I was wondering what you guys would think of me buying a 4bolt main 1982 Chevy 350 in good shape except for one lifter being bitchy at 0mph the rattle from the lifter goes away under any stress(Any acceleration and it stops making noise at all.) for 350$. It has an RPM-Air Gap on it and 650cfm holley.

Thanks for your advice,
Cristian

PS I was going to put it on a stand and rip it apart anyway look at the piston rings and cylinder walls etc.

 

There are some basic reasons why it may be making the noise:

- The cam lobe is wiped out.

- Oil changes were neglected.

- The lifter got a piece of dirt in it.

- The rockers were improperly adjusted.

- The lifter bores were cast/machined improperly by the factory.

All but one would require disassembly, cleaning, and probably parts replacement. One would disqualify the block from further use.

 

I'm assuming the only one that would make the engine un-usable would be a wrongly machined engine block(The engine isn't machined wrong it ran for a several years without a rattle I'm assuming the Hydraulic is slightly clogged.) I'm not sure what the cam lobe is exactly and how it could be wiped out.

 

The cam lobe is what the lifter (aka "follower") follows up & down. The bumps on the bump stick, if you will.