Building a 8BA for a shoebox, can anyone recommend a good street cam? Like a nice sound without losing all of the low end. Thanks, Steve
I've always heard Old Hot Rodders saying that they run a 3/4 race cam...(?) is that because they can't run a "Full Race"?
Isky Max-1. A little nicer than a stock 8BA cam. Very little rumpity rump, but a good runner. Nice low end. Here's a short youtube video of mine running with a Isky Max-1. http://youtu.be/qJ8MxuuQ32k Sorry the sound sucks a bit...may not be too much help.
Every old guy I run into says to run a 3/4 race. I would love to have a little more at the top end too.
Max 1 was recommended to me, recommender said any more and you got discomfort in traffic, and around parking lots.
i was like most young guys and "overcammed" my 49 coupe with a 400 jr. what i had was no driveability around town, but at speeds over 40 mph, it ran like a striped ape. take my advice and go with a max 1 or something similar.
Yeah the max 1 was recommended here also Its one of the worst choices iv ever made great if you like the sound of a stocker. Flatheads make tons of low end torque no matter what put a big cam in if you want it to sound good.
Anyone have a video of their flathead with a Schneider 260f .355 lift? And does this cam lift clear stock 52 ford (eab) heads? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
My Flathead is being built right now, using an Isky 400jr. Here is a link from Nailhead Jeff who is selling this one...sounds good to me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoomALt1_oM
I've ran the 400jr. In a few cars and been really happy with it ...I had a 32 coupe with a tall 3.00:1 gear and 39 trans... Had very good city manners ... And pulled really hard on the on ramps!... I could finally keep up with traffic..
1007B grind, just not the one Isky sells. Get one from a grinder like Pete or Delta someone like that.
I have run a Delta clone of a schnieder 280-f for four years now on the street. .425 lift requires head work. This is a sweet street cam actually made for supercharging it has not a lot of overlap. I am now mildly supercharged and get 15-16 mpg with Q-jet on top. I do mostly putsy putsy around town. The machine also sounds great with out the rump rump.
Schneider has a small range, top dollar. Best grinds I ever ran were: 1. Potvin 425 (kinda hairy for the street) 2. Weber F-1, F-2. (lumpy, but strong and reactive) 3. Howard's M-8 and M-14. (very fast rev, lumpy idle) 4. Clay Smith 3/4 street grind. (STILL available, and reasonably priced: $145! Your core)
Hi Steve: Picking a cam can be a make or break situation. In order to help you with the right sellection, we need more information. What induction, what heads, what trans., what bore size, what stroke, what rear end ratio?
Unless you have a lot of experience, I suggest anyone that wants to modify a flathead Ford for maximum street performance, buy a book written by John W. Lawson called "Flathead Facts". What he has done has gradually built up a couple of flatheads by trying different combinations of parts, first singly and then in various combinations and then runs the engines on a dyno and records the results. The results really opened up my eyes. I'll skip the drama and give the cam conclusion : the Max-1? not the best; for a mild street engine, the best cam will really surprise most people. If you have a lot of money, then also buy one of Joe Abbins' books about supercharged flatheads. He also does he same with progressive builds on the dyno.
Here is a real wicked cam . I just had to post this . I found this on YouTube a few years ago One of the best sounding flatheads ever Running a Winfield SU 1R cam and running 58% Methanol, 20% Nitro, 20% Gas & 2% Castro Oil
If you really want to make a smart, well researched decision, check out John W. Lawson's book recommended above, and read all the information on the Tilden Technologies website about cams: http://www.tildentechnologies.com/Cams/FlatheadPerformance.html The conclusions will probably surprise you.
With most engines, you can chose a cam for power, driveability, or "the sound". For a a mild flathead, you get only two choices; guess which two?
Exactly! It won't sound as mean when a kid on a bicycle can out run you for the first 1/2 block because you are way over cammed for the street. I ask Pete for a cam recommendation that would be Driveable and pull the gear I was running, that's how I ended up with that 1007B grind. It was exactly what I needed too, pulls good on bottom and it pulls very good on midrange 99% of flathead built won't need a top end cam for the street.
I really don't know why you think a cam can't sound great and perform on the street just as great!! Smoking a Posi all the way down the street , same cam as above......
On a Stock Flathead, use Max1 or similar. But I would suggest that you do a porting job on it, then get some New heads and dual intake. Then you have several Choices when it comes to cam selection I used to have an Isky 77B in my shoebox. 276cid Width Edelbrock heads and dual intake. Mallory dual point and headers. Ran really good from idle and all the way up... /K .................................................... Taildragger&fenderless
They can sound good, although I wouldn't pick a cam based off of what they sound like. I doubt the cam in your flatty will act exactly the same in his flatty without knowing the rest of the build specs and gear/trans ratios, then add that its going into a shoebox that is most likely quite a bit heavier than your coupe looks to be. Instead I would suggest (and this is only my opinion) getting a recommendation from a cam grinder like Pete1 or Schnieder ETC... with all things considered in the grind. When I asked Pete for a cam grind I wasnt concerned what it would sound like. I asked for a grind that would WORK well for the street, pull good on bottom end and cruise well at 2000-2400 RPM to work with my 3.12 rear gear and 31"tires. As I understand it Pete has been grinding cams and winning at Bonneville since the 50's. As it turned out it sounded pretty good too.
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