Why is it so hard to get good advice !!???

A few months back I tested the cranking compression and got numbers in the 210 range...THEN I realized that my compression guage was messed up. The needle started at almost 30 lbs! I retested it with a different guage and the numbers dropped to the 185-190 range.

There are some that told me that I could get it to run right with additional tuning if the spark curve and carb jetting. Others were adamant about lowering the compression. Many thought that the engine would benefit from a more modern cam with assymetric lobes and more aggressive specs.

I didn't want to pull the engine. The cam swap made the most sense to me. The '509 design may have been okay if I wanted to run a 20% mix of 110 octane fuel in the car. It still seemed like a crutch though. I wanted a combination that would run well on 91, even 89 in cold weather if need be.

The switch to the adjustable rocker arms was more of a stepping stone rather than a remedy. The 1.6 ratio actually did even out the compression numbers. The spread between the high and low closed up, showing that the factory stuff really was innacurate. The "after" numbers using the 1.6 rockers show that. The idle vacuum improved with the new rockers to the point where the power brakes actually worked better than before.

This cam swap started awhile ago and has been met with a few obstacles:
Degree or not degree, tight fitting cam, odd looking lifters that may NOT work, sloppy tools giving innacurate readings and then yesterdays poor fitting Jegs windage tray. Thats "Hot Rodding" though....encountering problems and overcoming them.