I'm not your daily poster and I rarely have a rant but, I'm going to mention my experience with Schneider Cam Co. In June of 2019 I ordered their S-100 for a flathead to be built by Bill Coleman (Coleman Bros.). It came in on time, then Covid put Bill's business on the shelf and I was still in the waiting list. I admit it was awhile to get to the front of the list basically later in 2021. When my flattie came to the fore, Bill couldn't get the cam to degree in. I contacted Schneider and spoke to their engineer who wondered if it might be the builder but said he'd talk to his machinist. Bill had put the cam on a Cam Pro machine and printed out a 9 page report that documented all of the inconsistencies of the cam. Bottom line, it wouldn't work, some lobes being many degrees off. No response, so I searched here and heard glowing reports about Jerry Cantrell, so I e-mailed him, was told they were extremely busy, but he would look into it. He indicated they would grind another and ship it out. They did and the 2nd cam would not dial in either. On his own dime, Bill sent the cam to Racer Brown's shop to be checked. In the meantime I ordered an L-100 from Kiwi cams, worried that pre race season was upon us and I would lose my place again to the big $$ motors. That cam dialed in perfectly, heads relieved and all was ready to go. Racer Brown's shop said the 2nd cam would not work on their 8BA set-up and partially matched the 59A set-up but was inconsistent with that also. I e-mailed J. Cantrell, explained the results, neither of his cams would work and asked for a refund. I gave him the phone #'s for both shops to verify my comments. I let 3 weeks go by and again e-mailed J. Cantrell for a response and now 3 more weeks later, nothing. I'm disappointed in spending $400 for 2 cams that won't work and receiving no response after documenting the mistake is not what I'd expect for customer service. His website says 90 days for issues, but with covid delaying everything, I'd hoped he'd be reasonable and considerate. If he ever responds +/- I'll follow up. In the meantime, beware of Schneider cams. RB35
Sad you are having to fight for what’s right. Stand your ground. If Jimmy ( Racer Brown ) says it is not right, it is not right. Good luck
Well, that's sad to here, they have had a very long-time great reputation in the industry. I hop in some way a resolution will be achieved.
Sounds like the sh t cam I had ground by mike davidson (vale) .lift heights all over the place ,different base circles and heel to toe distances . totally unusable .spose you dont get much for 200 bucks cept ," Its only a flathead ,it will still run "
Sorry to hear of the problems with Schneider Cams . I have used Schneider Cams almost exclusively since 1965 on hot rods Bonneville cars, sprint cars and anything else I wanted to go fast. I've recommended Jerry Cantrell hundreds of times through and never had one person complain. I don't understand the problem and why Jerry isn't handling it for you.
I hope you get things resolved with Schneider. I am one of those patrons whom Jerry bent over backwards to assist, even though it was for an ancient used six cylinder roller cam I had that they made zero money off of me.
A few days after I started this thread, I got a text from Jerry Cantrell to my last response to him. I just mailed the cams back to him today with his agreement of my concerns and will refund my $$ when received. I'm out the shipping cost (ouch for 16 lbs of cams). I will follow up when it's all done, but may take a week or so to get from coast to coast. RB
The larger question is how does a shop which has been grinding flathead V8 cams forever manage to screw up two of them? No knowledge of what is going on at Schneider, but there are way too many old school names which have been sold outright or the old guy died and the descendents decided to stop doing the dirty work in house and sub it out to a back street shop with immigrant labor and just cash the checks. I could name several of each and you probably could also. jack vines
Machines wear out and how many times do they get requests for old cams? Probably not spending money on upkeep for old machines that aren't used all that much. Just guessing. They did good by me though on my regrind.
Well,,,,I can’t speak for everyone,,,,only my own experience . Jerry Cantrell did good by me,,,,,,,I had a very pleasant experience . He literally answered my email on a Saturday night,,,,,,when I was checking on the availability of a grind for my Desoto . Seems like a very good group to deal with,,,,,,,,and since he is refunding your money,,,,,,,,seems honest as well . Tommy
Here are a few pics of my Nos Desoto cam,,,,,,I was lucky to find it . It’s a Purple shaft,,,,,,and is in top notch condition for a cam that old . The tag reads.440-.450 lift,,,,,it looks outstanding,,,,,,,,and the rear cam core is painted the correct shade of purple . I didn’t realize they made those back then,,,,,,but Mopar was always unpredictable . I plan on getting my old Desoto together before too long,,,,,at least the short block . Lol,,,,,,I’m just pulling a prank,,,,,,,this is my Desoto core that Jerry reground for me . It was a beautiful job,,,,,I added the purple myself later . Tommy
Hey, Jack; I can tell you, that'd be quite useful to know who/what company to avoid. Old-time reps are cool, shoddy/crappy work isn't. & if it's done on a very hard-to-source part, life just got worse - for no good reason, other than someones' ego, 'cause they aren't what they were, but still want the coin. Other side of that coin is, some are better, that'd be good to know, too. I can't name Names, 'cause I don't know. $$$ are too scarce to throw away in th e*hopes* of finding good ones yet. Marcus...
So the way I see it @RB35 you have to pay the return shipping for his manufacturing faults. That sucks.
I have not used a Schneider came since early 90 , So no recent experiences since, I personally donot know what the problem was for Schneider not check there grind templates ext before sending 2 cam out before or after grind after aware of first cam issue . The OP needs to pursue SHIPPING & be compensated for Lost time & other $$$, No matter how old the company / reputable name is , if they will not honor the reputation Quality of Parts they need to be known then out of business!!!! if they dont Address the problem's , Another Company to add to the list of bad to do business with Quality downhill ""Sanderson headers"" ""A list"" I dont know if its proper but I know of several company's reproduction stating same as original ""Not "" & performance companies, Bad Products.
So, I said I'd follow up when it was all settled. I texted after the returned cams had been there a week and was told that it was just getting the paperwork together. A few days later their engineer called to say he needed my e-mail address for paypal and that both returned cams worked out fine on their machine and wanted me to try another. After telling him I'd already got a new cam from Kiwi Tony-an L-100 that dialed in perfectly, He wondered if my machinist was just telling me that. My response was, "Here's my e-mail address and I'd like the return shipping cost included. I'm not going to ask your age, but I bet that Bill Coleman of Coleman Brothers has been building flatheads before you were born. If not him, try Racer Brown for his opinion on those cams." Two hrs later, Paypal sent word I rec'd some $$. When I checked the amount, it was the original cam cost and the return shipping cost. So I was made good and Schneider cams followed through with their promise. Your results may vary.
I can't speak for the condition of the machines, but they specialize in camshafts for old engines, like Flatheads, Y-blocks, 1st-Gen. SBC, etc.
What is your specific grief with Sanderson? I bought Sanderson ceramic-coated headers that are specifically designed for 55-57 Tbirds/w original 292/312 Y-block engine. I can see no flaws, unless you want to include having to remove the oil dipstick when mounting the passenger-side header; the dipstick can be reinstalled once the header is installed.
There is quite a few complaints over last 10ish years , Spec's Not as advertised & told, ( on this set) port size,tube size& collector not correct , bolt pattern off even with reducer studs . Unfortunate enough I have access to Mill ,lathe , TIG. The lady @ customer Service seem to care less, no compensation or returns was a option
I have none of those complaints; however, I do have another: their ceramic-coated headers are expensive.
We ordered a Schneider cam for a GM 402 jet boat engine refresh. Arrived looking like it was finished using a rock crusher. Sent it back. No more Schneider's for us ...
Thats for sure , the first set where 20 yrs ago , no complaints , this particular build needed 1-7/8s big tubes really 2.00 with stahl pattern I would of went with Lemon's full length but I knew would had problems because his jig had motor & steering box in different location , & I did not have time to build a set . For those needing block hugger's the one's on Flea bay are nice SS ,welds & heavy gauge for $100 for a engine making less then 450ish hp.
i have used only Howards cams( competition products) for the last 15-20 years and have had excellent results and great customer service
I bought 2 cams for my Y-block build, one Schneider, the other Howard's; the Howard's cam has a bit more lift and duration, but both have an advertised rpm range of 1800-5000. Although I'm no cam expert, I can see no obvious flaws in either cam, but the Howard's cam does look a bit better. I think the only way of knowing for certain will come when degreeing the cam and seeing how close it comes to the cam card. Using Cam Dr. is another option. Customer Service? I made several attempts to contact Howard's by using the form on their website. Specifically, I wanted the cam card for their 292002-10 cam. I never received a reply. I finally called Howard's to request the same info. Although I was able to get the info. I needed by calling, the person I talked to expressed no enthusiasm, speaking in a subdued, monotone voice. Maybe he had covid. Schneider's is a small business, relatively speaking; their building is not exactly what I would call impressive, compared to other cam manufacturers'. Condition of their machinery? You have to consider the number of machines a company has, how often those machines are serviced/replaced, and the quantity of camshafts that go out the door daily. I'm inclined to believe no company will service/repair their machinery before its time.
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