[Terry Burtz, Calif]

Frank (emf),
The "New Engine" will not be at Hershey because we won't have any parts to display. The 1st container of the 2nd production run is scheduled to leave China on October 5, 2021 which will be too late for Hershey.



motordr,
The new camshaft will be made of nodular iron which has good damping properties and is the material used in the majority of new engines.



Pete,
Thanks for your comments and the explanation of your concerns. I'm in total agreement with your concerns about turning the heat up to increase production. This may occur in small factories that do not have good quality control. With hardness comes brittleness which is not acceptable if a part deflects under load.

The "New Engine" camshafts are made in a factory where their only product is a variety of nodular iron camshafts that are used in most OEM applications. They do not make billet or forged steel camshafts. The advantage of nodular iron is damping. Our order for new camshafts is large enough where specific procedures have been written and are being followed to produce a quality product.

The new camshaft is made of nodular iron and the various surfaces are induction hardened to different hardness. The 8 lobes are HRC58/62, and the bearing surfaces and gear are HRC40/52.

Care is being taken to not harden the small diameter between lobes.

You mentioned that Rockwell hardness testing could be done at several points to measure hardness, but every test point would be a stress riser. You also mentioned attempting to cut with a carbide tool, which I think is better. The third method that I prefer is to look at the heat-affected area.

The attached photographs of the new camshaft show a gradual color change between lobes and a band of no color change midway between lobes. This is an indication that there are no random hard spots and that there is a gradual transition from hard to soft. The pictures show the gradual change in hardness at the surface, but internally, the core remains soft and ductile.

The camshaft in the new engine is supported with 5 bearings with 2 lobes between bearings, so even if the valve spring pressure was very high, I don't anticipate a bending problem between lobes.

A Model A camshaft supported by 3 bearings has 4 lobes between bearings and the deflections will be greater.

Even worse is the Ford flathead V-8 design where the camshaft has 3 bearings and there are 8 lobes between bearings.



David Serrano,
The retail price for the new camshaft is $375. Quantity discounts are available to engine builders and parts retailers that buy 5 or more at a time. Shipping a quantity instead of individually is also cheaper.