Strange valve train issue suddenly

LOL! Probably would've been better if he would've asked about a 302 on one of the Ford boards, but I guess there are a few of us here who have other projects going on that aren't Mopars. I'm pretty sure FE lifters would drop into the bores, but wouldn't have oil holes for pushrods, as the FE engines oil the rockers the same way as the big block Mopar. If the NOS lifters were just sold without specifying which engine family they were for that might be the issue. Would the pushrods fit with FE lifters? I don't know. Other than no oil holes, I can't think of any other reason why the oil would get as far as the lifters and no farther, unless like someone said, they're clogged, but all 16? Maybe I suppose.
 
"Ford oil pump driveshaft".........Go fish.



It out of the oil pan.

Sorry Doc, I was just having a Ford flashback.
 
Sometimes one has simply too much to remember and then keep it all sorted. With 10 cars running through one's head and what needs to be done on each and every one I can now see how easy it is to make a mistake. Add running a business being self-employed and then family responsibilities one can forget simple stuff. Do it all the time and today twice already.

The mistake I made only took me a few days to see all the while it sat in front of my face and I didn't notice was that there may have been an oiling hole in the side of the lifters but there wasn't one on top. Stuck one of the FE set of lifters in the car instead of a small block set. That goes along with not using a water pump gasket when putting the engine back together after doing numerous water pumps in my lifetime. Then there was the mixing up of spark plug wires 6 and 7 as there is special routing for that side of the engine and I wasn't paying attention.

Been working on cars since 16 and have assembled two whole engines on my own and then make some doofus mistakes that should have never been made in the first place. Should have seen today on my truck. Front drums turned, new shoes put on which were triple checked for the springs. Then went back and forth checking and re-checking the hub adjustment for the front bearings. Tomorrow brake bleeding for new fluid and that will probably take several hours so I am sure nothing has been missed. After that back to the Ford 302 slowly reassembling the valve train over the next 1-2 weeks. Ugh...
 
I'm glad you found the problem and hopefully it didn't cause wear or damage.

I agree, it's hard working on cars when thinking about or worrying about other things. There are times when I just walk into my garage and then think, no, I better leave my car/truck alone today or I'll just mess something up.
 
I managed to get everything back together again. Found someone selling some Ford performance lifters for all flat tappet installations in small blocks. Purchased from an SVT engine builder who had retired from a Ford plant. I thought 16 but I got 24 lifters still wrapped individually in soaking oil paper ready to go and all for $40. Possibly Crane manufactured years and years ago. Pressurized the oil system successfully. Pulled the plugs to get the valves individually adjusted. Notice the plugs were looking quite rich and that is on a 48 jets. A little strange. Swapped to my taller valve covers to eliminate the ticking which actually pulverized the inside of the aluminum Cobra covers in several places. The car has been sitting for the last 48 hours to check for any leaks after installing the intake. Will start tomorrow morning.
 
After re-adjusting the valves for the second time the car started right up and ran for 4 minutes before it stumbled and died at idle. Noticed a light haze coming out of the carb and that the secondary venturies were wet. So I pulled a plug and this is what it looks like after 4 minutes. Kind of rich being all black. Carb has 48 jets in the primary which was standard for this application. I'm guessing the float level is somehow off by a wide margin now.

rsz_pict0002.jpg
 
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