I`m trying use this cam,but the directions I found are too small to read.Can anyone send me a bigger picture of this..........I tried to enlarge it but it just gets too pixelated. thanks ahead my email is [email protected]
Suggestion - - - Don't use the 1/4 speed cam. Hang it on the wall. You need a special 1/4 speed gearing to use the cam. Schaller failed at 1/4 speed cams and also Ed Iskenderian failed with 1/4 speed ISKY cams. Do you have the special gear drive for the cam ???
The distributor is an oddball too. Always wondered if this concept was really that flawed or just shunned for it's being so different. I know Mickey Thompson tried them in Indy cars in 1963.
Bus Schaller started out building hopped up Harley 45s for racing. These engines were so developed it was almost impossible to find a new way to get more HP. But he got the idea that if he slowed down the cams to 1/4 speed it would reduce friction and give a little more power. This was not too difficult as the Harley already had roller lifters. But he had to make new cams with 2 lobes and new gearing to slow them down. He says he got encouraging results. Not only less friction but the lifters seemed to follow the cam easier. He claimed more accurate cam timing with lighter valve springs, more HP and longer life. And this all allowed more radical cam timing than could be achieved with a conventional flat tappet design. Next step was to develop a Chev V8 version. Whatever the result, the advantages must not have justified the expense because the idea never caught on. Detroit did eventually go to roller lifters but not the double lobe cams.
Hello, anybody out there still interested in the Schaller cam? I installed one in a 64 Chevy ll a couple of years ago and have been driving it every summer. I was given a complete kit ,( NOS) cam , lifters, gears, cover and the correct gear driven Mallory Mini mag to make it run. The engine is a 283 bored .060 over with a Holley 650. I only built it as a challenge to see how it would run. It does like to rev, but what 283 doesn't There is more to this story but only if someone is interested.
The cam was originally men't for a 1957 corvette drag car that was being built in 1964. That didn't happen and the and the cam kit sat in my friends garage for the next 50 + years while he raised his family ect. When I received the kit from him it came with all the rare hard to find parts just as Schaller sold it to him. He gave me everything so long as I would build a engine so he could hear it run. So I tried to build a period correct 1964 sbc to install the cam/kit. I picked a 283 because in 64' that would have been the most common (other than a 327) to use. Needles to say the cam that Mr. Schaller ground for him was men't for the track (115 degrees overlap) so it does not idle well and really comes on at 3000 rpm and climbs. I have seen 7000 on the tach, there is no valve float. The valve springs supplied with the kit are progressive wound and quite soft. I can almost push them down to there limit with the palm of my hand. So Mr. Schaller's claim about less stress on the valve train seems valid. I don't have any specs on the Mallory Mini mag as for advance curve but it seems to work well. It's 50 years old, but still new. I set the timing at 38 degrees and have not tried anything else. The car is running a Muncie 4 speed with 3.73 gears in the rear. I live in a remote area so I can drive down the road 80-90 mph where the motor is in the rpm range it likes. If I was to do it over again I think more cubic inches and 4.ll or 4.56 gears would make it happier on the street. I've collected as much info on these cams as I could, but my no means am I the expert. Does anyone know of any other cars out there running one of these?
Hi Mark, Great to hear you are running one. My Dad was the Cam Grinder for Bus Schaller. He is always happy to talk about the Cam. I am still a big believer in the design, and have been doing some work on trying to revive it. I plan on doing some spintron testing with one from the Micky Thomson Indy Car still in my collection. The valve springs that came with the kit are 90lbs on the seat, and 190lbs open. Heidt & Heidt dragster still run one in their nostalgia drag car. It is a blown application which really runs well. There is still one of the Mickey Thompson cars out there that still runs the Quarter Speed Cam. Video from a few years back of the Heidt Car.
I found a pic of the “set up” via Google, damned interesting. @Ebbsspeed , my assumption because a cam “normally “ runs at 1/2 crank RPMs. But I get ya, no one refers to a cam as a “1/2 speed” anyways.
If this car is still together - can you get video of it running - what's this thing sound like. If you're not video savvy - get any High School age kid to take the video and post on YouTube.
He was a neighbor of one of my coworkers and he gave me some paperwork I'll have to see if I can find it, Apparently after he passed away some big company bought all the rights to it from his wife but this is all hearsay.
Because a standard cam already turns at 1/2 speed to the crank, it would likely just cause confusion. Schaler's deal was 1/4 of crankshaft speed.
I would say the biggest issue with them catching on with other grinders is the inverted flank grind. A separate grinder would be needed for any production, and the wheel life would be limited because of the small dia. This was at the time of 24dia wheels, could be done today with the diamond wheels as they dont break down and have to be constantly surfaced
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