[alfa] Weekend report: installing 164S cams in my Verde

[Mark Denovich <mark@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Super executive summary:  zoom, zoom.

I had a set of 164S cams that came in the bad motor I had downstairs. 
I intended to use them when I rebuilt my 164S motor (it had worn 
camshafts.)   That rebuild has dragged on and on, and I couldn't resist 
it any longer.   This weekend I put them in the Verde.

Since this is my only car, I had to have it ready to go to work this 
week.   I didn't have the luxury of ordering the correct shims. 
Fortunately with the spare shims I had I was able to get 4 out of 5 
easily within spec.  For the other two I needed to sand off a few thou. 
 It's surprisingly slow going, but I was able to watch a football game 
while doing it.   I also got my money's worth out of my digital mic.

I had some delays over the weekend, and didn't finish buttoning it up 
last night... but the clearances where perfect, which made me quite 
proud of myself.   The plan was to change the oil and finish a few items 
before heading to work (I have a flexible work schedule.)

9:30am I have a cup of coffee and head down to the garage.   It takes 
much longer to finish, but by 11:30 I'm ready to go.   crank, crank, 
crank, Ka-boom!   I blew the plenum off.   Doh!  I forgot to reset the 
ignition timing when I re-re-re-installed the timing belt.   Argh!  I 
didn't want to redo the timing belt yet again, so I tried removing the 
dizzy, and resetting the intermediate gear.   Unfortunately it's keyed 
such that it only installs in 4 different ways, none of them correct. 
As I got more and more tired, things went slower and slower, but I 
finally got things done around 3:30pm.   I then called in and took a 
personal day.

Conclusion:  with properly set clearances, my V6 is so much sweeter. 
Quieter, cleaner sounding (the motor was definately due for adjustment.) 
 The cams are nice, the biggest improvement is that where the stock 
cams run out of steam over 5k the S-cams just keep on pulling.

Sidenote:  I weighed 192lbs last night.  At 4pm this afternoon, having 
had nothing to eat, only a single cup of coffee in the morning I weighed 
185lbs.   My wedding ring slipped off in the shower, which it normally 
never does.   I assume it was mostly water weight, with maybe a pound 
attributed to lost knuckle skin.   Time for some well deserved beers... 
gotta get that ring snug again.

--Mark
The Alfa Wiki: http://alfa.denovich.org
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