VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc Looking for lift on a 1950, 216 stock cam?

As far as a restriction in the exhaust it would have to be in the muffler and the only way I could check that would be to pull the muffler and if I went that far I might as well just replace the exhaust system. If you’ve ever worked on an exhaust system then you know what I mean. Blocked exhaust systems have give a lot of clues especially at higher rpms when the gas flow is at a much higher rate. The truck will run right along at 60-65mph and I don’t hear any hissing or any other indication that there is a blockage in the exhaust.

Mack, I used the method outlined in the service manual to check for misalignment of the timing gears or wear. The engine is brought up to the triangle and an indicator is set to .044” on no.1 exhaust valve. This puts the lifter at a given point on the ramp and then you drop the lifter to the base circle and it should be with in +/- .004”, this one is between .005” and .006” which would indicate a very slight amount of wear. So this was the last thing that can be checked on this engine and I’m now left with now other ideas.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

My dealership expeeriance with a restricted exhaust system is the engine will get up to a certain RPM and more or less level off. Had that with the laminated exhaust pipes in the '60's and plugged converters in the later years. The engine will run OK up to the point that the exhaust restriction is too much and it limits the incoming mixture.
The mufflers used on the 1950 trucks was a straight through design, you could see straight through it. If the present muffler is correct you will see that both the muffler inlet and outlet are centered in the ends of the muffler.