Welp...that did it. Add one set of Champion Irons, 1.0 roller cams (212/212), and top it off with a liberal slathering of roller rockers, and...*NOW* I have the motor that I envisioned, as far as power output!
To recap: I originally intended to have my "general" mechanic Ken R&R the original heads for the Champions months ago. He quoted me a hot price, so I gave it to him and he swiftly tears the motor down, to discover the cam was bad. Because of the delays in getting parts, and a bit of impatience, Ken got frustrated and told me he was canning the project, and left me with the motor torn down (we agreed that I just pay him 1/2 of the originally negotiated price, so that was fair enough there). He was doing the project out of his garage, so I couldn't blame him too much.
So I thought at that point I would attempt to continue the work myself, hence starting this thread. After much discussion about the cam (why it wiped), debate as to whether my motor was toast due to debris, I determined that my motor evaded damage. I also decided that I was no longer a fan of flat tappet cams, being that evidently, zinc or no zinc, they are prone to wiping. So I go for a roller cam, which meant roller rockers as well (to do it right).
One very minor problem there. I discovered I was having a motivation problem on the project. I managed to bolt on the new Irons, but probably because of my lack of experience and concern that I wouldn't do it correctly, I found myself uncharacteristically procrastinating...hard. Then it occurred to me - at that point, I had all the parts. That was Ken's main point of contention, initially. So I thought I'd approach him again and see if he wanted to resume the project. He basically said, "Sure, but it'll be a couple weeks". That was fine by me...I had been putting it off already for months, and he was fine with me just paying him the remaining half of the originally agreed-upon price of $400. In my mind, paying him $200 to complete the project was *nothing*. I told him I'd give him $250...just 'cause. And...I had cleaned the deck surface and bolted the new heads on. But I knew he had quite a few hours of labor to complete the job, and even $250 wasn't going to be too hot of a deal for him.
I drop off the car to him at the end of July, right before I go on vacation with my son for 10 days. He told me he should have it completed by the time I return. Well, I just got it back last night. I'm actually not complaining one bit. He had some family issues come up, and again...being that I was getting such a good price, my patience was excellent. He needed some guidance from Jack Cotton on getting the cam button situated properly, which is understandable. And likewise with the custom-length pushrods. But he got it done, and the end result is extremely impressive.
At first, under light throttle, I didn't notice jack. Maybe even a bit of a lag when in "grandma mode" due to the high pressure valve springs. However, "allow" it to develop any boost whatsoever and it most non-begrudgingly states, "as you wish", then eagerly exhibits a majorly bountiful quantity of notably smooth, rich and creamy...oh, what's that stuff called again? Right - POWER.
I'm going to be very bold at this moment, and make the claim that it feels like HP increase with the new mods is: 50 (without changing the boost; still at ~19-20 psi).
And the other good news, so it appears, is that the significant oil leak at the rear of the motor has been resolved. For those unfamiliar, I had a significant oil leak ever since day one from getting the car back from having the motor rebuilt (~3" diameter puddle after running). The drive home from Ken's place is 25 minutes. After an hour sitting in the garage, I return the first time, and...not a single drop. I was stoked. I then went for a "performance" drive after that, and admittedly, turbo boost production was involved. I did notice two single drops of oil afterward, but considering the 20 psi, that's still very good.
We do have a head-scratcher though. The fuse for the fuel pump has blown twice already. It blew within the first 5-10 minutes max after we first fired it up. I was just decelerating on the road when it died. Fortunately, I noticed that the FP wasn't priming when attempting to restart it. The 25-amp blew, so we replaced it. It made it the 25 minute drive home, with an hour break, then another 20 minute drive, and blew again. And I was doing almost the exact same thing, decelerating, cruising, and/or braking. So I don't think it's happening because of heavy throttle. I'll have Ken get into it, but I'm thinking it might be more along the lines of using the brakes (wires crossed?). Odd though, that it lasted just a few minutes the first time, but almost a half hour the 2nd time. Anyone have any other thoughts on what could be causing that?
Anyway - A) Very pleased to finally have it done, and B) Impressed with such significant power gain. Oh, and I just remembered something just now!!! Some of you may remember that it was falling flat on the power output in 3rd gear. I only ran through 3rd gear at heavy throttle once, but I just remembered that at the top of this one hill, I was flying up it like I never have before, going what seemed like 15 mph faster.