Technical SBC eats cams

2old ,
Sorry man,,,,,,but I don’t understand the dread of it .
People sit around and wring their hands worrying about it,,,,,,do it right and fire it .
Worry won’t make it go away .
I realize that there are quality concerns now a days about lifters and cam lobes .
But,,,,sleeping with the light turned on won’t make the monsters go away .

I have had one failure in all the years I’ve been doing this,,,,,,,and,,,,,it was my fault !
I had a lot of trouble getting it fired,,,,,(water in the gas ),,,LoL,,,,and then was advised to shut it down early because my headers were glowing .
It turned out it was just a timing retard situation,,,,,,,after buying new jets and all the other delays,,,,we fired it,,,,,and it was the timing all along .
Anyway,,,,,,after a few hundred miles ,,,it failed .
I tore it down,,,,,installed a brand new cam and lifters same part number (Crower solid,,,.609-.620 lift ),,,,and it was great !
I do understand about being gun shy,,,,,,,but my nerves are my own fault,,,,,no one else’s .

Lol,,,,,
Like the man said,,,,,Light the Candle !

Tommy

 

I've never lost a FT cam, maybe I've been lucky or I take precautions that have served me well. With my future BBC build, that will be a roller cam. Sooner or later luck does run out.

 

My street build 406.. de tune from racing engine spec, I'm pulling a 0.700 lift roller out to put a 0.525 in FT back in, also pulling compression down to 10:1 as well.

 

They bottoms have a specific radius on them to promote spin, you may have to contact the cam company to see if they can give you an answer. The lobes are also tapered from rear to front to also help induce lifter spin. That can be measured with a micrometer. Just make sure the lobes are not ground straight. I think the industry standard may be 5 degrees if I'm not mistaken.

 

Its the same as anything that hurts you ,you're more careful & apprehensive when presented with the same situation the next time ...

 

You valve springs aren't bottoming out, are they? I ruined a couple of cams by putting shims under the springs. I did this almost 60 years ago on my 409 when I thought I knew more than I do now.