The Plan

1.  Put it completely back to stock.  Stock head, stock carburetor, stock airbox, stock cam, stock piston, stock exhaust, stock muffler, stock flywheel, stock gearing, stock (or equivalent to stock) everything.  I have been careful to save all the stock parts over the last 36 months, or at least modify the components in a manner that would allow restoration to stock equivalent.

2.  The only exception will be the carburetion.  As a minimum, it must be rideable. IMO, the stock carburetion is not suitable for normal operation.  The slide needle will be raised slightly.    Main jet and pilot jet must remain as-delivered so WOT acceleration will be unaffected.
 
3.  Test the stock setup.  Observe temperatures.  Measure audible noise.  Evaluate vibration levels.  Observe the fuel mixture using the air/fuel ratio gage.  Measure acceleration in second, third and fifth gears.  Measure fuel economy.  Evaluate overall drivability and performance.

4.  Do all the simple and inexpensive mods.  The stuff I refer to as “the low hanging fruit”.  Airbox mods to let the poor thing breath.  Jetting to give it sustenance.  Exhaust mods, like a dyna muffler, to un-constipate the little pooper.  Keep the mods simple and rock-bottom cheap.  No special tools or skills will be required to do these mods. Confine the initial mods to things that do not require going into the internal portions of the engine.  Test after each mod and report the results.

5. Do mods that are a bit more involved.  Stuff that might require removal of the clutch cover, head cover, or alternator cover.  These mods might require a little cash infusion, or some special tools or skills, but still no deep-dive into the guts of the engine.  Maybe a carburetor, camshaft, or a lighter flywheel.  Possibly an exhaust system rather than just a muffler, a special exhaust fitting, or a free-flow muffler.  Test after each mod and report the results.

6. Take the plunge.  Start doing elective surgery on the power plant.  These mods might include a high-compression piston and minor head-work.  They would include bolt-in cams, or might alter cam timing.  “Bolt-in” meaning cams that don’t require modifications to guides or pistons, special valve springs, retainers, etc.   Theses mods will build on the mods previously accomplished.   They will require more special tools and more cash.

7.  At this point, I have good test data on extensive modifications that I performed after incorporating my latest testing regimen.  I will add that test data to whatever I collect on this project.

Here you see the stock Savage engine ready for test.  ALL Stock, top to bottom.

The bore was in top shape.  Great finish after a few quick trips with a hone.

I got this cylinder head off eBay from an outfit called Stars&Stripes.  Good folks.  It’s a primo head, vintage 1996.  There was a small shipping glitch, but Stars&Stripes ironed things out ASAP.  Overall good experience.

The stock intake ports are the best I have seen.  The valve seats are aligned well with the aluminum port, very little overhang.  No undercuts either.  Flow tests showed the intake flowed about 4% better than the other stock heads I have tested.  The exhaust ports flowed about 8% less than the other stock heads.  I really couldn’t find any reason for the reduced exhaust flow.  I checked it dimensionally and it agreed with my old sketches.  Tried a different set of valves.  De-carboned the port surfaces.  Must be a nuclear phenomenon.

Look at this intake port.  Pretty nice right outa da box.

The head came with a head cover, rocker arms, rocker shafts, and a cam.  There were a few pits in the exhaust lobe and rocker pad, but nothing that would affect performance.  I used all the stuff that came with the head.  It was all in good shape.

The guide seals that came with the NE kit failed on installation.  I ended up using OEM guide seals.  The NE seals were just too soft.  They tore as soon as I tried to install the valve.