Yes I have a 1982 Chevy Camaro with a 305 stock with over 160k. It started the pop back up through the carb. I have changed my distributer cap and rotor button and wires. My next thing to try is plugs and timing chain. Should I change my cam and can I change cam bearings with engine in car?

 

Sounds like the symptoms of a flat exhaust lobe.

 

shooting a fireball back throught the carb? check the timing at chain .. cam gear prolly sheard the key in the keyway...

 

check your ignition timing first(with timing light) you could have easliy rotated the dizzy while you were changing all that stuff.too see if its a cam lobe take the valve covers off, and rotate the engine over by hand watching all the rocker arms (it helps to have some one helping you do this). you should be able to see roughly if all the rocker arms are moving up and down the same length.if it's the cam you'll know. and to answer your other question, No you can't replace the cam bearings with the motor in the car. the motor has to be torn down to get to them.

 

One definite possibility....

There are others: a broken or VERY loose exhaust rocker, a blown head gasket between 2 adjacent cylinders, or a burned intake valve, are the other most likely suspects.

Is it a regular "pop-pop-pop-pop" kind of thing, like a lifter tick; or is it totally random? Does the engine run more or less right except for this?

If either of those things is true, then it's not the timing set.

You have a roller cam, so it's not as likely to be a rolled lobe, as it would if it was a flat-tappet cam; although, it could happen.

Did it start doing this very suddenly? (broken part) Did it sort of come on slowly and gradually, and get worse over a period of time? (head gasket, rolled lobe, burned valve)

Do a compression test. You'll get one of 4 possible results:

All cyls about the same (expect 160-175 psi) = not a mechanical problem
One cyl MUCH higher than the rest = an exhaust valve problem (rolled lobe, broken rocker, etc.)
One cyl MUCH lower than the rest = a burned intake valve
Two adjacent cyls MUCH lower than the rest = head gasket

Listen for hissing noises while doing the test. THose are also a clue.

Obviously, check your tune-up first; make sure the dist cap and rotor are good, before diving into the motor's innards.

 

I've encountered the regular "pop-pop-pop-pop" in 3 different SBCs. 2 were broken exhaust springs, one was collapsed exhaust valve spring.
As near as I could tell, the intake vacuum would draw the "fire" from the exhaust manifold into the intake when both valves were open on the intake stroke.
All 3, easy fixes.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I found the problem it was a bent pushrod and a bad rocker arm. It is fixed for now, but most likely this summer after i get my Regal running for the road, I will tear the engine down and rebulit.

 

Well after this past summer I did not get my Regal on the road but I did a complete engine/trans swap. I took the engine and transmission out of my Regal and put in my Camaro. Did not have a lot of free time to work on it, but I got it done. It runs great.

 

Sofakingdom you sure it's a roller? I thought they didn't put rollers in until '87.