..from a good man / 308 woes

devin

Good evening and thank you ahead of time for your thoughts and wisdom. I recently purchased a 308 long block from a reputable member. He maintains that he confirmed 95psi on all 6 cylinders. Indeed, the cylinders showed little taper  and the valves seat nicely. However, I found the timing chain quite sloppy so much so it had scarred the timing cover.  I replaced the gears and chain. I also adjusted the valves per A. E. Adams on the Ken Cate site. I did all of this ahead of time before dropping the motor into my '52 Hornet.
Unable to start the motor, we tested the compression for kicks. Adding a bit of oil to each cylinder, the compression meter read 28psi across the deck.
I will buy you boxes of See's chocolate if you can offer advice as to what I might of done wrong perhaps with the valve adjustment or valve timing which might contribute to such low compression. 
I want to believe that I have done something wrong before I begin to question a good man.
Cordially,

cchancel

If the compression was higher before you changed the timing chain, then the likely culprit it that the mechanical timing is wrong.  You will have to remove the timing chain and follow the service manual procedure to set it correctly.  

http://21stcenturyhudson.com/hudson_engine_parts.html has a nice double-roller timing chain that has its own installation procedure that is not intuitive, but works well if you follow the instructions.

devin

Thank you CChancel. I sincerely hope that this will lead to success.

Kdancy

Devin, if I understand this correctly, you personally did not check the compression to start with? But relied on what the builder told you? (Comparing apples with apples)
It sure sounds  like the timing chain is incorrectly installed. Id start there and follow the Hudson manual. Pull #1 plug and make sure it is coming up on compression stroke to start with and not 180 out. After installing chain, check the valve adjustment again.

devin

Thank you Kdancy. I'm kicking myself for not checking the compression while I had the motor on the stand as a long block. I could have/should have filled each cylinder with fuel to see how good the rings were. Boy am I hoping that the chain was incorrectly installed. Removal and installation of the motor was an arduous task for an amateur like me. To end up with low compression was quite a blow to my morale.

schillaz

Heads up, on these engines you do not align the two dots together on the sprockets like some other engines. 

Timing chain and sprockets should be Installed with #1 Piston on top dead center with marks on sprockets 14 pitches apart.

(see below in yellow the location of the timing marks on the sprockets).

54coupe

That is correct... 14 pins between the timing marks.

Geoff

You can check the valve timing without taking the  timing case off.  Probably easier to remove the tappet cover than the timing cover.  

devin

Thank you Gentlemen. Schillaz, you hit the nail on the head!  I made the error of lining up the dots on the gears. I was careless and had been looking at the method for timing a straight 8. Hope to correct it all this Friday and let all of you great fellows hear about it.
Just a shout out to Ken Cates with whom I had a nice conversation on the phone today.

devin

Thank you again gentlemen for guiding me through my timing woes. The engine runs sound - great compression as well as oil pressure. Paul Schuster sold me a fine motor just as he had described it.

schillaz

I'm glad you got it going again.