Camshafts

[Ol' Ron]

Had this on Bill B's forum and after over 500 hits, thought I'd share.

Having run many camshafts over the past 60 years of putzing with these engines, say most are a waste of money, time and Drive ability. It is doubtful that you'd notice any difference in performance or economy re guard less of which Ford cam you use. The 77B is probably the least cost effective cam on the market. The use of the Max #1is another wast e of money due to the fact that although it will increase power in the mid to upper range, it doesn't have the aesthetics of a more aggressive cam. So changeling a cam must have a good reason. Most stock rebuilds are better off with the original cam, if you have the availability od a later model Ford cam use it, unfortunately this will require the conversion to the front side mount distributor. If you want the sound of a hot cam I recommend the L-100, you won't need heavy duty valve springs, but you will need adjustable lifters. (Unless Walt Dupont does it). At present I'm working on improving the efficacy of the Flathead to give better mileage. We've accomplished a great deal with tuning, but have reached out limit here due to the L-1oo cam, converting back to stock would help, but this is the price you pay for the aesthetics of a Hot Rod.
Nuf said
Ol' Ron

[Newc]

Hi all; A buddy found an 'E ' marked 8ba cam. Apparently a FORD cam! It worked great in a 49 tudor, as a street cam. Newc in Oregon

[Highboy34]

Ron,

Good info, thanks.

Who makes the L100 cam?

[Tim Ayers]

Literio originally ground them. Cam Techniques in FL. has a master to do the regrinds currently.

[JeffB2]

Might want to look at the HOWARDS CAMS website they have brought back several flathead vintage grinds.

[flatmotor40]

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I had Reed Cams regrind mine to a lopy grind worked great and sounds great

[JWL]

For the REAL Gearheads who want to understand camshafts, and, the various characteristics affecting engine performance, I would suggest visiting the Tilden Technologies site. Then, if you want to understand why and how those chacteristics affect engine performance you can read my book.

But, most guys are happy with a lumpy idle and don't much care about actual engine efficiency. Of the shelf cam specs I have seen, that which would give the most radical idle with the least loss of efficiency would be the Comp Cams "Thumper". The narrow lobe separation angle of those cams would be great for idling through the Icey Root Beer parking lot while exhibiting the "270 Duntov" sounds.

[John Kennedy]

I'm more concerned with efficiency than sound.
I kept the stock cam, maybe that's the best route to take on my budget build. Problem is, I carelessly mixed up all the lifters and valves thinking they would be replaced. I would definitely use new springs, but did I make a big mess of things?
Are flatheads as critical with cam/lifter wear as other engines?

[flatjack9]

Would be a good idea to get the lifter faces reground. Shouldn't be all that expensive.

[hope]

Getting my L-100 Cam from Dave, for future build up. Said yesterday it was in the mail, also said there was a big demand for the L-100.

[Russ/40]

You can bet that ol'Ron is responsible for all that L-100 demand. He should be getting a commission.

[Ol' Ron]

For some of the new guys just getting into the Flatheads and some old timers getting back into it, choosing a cam might get confusing when reading these forums and all our opinions. I've run allot of different cams in racing, most of the time they were the wrong ones, fortunately it was a learning experience. Case in point: one of my first good track cams was the Howard F-9. Not sure what cam it replaced, but it ran good. So using that logic I installed a Howard F-11. Big mistake, engine didn't start to pull until half way down the 400 ft straight a way. I was a Clay Smith dealer and ran the super matchless in both the big Olds engines as well as the "Y" blocks. The Engle 95 was next. but it didn't perform as well. This could go on for several pages, but you get the idea.
Right now I'm in process of getting some economy out of our Flatheads and am confused by the fact that I'm getting good mileage from The L-100, I can't explain it. YET! But my plan is to run the EAB cam as a base line and then make some changes. My next cam will probably be the Howard M-8 and I hate to say ot but the Isky 77B might also be used. SSSOOO Changing a cam without removing the heads Is a good idea, I'll work on that too.
Take care

[hope]

My father-in Law Lewis Rounds from warwick R.I.ran well before i came into the picture,(1947) and won the Sportsman in Staffotd Conn. in 1959 or 1960, and beat soo many everhead powerhouse that i'm hooked on the flathead, so the reason for my l-100 request.

[Ol' Ron]

I think the L-100 is the best cam to come along in a while, It really wakes up the engine, sounds good and gets reasonable mileage. Can't ask for much more.

[Richard in Florida]

When I started planning my 8BA about six years ago, Ol' Ron talked me into an L-100. He told me a bunch of technical stuff that I really didn't understand back then, but when he called it a "smiley cam" because of the wonderful rumpty-rump lope it has at idle, I was sold.

Since then, we've discovered that you can get amazing mileage with an L-100. My 276 8BA with an L-100, an Edelbrock 500 cfm four-barrel, HEI ignition, and some other soup-up components in a 3300 pound '53 Victoria recently achieved a carefully calculated 21+ mpg on a 50-mile test run!

Want to hear the L-100? I have a recording I made soon after I first got my engine running. I can attach it to an e-mail for anyone who wants it.

[Straightpipes]

I have an L-100 from Cam Techniques in my 41 coupe. My 34 pickup has a 77B that Lou grosso had laying around so I used it. It's about the same as an EAB cam. Hard to tell any difference.

When we was kids we'd pull that flathead into the Tastie Freez with the choke pulled out a little and get a little rumpety-rump. Thats the only cam we could afford.......

[John Kennedy]

I think I'll go L100 when I'm ready, with adjustable lifters. Any drawbacks to adjustable lifters?

[Richard in Florida]

Originally Posted by John Kennedy

Any drawbacks to adjustable lifters?

Use genuine Johnson hollow adjustables. Red's Headers used to carry them, maybe still do.

Also, test each one for the tightness of the adjusting screw. I found a handful of loose ones, and Red replaced them quickly and free of charge.

They're been in my engine for nearly five years now with plenty of full-throttle windups to 4000-4500 rpm. They're still quiet.

[Richard in Florida]

Originally Posted by Straightpipes

When we was kids we'd pull that flathead into the Tastie Freez with the choke pulled out a little and get a little rumpety-rump.

We used to pull the windshield wiper vacuum hose off the manifold when crawling through the local drive-ins. Don't think we fooled anyone.

[laryh]

NEWC I found a 'E' marked cam in my 59. It was in a 276 engine with full relief, ported etc. Dual carbs, Fenton exhaust, Johnson lifters and shaved heads. The engine was built in late 1953. The 59 cams are different from the 8BAs. I am not sure what the 'E' designates. Anyone know what the E stands for?

[Straightpipes]

Originally Posted by John Kennedy

I think I'll go L100 when I'm ready, with adjustable lifters. Any drawbacks to adjustable lifters?

You have to know that the L-100 is a regrind which leaves the base circle of the lobe smaller in diameter. This leaves your lifters setting lower in the block. With adjustables it will be very difficult to set them. I drilled the lifter bores so that I could pin the lifter in place to set it. Works well.
If you don't use adjustables your valve stems will be too short. Some guys use Chebbie valves.

[Bassman/NZ]

Back in the days when flatties were raced a lot, adjustables were next to impossible to get here in NZ, so the valve stems were lengthened by adding brazing, then painstakingly grinding them down until they were the correct clearance.

[Ol' Ron]

The use of chevy valves is an easy out, however while up at Walts I saw a fixture built by Craig Beers that makes welding the stems quite easy. Thus you can use stock lifters with any cam. Lets face it ALL cams are re grinds except for special billet cams like rollers. The reason for this is the fact that the cam bearing diameter restricts max lift.

[Ol' Ron]

Back in the "Old days", Mellings made 3/4 and full race cams with stock base circle. They made cores and ground them as replacements. Most of these un ground cores have been used up along time ago. New un ground cores are very expensive.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by Ol' Ron

Back in the "Old days", Mellings made 3/4 and full race cams with stock base circle. They made cores and ground them as replacements. Most of these un ground cores have been used up along time ago. New un ground cores are very expensive.

Yep, this is true.

I'm happy to have found a NOS Full Race Melling. It is still in the original box. Found it a Hershey a few years back.

[Pete]

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I think I will run a gas turbine next time.
NO camshaft, crankshaft or pistons to worry about.

[Bassman/NZ]

Originally Posted by Pete

I think I will run a gas turbine next time.
NO camshaft, crankshaft or pistons to worry about.

Blasphemy! Heretic!