Subscribed with a few questions. Will be assembling a mild 318 build when the block gets back from machine shop jail. 9.7-1 compression, 302 heads and a melling grind 68 340 automatic cam. The 302 heads have the stock single springs in them. Pretty weak springs. I purchased melling VS-380 springs with inner damper coil. Supposedly these are 340 springs. Plan was to break it in with the springs already on the 302 heads and then swap in the VS-380s.
As OP posted unless you have some sophisticated equipment, you dont know what open or closed or seat pressures are. Cam manufacturers like edelbrock typically manufacture power packages. Use their cam, lifters, springs as an engineered matched setup, no issues straight out of the box. I have built engines before back in the 1990s and even one for my pops lil red express around 2002 and never had cam lobe wipe out issues. Now I'm reading about the oils not having zinc, or ZDDP in them. Inferior parts etc. My head got to spinning, I said to myself damn, should I have just gone roller cam now?
Back then I'd build them up with the springs I was gonna run. Typically use the cam break in lube, get it started, and run it 20 minutes varying RPM from 1800 to 2500. After which I'd set the idle, fine tune the carb and timing, and drive it around the block. I'm going to want to do this one the same way, but not wanting to wipe out a cam lobe either. This brings me back to the beginning of my post. Since I will be using a melling flat tappet cam and melling lifters, Should I just break it in with the lighter single coil 302 springs, then swap em out for the heavier springs after the cam is broke in. Or install the heavier 340 springs on assembly, and just use an oil with ZDDP additive and send it like I always have done? I'm mostly a body and structure guy, but can build an engine. I just dont do it very often like some of you Gurus do.
