well i just installed a new lunati voodoo 268 cam, dary iron eagle platinums and 1.6 roller rockers in my 357. After about a week and a half of problems getting it right, im soo close. heres what its doing, it seems to be running pretty rich as it has black smoke coming out of it. I wanna lean it out, but when i had the mixtures screws leaned out more it would pop through the exhaust. it will pop through the drivers side exhaust pipe only. i can go back there and put my hand over both of them and feel it popping through the drivers side. timing is set at 12* advanced and advancing or retarding it doesnt really help. it will also backfire through the carb every now and then if i give it gas and let off. maybe the valves arent opening and closing right? i am lost right now!

 

what type of carb are you running? do you have a electric or manual adjusting choke. Get your manual choke set correctly or verify that your electric one is working when it should. Then I would check your pcv to see if it is letting your motor breath, if you dont have one, get one. Then I would play around with the mixture screws and different metering rods.

 

Sound's like you're valve-lash on the drivers side is off, or one of the pushrod's completely came off of the lifter (or one of the lifters collapsed).... remove the drivers side valve cover and look for a motionless rocker arm (while idling).

 

yup, sounds like valves are out of adjustment. probably to tight.

 

welp turns out a pushrod wasnt fully seated into the little lifter cup on the drivers side. Decided to play it safe and go through and cjeck all of them on that head and then re lash the valves....now she wont even start. my starter is a POS and it will crank like twice, then the starter will just free spin and not crank anymore. You think maybe the higher CR is making it too hard for my starter to crank it? I dotn get it. it at least started when the pushrod was off. now nothing. i tried reinstalling the distributor by getting it to TDC #1 and then installing it with the rotor pointed right at #1 plug wire. Then tried advancing it or retarding it and neither helped. it was still "crank crank buzzzzzzz and then every now and then a puff of smoke from the carb. Still at a loss for ideas

 

Sounds like you over-tightened them, and the tighter valve-lash now has more leverage (resistence) to out win the starter's cranking power...

Exactly how are you adjusting you're valves?

 

is this a hydraulic or a sloid lifter cam? also if your timing is way off you will get alot of resistance while trying to start he engine.

 

also make sure your battery is fully charged, a weak battery can casue big starting problems such as too low a voltage to the ignition coil.

 

this is a hydraulic flat tappet cam. to set valve lash i bumped the motor til #1 exhaust was opening, lashed #1 intake +1/2 turn. then bumped it til #1 intake was closing, then lashed #1 exhaust +1/2 turn. did it the same way for them all. none of the pushrods seemed bent when i pulled them out. i must also mention that my starter has been very screwed up ever since i drove through a monster puddle on accident and it got soaked. The next time i went to start it after it got dunked was the first time it did the crank crank buzzzz thing.

 

i'd try just a 1/4 turn, adjusting a hydraulic cam with roller rockers is a pain in the ***. when i adjust i bump the motor over as you are, and i tighten up the rocker till i just start to feel some drag on the pushrod while turning it then i go a 1/4 turn more while locking it down.