used camshafts?
- Thread starter 409 lever
- Start date
I have at comp cam with under 500 miles.
It has .617 lift to .630 lift 108 lobe separation solid lifter cam. I have the lifters - that were removed in order of use on the cam. It was in my stroker motor.
I can e-mail the cam card if you would like to see it.
Paul
It has .617 lift to .630 lift 108 lobe separation solid lifter cam. I have the lifters - that were removed in order of use on the cam. It was in my stroker motor.
I can e-mail the cam card if you would like to see it.
Paul
For a street application,you might be happier with a 110 lobe separation,with a 106 centerline.Better idle,low end,and possibly mileage.You're not the first person to dislike the Thumper line in these engines.What size is yours,and how big is your engine?
409 truck block .030 10.5 pistons, currently has 155# cranking compression. currently has 287 grind cam edelbrock heads, performer rpm single holley 750 dp ,dougs triy headers 2 1/2'' full exhaust, flowmaster 50 delta mufflers. I figure 9 to 9.5 to 1 compression. 4 speed 2.59 first gear with a 3.70 rear gear, 28'' tall rear tires. I think the headers are the next thing to go.
Nice combo.That cam that you consider ordering looks to be one of Aubrey's grinds.Aubrey's big thing is high horse power at high rpm[typical 'stocker" mentality 
],it seems to me that you want the rush that comes from an engine with a torque peak of around 4,000 rpm,with major power "under the curve".That profile,with your 3.70 gears,will put a real grin on your face with a bit wider intake centerline up to about 5,800.What is your issue with the headers?I'd think that this thing would run fine on 87 octane fuel.
],it seems to me that you want the rush that comes from an engine with a torque peak of around 4,000 rpm,with major power "under the curve".That profile,with your 3.70 gears,will put a real grin on your face with a bit wider intake centerline up to about 5,800.What is your issue with the headers?I'd think that this thing would run fine on 87 octane fuel.
I have checked several flat tappet cams for wear after they were run in dyno tests. Mount camshaft in lathe and dial indicator on tool post, and tram indicator over the lobe. Cams were either Isky or Comp. These cams, when new, had about .003" taper to the crest of the lobe. There would always be one or two lobes with significant wear (only a couple of thousands of taper remaining) after a few dyno runs. This was with proper high zinc oil. These cams did not have any special extra cost hardening procedure done on the lobes, just the standard manufacturing process. We never reused any of them. A new cam is too cheap to buy, and the cost of a complete engine teardown too high, to justify it. (Completely strip block, new bearings, remove pistons from rods, tape off ring lands, bead blast piston skirts with walnut shells to remove imbedded iron particles, re-hone cylinder bores.) There are cams with hard coatings that can be run again. But I would check them very carefully.
A crazy subject. I say that because there are opposite ways to view it. I agree that engine costs are so extreme that it is much wiser to use all the caution one can. I've thought about the flat cam dilema many times and many of the theroies don't make sense to me. 30-40 years ago we thought nothing about a flat cam possiblity. Never had a problem that I can remember. So now? Use this, use that, be careful with this, don't do that. If were only the lack of zinc in the oil, no one would lose a cam when using zinc additive. But they do. I have read of people taking all the precautions and still losing a cam. And like buildit mentioned,, its not just the cost of cam and lifters,,, the engine has to come completely down and cleaned. Not only expense, but a pain in the butt. All one can do is take every precaution he can. But what about those that don't? when our good buddy Clyde pieced together an old truck motor to power his T-bird for a few years, he rumaged around his collection and dug out his old cams and lifters. I won't even go into the short block parts or assembly techniques but lets say they were old school. Clyde dumped out his lifter can and eyeballed them and chose the best looking 16 lifters. He chose one of his old 409 hp solid lifter cams and slid it in. Results?? Damn thing ran great. He pulled it only to upgrade to the roller cam motor.As far as I know the old truck motor is still in good health,,,,, I don't know what he did with it. Probably his grandson has it. But my point is,,,,, maybe the material used back in the 50s and 60s was better than today??????? I don't know. The experts will all have their opinions. The flat cam problem is such a concern that when it came time for me to order parts for my street motor,,,, I ordered stuff from one manufacturer. Figured it something went wrong it would be easy to cast blame. Too early to tell as the engine is still on a stand but I'm hoping for the best.
Ronnie says...................maybe the material used back in the 50s and 60s was better than today??????? I don't know. The experts will all have their opinions.
I'll go with that.
I'll go with that.
Cross your fingers
I think the flat cam problems started at the same time the Johnson lifter company went out of business around 2002. johnson made flat tappet lifters for about everyone in the high performance arena. topline hylift then bought the company but had major quality control issues and if I remember correctly the president of the company went to prison for selling known defective parts..