well basically,
i originally went with heads, cam, etc etc for the old block.
install went great in the garage. it fired on the second spin for break in, nice and smooth running. as soon as it fired i ran it up to 2500 rpms and zip tied the throttle open and started the clock.
i set my timing and then started looking for leaks. i noticed a leak coming from the front timing cover. so i shut it down.
since i am leaving for korea in a few weeks for a year tour i decided (and this was a big mistake) to have the car trailered to a shop to get the leak fixed. turned out that happened was the front of the oil pan seal moved when i tightened it down. they fixed that. so far so good.
i asked them to go ahead and finish breaking it in. no problem. high rpm 20 mins, no leaks no overheating, nice and smooth.
i asked them that since they have the car and since the break in run is over to finish the valve train and put the inner springs in.
long story short
they overtightend the valves. i made the mistake of not double checking the mechanics work and driving the car. one valve was so tight it sheared out of the keeper and went through the top of my piston and got stuck in my new edelbrock head at a 45 degree angle. others were so tight that the outline of the bottom of the rocker arm is on the top of the spring retainer.
i bumped the engine to #1 TDC and loosened the valve. it took 4 turns to get the pushrod where it would even move.
this particular shop said that since i drove it off that it must have been something I done to cause the problem so they were not liable.
so i looked around and talked to a few different shops and found one that not only had a garage of old vettes and camaros being worked on but they let me go in and take a look at the work that they were doing.
i cold probably save the heads and sell them but considering that one valve guide is screwed and many of the rocker studs are bent more than likely they are just big paperweights.
see long story but at least i get good performance turn key motor with not only a 3 year 100K mile warranty but enough hp to keep me happy for a while.
