Register now to get rid of these ads!

HEMI Tech: Camshafts.. new? Regrind? solid or Hydraulic?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by scootermcrad, Jun 26, 2006.

  1. 34hemipu
    Joined: Jan 12, 2006
    Posts: 145

    34hemipu
    Member

    Hey ! just read your relpy . Thinking about building a 354 for my 40 pu rather than the SBC , do you have pics ? I'm on the fence !
     
  2. hemiphil
    Joined: May 6, 2010
    Posts: 25

    hemiphil
    Member
    from australia

    Yes i have some pics, if you give me your email i will send them to you, i don't know how to upload on to the hamb, phil
     
  3. hemiphil
    Joined: May 6, 2010
    Posts: 25

    hemiphil
    Member
    from australia

    some info for guys running high lift cams, i have found out the hard way, if you run valve lift upwards of 0.550" with adjustable 3/8" pushrods they tend to bend as there is not enough clearance in the head on full lift, the pushrod moves sideways thru an arc as the rocker arm lifts from the base circle to full lift, i have had to drill out the pushrod holes to 1/2" for clearance, and that's not easy because of the holes compound angles.
     
  4. blownhemi48
    Joined: Nov 17, 2009
    Posts: 243

    blownhemi48
    Member
    from Bergen NY

    I bought some Schiefer roller tappets like Garlits was looking for several years ago. They're the ones that ride inside of heavy wall bronze bushings that fit into the lifter bores and are retained by 1/4 inch rods and tabs screwed to the lifter valley. Does anyone have instructions and know the max lift for this set-up? I have a re-ground cast core roller cam for a blower that Isky put his R-560 grind on. Valve lift is .590 with 1.5 rocker ratio, 280 deg. duration at .050 lift and 111 deg. lobe centers. Any help would be appreciated. I love this Hemi Tech.
     
  5. I have some of those lifters (but for a SBC). What is the wheel diameter - .750? My guess is that they can't be used at your lift as the wheel will come out of the bronze guide and not index in order to support that lift. Also, what sort of spring pressure are you running -- closed and on the nose? Given you're on a cast core, I imagine you need to stay a bit conservative???

    My recommendation is to go to a modern roller lifter and NOT bank on those old lifters - unless you really check everything out. Personally, I like the Isky red-zone lifters with oil pressure fed pins . . . not cheap, but a very good lifter that can take lots of 'street time' and not wear wear the rollers out like a lot of racing lifters.
     
  6. blownhemi48
    Joined: Nov 17, 2009
    Posts: 243

    blownhemi48
    Member
    from Bergen NY

    I was afraid that they would'nt stay in their guides. Jim Oddy told me to get all the related valve train parts from Isky. As long as I'm going to do that, I'll go with the Red Zone lifters like you suggested. I bought the tappets long before I bought the cam. The only other parts I've purchased so far are n.o.s. Gotha adjustable rockers. Thanks.
     
  7. Street engine? What sort of spring pressure are you running? Are those Gothas the cast aluminum ones?
     
  8. blownhemi48
    Joined: Nov 17, 2009
    Posts: 243

    blownhemi48
    Member
    from Bergen NY

    Actually, I'm looking to race the car, but it could just end up on the street. I have'nt bought valves and springs yet.I know Hemis don't like lots of pressure. The Gotha rockers are not alluminum. They appear to be nodular iron.
     
  9. I've never used Gotha rockers before - in looking at them, they didn't appear all that strong, but that is just a 'visual opinion', not based on actual usage. :) I do know that some folks claim they are pretty weak and that the adjusters don't hold adjustment well, you might want to look into this a bit before you invest too much in getting them to work.

    Is this a blown application? I've never ran a cast roller cam, so I don't know their wear characteristics and what levels of spring pressure you need - I'd ask Isky and go from there.

    I'm running a custom billet roller cam and Donovan 417 heads/rockers . . . so it is a very different setup than regular 392 iron heads. I have about 200 lbs on the seat, very large valves and roller rockers.

    I'd just chat with Nolan at Isky or Richard Iskendarian.
     
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2013
  10. blownhemi48
    Joined: Nov 17, 2009
    Posts: 243

    blownhemi48
    Member
    from Bergen NY

    Yes this cam is for a blown application. The Gotha rockers are the same as the ones in the blown 392 that's in the Jim Oddy Austin gasser. John Cassiol who owns the Oddy Austin purchased his rockers from a guy who built drag boat engines. He asked if he should buy any spares and was told not to bother because he would never break one. The engine in the car now was built by Jim Oddy himself. I was told by Jim to talk to Rich. I'm not ready to do so just yet. The 392 in the Ron Bizio Willys gasser has Donovan non-roller, non-adjustable rockers. Jeff and Jerry have broken a couple intake rockers and have to carry spares. Jerry has to run the valves and oil everything after every pass as the oil passages in the heads have been blocked off.
     
  11. blownhemi48
    Joined: Nov 17, 2009
    Posts: 243

    blownhemi48
    Member
    from Bergen NY

    If I don't run the Gotha rockers I'll polish, shot-peen and gusset the stockers and use adjustable pushrods. The Gotha rockers are made to go on stock diameter shafts.
     
  12. TR Waters
    Joined: Nov 18, 2006
    Posts: 1,439

    TR Waters
    Member
    from Vermont
    1. Early Hemi Tech

    Exhaust rocker ribs that I make.
     

    Attached Files:

  13. I used a set of Tom's exhaust rocker ribs but they were modified a bit when they were converted to adjustable. I did have to hone them after the tabs were welded on. They are on a set of Tom's hard chromed shafts. Working great so far. :)

    [​IMG]
     
  14. Oh yeah, I have a roller cam and the stiff springs to go along with it. I tried the adjustable pushrods first but was told by the guys at Smith Brothers they wouldn't survive. They were right. One broke at the adjuster screw and several others were bent there. That's why I had 73RR convert the rockers to adjustable with 5/16 adjusters. Plenty strong now and no more issues.
     
  15. blownhemi48
    Joined: Nov 17, 2009
    Posts: 243

    blownhemi48
    Member
    from Bergen NY

    That is exactly what I had in mind. I'll take your advice and not run adjustable pushrods. I'll still have to come up with a pair to determine what length to get the non adjustable pushrods made to. I'm thinking about having the pushrod holes in the heads opened up to 1/2" and using a 3/8" pushrod that tapers down to 5/16" at the ends.
     
  16. blownhemi48
    Joined: Nov 17, 2009
    Posts: 243

    blownhemi48
    Member
    from Bergen NY

    What rod did you use to weld those gussets with?
     
  17. I used a 3/8 pushrod with 5/16 ends as well. I don't have a tig so I had my friend who does my blower stuff weld them for me. I'll ask him what rod he used.
     
  18. blownhemi48
    Joined: Nov 17, 2009
    Posts: 243

    blownhemi48
    Member
    from Bergen NY

    I don't see the ribs on your online store. What do they cost?
     
  19. blownhemi48
    Joined: Nov 17, 2009
    Posts: 243

    blownhemi48
    Member
    from Bergen NY

    Do you know what 73RR charges to convert stock rocker arms to adjustable rocker arms?
     
  20. I'm afraid I don't remember. Send him a text. Both 73RR and TR Waters are stand up guys. :)
     
  21. Bert Kollar
    Joined: Jan 10, 2007
    Posts: 1,232

    Bert Kollar
    Member

    When I built my Dodge 270 I researched as much as I could and found a very interesting article in the May 1954 Hot Rod magazine about Vic Edelbrock and the hemi. He bought a 1954 Dodge Coronet club coupe as a gunea pig. There is a lot of info in the article but what I was most interested in was the camshaft since they are so hard to come by. It was found that Dodge used a hardened cast iron camshaft and they were prone to wear, so much so that Edelbrocks car wore out a cam lobe 1/8 inch before 2000 miles. For that reason I would never regrind a cam for these engines. I would have them built up by welding or in my case I got very lucky and found a new core and had a new cam made. I would recommend Oregon Cam to anyone looking for a cam for the Baby hemis
     
  22. The cam I have in the 354 Chrysler in my 31 Pontiac coupe was reground by Crower. It had an interesting look and I wondered if they had put it through a hardening process after the regrind. Dunno, 11 years later it's still working fine.
     
  23. 73RR
    Joined: Jan 29, 2007
    Posts: 7,174

    73RR
    Member

    I'm guessing that something else was a play with Vic's cam problem. I can't count the number of Dodge cams that we have reground and never had someone call with a 'failure'.

    .
     
  24. blownhemi48
    Joined: Nov 17, 2009
    Posts: 243

    blownhemi48
    Member
    from Bergen NY

    Thank you Terry, I pm'd both.
     
  25. pdq67
    Joined: Feb 12, 2007
    Posts: 787

    pdq67
    Member

    Anybody think to contact Delta out on the Northwest Coast?

    pdq67
     
  26. hemiphil
    Joined: May 6, 2010
    Posts: 25

    hemiphil
    Member
    from australia

    :)just received my new billet solid roller for blown 354 hemi from crower cams
     
  27. Crower reground my 331 hydraulic grind. I am stoked, got a real cool lumpy idle and pulls from idle as smooth as. I've done 4500 miles since sept. and haven't had any problems with lobes wiping. I assembled it correctly with lube and ran it in properly. Crower # is F4949. Real nice street cam.
     
  28. Gary Addcox
    Joined: Aug 28, 2009
    Posts: 2,528

    Gary Addcox
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Please don't forget about Chris Nielson, the cam grinder from Hell. He designed the profiles for the Comp Cams Thumper cam, so he is on the top line when it comes to supplying pumped-up cams for all early Hemis. His no. is 801-451-7745. He will be "the man" when I finally scrape up enough bread to build my S-24. 1956 330 cu.in. DeSoto Fire-Flyte.
     
  29. Gary Addcox
    Joined: Aug 28, 2009
    Posts: 2,528

    Gary Addcox
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Try Chris Nielson at 801-451-7745. He is really into early Hemis, and he designed the crazy profiles for the Comp Cams "Thumper" series of cams.He is great at regrinding stock cams for whatever profile someone wants.
     
  30. tjet
    Joined: Mar 16, 2009
    Posts: 1,335

    tjet
    Member
    1. Early Hemi Tech

    What's the specs on your Crower on how long ago did you get it done?
     

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.