It seems like it's hard to find information on anything other than factory hot rods and things from roughly '64 and older. I was just wondering if any of you had some insight as to what sort of cam and carb combos people ran back then. I'm not asking for how to make horsepower, just what racers actually tended to use back then. These days people throw around lift and duration like its nothing, but back then without computers or message boards. No comp-cams.com etc. how did a street rodder decide what to put into his engine? Today an off the shelf set of heads can utilize .600" lift and you can run as much duration as you can swallow. I've heard of the duntov 30/30 and it obviously has its serious drawbacks, but it seems like that was some sort of holy grail of cams back then. Though I really have no idea. Same thing with tunnel Rams and high rises. When did this stuff actually start to appear? For example, my cousin may get a barn find 64 ford with a 289 in the next month or so. But it's been hit on the rear. I've seen pictures of race cars from back then like this: And he's interested in fixing it up using old tech of the day, but it's very hard to sort out what is actually old and what is only made to seem old.
Asking this site if they have info like that is like asking if a junkyard dog has fleas.... You came to the right place for that info ....so much info that you might go !! One of the reasons I love HAMB is for the info you just requested !!
Ah, those were the days of 3/4 race and full race cams. Look thru the speed shop catalog and decide how far down the page to go. I'm sure the guys that were there can be more specific. I'd use new cam and valvetrain technology in that ride if you guys are able to buy it. If the engine is with it lets see some pics, could have some very cool parts inside and a set of hogged out ported factory heads.
Haha, that's the reason I joined after lurking for a long time. Haha I doubt that. It looks pretty much stock! The snow just fell again, so we won't be able to drag it out until that melts. But I'll definitely post pics then! I didn't think of looking for old catalogs, maybe flea bay could provide one.
I wasn't of wrenching age yet, but back in hot roddings infancy, I'm sure you either reached or could get most of the pioneers on the phone if you called: Hilborn you reached Stu Iskenderian you reached Isky Edelbrock you reached Sr. Winfield Navarrow Etc. Those days are gone, and nowadays you almost need to have an engineering degree yourself just to understand all the mumbo jumbo you have to wade through when contacting the mfgs tech departments today.
"These days people throw around lift and duration like its nothing, but back then without computers or message boards. No comp-cams.com etc. how did a street rodder decide what to put into his engine? Today an off the shelf set of heads can utilize .600" lift and you can run as much duration as you can swallow." What I can tell you is what my ex-boss (retired) did. He went to the local "cam/hot rod guy" and asked "I'm building a such and such car, what do I need?". His was a 55' 210, with what turned out to be one of the first Chevy 327's built/made. This was before the 327 was available. Now the guy asked more questions, "what do you want to do with the car?" (1/4 mile, roundy pounder, etc...) weight, gearing, compression, etc, etc.. The cam grinder would then grind a cam for what you were going to do plus tell you what you needed to make it work. I can't remember the guys name who ground his cam (this was in LA Ca. the guy was in a wheel chair) but it was good enough that my boss held the 1/4 mile best time with his setup, but only for a week.. He got beat out by a Fiat. :O If you wanted something "off the shelf", it was usually a Duntov 30/30.
back then Hot Rod magazine, etc gave a lot of info not available at your local auto parts store. go to drag strips and watching others, especially winners, how they did things. there were a lot more low buck operations than today. a lot of learning at "the school of hard knocks"
Bailey It really depends on the "era" you're considering. In the 50's you had cam grinders like: Isky Potvin Herbert Weber Crane and other less known cam grinders. Many companies made manifolds: both intake & exhaust (headers). Most also looked, as has been mentioned, to the drag racers for what they were using. Most cylinder head developement didn't really take place until the 60's when companies like AFR came into being. Before that, most head work was done by well known porters
"?Chet Herbert?" Very, very possibly. Said he was kinda a grumpy dude, and the name sounds right. BTW my boss also drove the Tommy Ivo 4 engine dragster. He was big into racing.
Thanks to everyone for this info. I think I'm gonna call up Schneider because I know that one of the original guys is still around. I'll report back, maybe he has some solid numbers for future reference. To help with the "search" if anyone else is looking for baseline info. It's funny because I didn't even think about just calling up crane or Isky for example and getting the original people. Just goes to show that this iPhone technology is turning people my age brain to mushy crap. XD
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