Hello All:

Thank you for your kind interest in following all of this. I drove Virginia 250 miles over the weekend and I have to say - she is ticking along just fine. When she starts up she does sound like "a diesel truck", as my Aunt Jackie pointed out, but when warm she sounds pretty good. The knock is definitely there though, or so I think.

I am going to take Chris up on his kind offer and get together. I am curious to see a 142 anyway and he might be able to provide insight. I have not yet taken the distributor off to see if I can get the camshaft to move as suggested by Phil but that is next. Pete's suggestion about checking the cam followers sounds good as well. Since I removed the pushrods when I had the head work done and this sound arrived immediately upon reassembly there is a possibility there. Can the followers be removed by taking off the valve train and fishing them out? I do not need to remove the entire head, do I?

To answer Bob's question, the knock is RPM-related and not wheel-turn related. It happens at idle, particularly when warming up, and increases with RPMs. There is a slight thumping that comes from the exhaust because the new system I installed a few weeks ago is not quite snug but I know the difference between that sound and this one and this knock predates the new exhaust by many months.

Of course, Joe's suggestion of going for professional help is a last resort and an admission of defeat, but is far preferable to killing a motor. I know I can find this, and persistence and a dash of luck are all that is required.

More to come, I am sure.

Cheers,

Jeff Pucillo