The cam lobe was pretty wiped out.
We decided to go with a budget high lift repair.
Since I have had to go over the previous owners work so much, I figure it is best to pull the rest of the engine, disassemble, and inspect. I don't want to slap a new cam in only to find out the main bearing are actually Bazooka Joe comics.
I have a Harbor Freight 1000LB engine stand I bought 15+ years ago for another Jeep project. I never liked how a cast iron straight 6 felt on it so I used it as an excuse to buy a 2000LB stand as well.
7 month later update-
Disassemble, the engine and didn't find any other surprises. I just cleaned everything up and put it back together with a new stock cam and lifters along with an aerosol overhaul on the outside with Ford Blue. Nobody local had AMC blue.....what is the world coming to?
When I pulled the engine I unbolted the mounts from the block. Last weekend I unbolted the mounts from the frame, and found what I belive is the source of all my issues getting that last bit of clutch depression, and why I had so many thoughts about how things seemed a little "off" but I was blaming 80s AMC build quality.
As you can see the frame mount has a gaping hole gut in it and a piece of steel JB welded to it. It could easily been an inch off either direction. The left side was similar but not as bad. I have some new used mounts on the way from a dismantler on ebay
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