So I shoulda KNOWN something was dreadfully awry when the gray ghost ate the TBC last month. Faithful readers will remember that the cam was VERY TIGHT when I rotated it by hand, but it loosened up during my attempts to time everything up. Well, it ate another belt. Found bad galling on 2, 3 & 4 cam journals. Followed Foster's post about his '81 245 in the same straits and I hope I'll be successful in this. 1 & 5 are pristine, but the others are not pretty. Reassembly's set for Saturday, after oil pump replacement. Top end was dry. Odd, as it wasn't dry the last time. Oh well - with 328K, it's about due and couldn't hurt to drop in a new OP.

What I'm looking for this time is reassurance more than advice. How much slop will the cam tolerate? I restored the surfaces as best I could without taking them way down, removing the peaks, but there are still some 'valleys', esp. in #4. Coming from the air-cooled VW world, I was shocked to find the cam sitting right on the cam tower - no easily-replaced shell bearings to absorb the wear:-(. So... will this pound itself to death in short order? Will I have pressure issues given the out of spec clearances? Who killed Laura Palmer? Anyone? Anyone? Buellllerrrr? Anyone have a decent used head on hand 'just in case'?
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Gray in FL - '85 740 328K , '93 240 150K People can be divided into two classes: those who go ahead and do something, and those who sit still and inquire, "Why wasn't it done the other way?"- Oliver Wendell Holmes