camshaft selection

[sotis]

Wondering what experience has been with the different cam manufacturers. Isky - comp cams, sealed power, any others... I'm also wondering about cambearings as well - durabond verse any others. And I'm also toying with the idea of an adjustable cam gear made by comp cams 3225 and it looks like another company called aem trutime makes some gears also but are more expensive. And I'm also gonna need some lifters. I don't need any links to rpm calculators I'm looking more for experience with cams that have been in service - Thanks for your time

[Doc Stewart]

Iskenderian is the 'grandfather' of racing cams. Did much of the research on cam types and the business is still at the cutting edge.

That said, we need no racing cams in our SV8s. Most of the cam grinders do a decent job for our engine use. Our light line suppliers have experience on cam types and grinds.

What is frequently missed is the proper "degreeing" of the cam at installation.
First true top dead center must be determined. The mark on the dampner may not be accurate. Then using a degree wheel, the cam position can be determined. Because our SV8 engines use timing gears, not a timing chain, changing cam timing can be a problem. Simply moving the cam gear one tooth on the crank gear may not do the trick. In those gases, there are split keys to shift the cam gear a bit for more accuracy.

I have never used any bearings but Durabond so I have no experience with other brands.

I have used CompCams and Isky cams and am happy with both.

Don't make the mistake of buying too wild a cam because you loose your bottom end torque. A little more cam than stock works well in Scouts.

Iskenderian publishes a pamphlet on how to degree your cam. Split keys are available at any hot rod shop or machinist.

[sotis]

Cool - thanks Doc. Bought a 1210 with failed cam bearings and the cam is wiped. I'm leaning toward the isky and lifters because of the price from the light line and their rep. I've yet to see anyone post on the adjustable timing gear though which would make degreeing the cam easier - I might scapegoat myself though and try one, unless somebody has a horror story

[Dan Phariss]

Originally Posted by sotis

Cool - thanks Doc. Bought a 1210 with failed cam bearings and the cam is wiped. I'm leaning toward the isky and lifters because of the price from the light line and their rep. I've yet to see anyone post on the adjustable timing gear though which would make degreeing the cam easier - I might scapegoat myself though and try one, unless somebody has a horror story

A cam from NAPA will work just as well.
I have a couple of NOS IHC cams I would sell for $100 a peice
+ freight .

[Carl Wiese]

I bought an Isky for my rebuild and am happy with the Cam. The lifter's they sent me were junk, and some of them didn't even have the right guts in them. My Dad called the factory and he was assured that every lifter was checked before it was sent out. We told them we disassembled the suspect lifters and they were missing parts. After a few more calls they finally agreed to refund us for the bad lifter, but we had to ship them back on our dime. With the exception of the poor customer service Isky was great to deal with.

[sotis]

Originally Posted by Carl Wiese

I bought an Isky for my rebuild and am happy with the Cam. The lifter's they sent me were junk, and some of them didn't even have the right guts in them. My Dad called the factory and he was assured that every lifter was checked before it was sent out. We told them we disassembled the suspect lifters and they were missing parts. After a few more calls they finally agreed to refund us for the bad lifter, but we had to ship them back on our dime. With the exception of the poor customer service Isky was great to deal with.

Thanks Carl - good info and I read that about the isky lifters also. I wonder if anybody's used the sealed power lifters with an isky cam. Johnson's are supposed to be the **** but if the sealed powers work good for less....

[jeff campbell]

as carl stated,stay away from the lifters that come w/cams,i to did that w/comp cams,good cam but the ANTI-PUMP up lifter's are junk.johnson lifter's are far the best in my book.jeff-( johnson makes lifters for different manufacture's as well just in different box)

[jeff campbell]

just looked up lifter's-rock auto-S.power $10.39 ea. HT 855,o'reilly's- $6.69 ea. jeff

[Tim Potter]

I used a Camcraft Cam that was specifically ground for my engine. It's really only slightly different lift and duration than an off the shelf RV grind, a little more ramp speed. It was the limit of what I could do and still keep my Scout smog legal in California. It came with Johnson lifters that cost $100.00 extra. Both cam and lifters have been very happy and so is the driver.

Doc is right on point about degreeing the cam. This is a must. If you don't degree the cam you may end up with and engine that doesn't make vacuum to its full potential. If you don't know how to do it, my best advise is do your homework and find out how to do it then, find someone who does and have him/her do it while you watch. IH gears are not close enough to just line up the marks. There may be up to a 4 degree difference even though all the gear sets are virtually the same. Odds are you will need an offset key to get the valve timing right.

[DavidWTravelallfan]

Originally Posted by sotis

Cool - thanks Doc. Bought a 1210 with failed cam bearings and the cam is wiped. I'm leaning toward the isky and lifters because of the price from the light line and their rep. I've yet to see anyone post on the adjustable timing gear though which would make degreeing the cam easier - I might scapegoat myself though and try one, unless somebody has a horror story

Who makes a "adjustable" timing gear for a SV??. Ive never even heard of one. Im willing to give that a try if i can find one..