can use with the stock rocker.
If you are on a real budget you'd probably get away with using them but the pushrod comes awfully close to binding on the rocker so im not taking the chance.
Surprisingly enough the standard rocker comes very close to the cam card reading at .553 and the YT rocker around .563.
I'd expect those figures to drop slightly when using the actual spring.
This test just used the checking spring because any real pressure just collapses the plunger being a hydraulic style lifter.

Heads need a good clean after the machining then we can start to dummy assemble to establish spring heights.You're going...
23/02/2026

Heads need a good clean after the machining then we can start to dummy assemble to establish spring heights.
You're going to need a valve spring height micrometer that can read between 1.6 to 2 inches and a selection of hardened shims as pictured.
We are targeting a height of 1.8 inches with this particular spring package.
This spring kit comes complete with springs, hardened spring seats to locate the spring, locks and retainers. Shims can be purchased separately but i always carry the typical 15 and 30 thou shims needed.
Once the locater is in place go ahead and measure. Use the shims accordingly.
For example if you have an installed height of 1.83 inches then it goes without saying that slipping a 30 thou shim under the locater is what's needed.
However, in some cases you may find yourself way out of the spec needed so there are alternatives that can work.
Locks can be bought in a multitude of heights , typically 50 under, standard and plus 50.
If you have a situation, for example that your install height measurement is 1.75 inches then a plus 50 lock will get you very close where you need to be.
I've also found that locks from different manufacturers can give very different results as well. What one manufacturer calls a standard height lock can be very different from another by tens of thousandths.
And, on some occasions you may even need to use different height locks on intake and exhaust to get you in spec.
It may be a case of having to buy several sets to get there.
Ive always got these on hand so I can trial fit to find the best solution.
Don't just assume that the parts you get are going to work WITHOUT CHECKING.
They never do!
I realise that not everyone is set up to do this or is confident enough to have a crack so if you find yourself out of your depth then seek out the services of a professional who knows what they are doing.
Next, we will go into spring selection and why it is so critical to get this step correct and where so many get this wrong.
Even some of big name manufacturers of cylinder heads f**k this up.
Particularly on the cleveland engine!

Upgrading to a hydraulic roller system doesn't necessarily mean a complete rocker system upgrade as you can use the exis...
23/02/2026

Upgrading to a hydraulic roller system doesn't necessarily mean a complete rocker system upgrade as you can use the existing stamped steel units if the lift is kept under .550.
In this case I have opted to go with a new spring package, 5/16 to 7/16 studs and guidelines along with new roller rockers.
I'll get onto that a little later but we'll stick to the spring seat modifications for now.
The top of the guide has already been machined to accept a .530 Viton seal but the base is still in factory sizing to accept the large 1.46 inch diameter spring.
This will need some trimming to accept the hardened spring seats and new LS type 1.3 inch spring.
I used a comp cams spring cutter to machine the inner diameter to .630.
Pics show the before and after results.
Heads were removed for this process as it cannot be done due to the excessive amount of swarf created.

I can't tell you how many hours it takes to get a 2V iron head to this stage. And it can go south very quickly as I've ...
14/02/2026

I can't tell you how many hours it takes to get a 2V iron head to this stage.
And it can go south very quickly as I've found .
You port the head, put in on the flow bench and see if you are going in the right direction.
One wrong move its over. You want to take a little more off the short side radius and you hit water.
And for the most part if you hit water there the head becomes junk.
This is the head currently on the 351 im doing.
Standard size stainless valves fitted along with a 4 angle valve job.

Address

Guildford
Perth, WA
6055

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Aussie and American V8 tech page posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Sponsored

Share

Category