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Cam Swap questions

20K views 195 replies 13 participants last post by  Dajerseyrat 
#1 ·
I plan on swapping out my current cam for something a bit less aggressive and was wondering what else i need to purchase besides the cam and assembly lube.

Currently I have a timing belt set up on my motor- so what seals or shims do you think I need to replace at the time?

The current cam is a solid roller cam and will be replaced with a solid roller cam, i have 1.50 ratio roller rockers, the push rods say .780 (if I recall correctly) and I have solid roller lifters.

What other engine parts do I need or would you suggest?



Thanks in advance for your help.
 
#135 ·
The guy is a professional engine builder and machinist,he has done motors for me in the past, and has done motors for the owners of Raceway Park. He has a full machine shop and probably has built a thousand engines..I honestly did not expect this from him, blue printed or not, the washer got in the oil pan somehow, and paying several thousand more for the build would have sucked if this still happened.

If I I would have done it myself, I would have expected some **** like this to happen...But paying a pro to do it and getting this end result, really sucks..

Other than the fact that a washer wound up in my oil pump destroying it and potentially destroying my engine, I WAS happy with the result...:(

I cant even fathom what I have possibly done to deserve this type of automotive luck.
 
#140 ·
Gee thanks,you like to add insult to injury much?

The term Blue printing is so misused its not even funny.. The second you file fit a ring gap, your technically "blueprinting" an engine of some sorts.Its how detailed you want to get in blueprinting a block and parts is where the big $$$$ comes in.
Im not defending the dude, or my decisions for that matter, but If I had $20K to spend on a motor, I would have just dropped in an LS7. But I dont, so I fixed what I had that was already blueprinted from the previous builder.(allegedly) Which you are correct, is "GOOD ENOUGH" for what I intend on using it for. The fact that a washer got lost in the oil pan could have happened regardless of what was blueprinted and specced to exact tolerances...

Its just a bad situation all around, and not my fault for not paying 20K for an engine..Plenty of guys have done much less than I have and had success..
 
#141 ·
Im not trying to add insult.Im stating some things were previously mentioned.It may have been an accident or maybe not enough detail was taken to ensure a good build. Im thinking the frustrations of turning a race car into a street car one piece at a time has over whelmed you.Now is a good time to realy evaluate whats done and what needs to be done? The end result is determined first by the planning,,,,
I've had brand new engines fail and try to never make the same mistake again.Usually,almost always,its human error.You did not have a part failure so,,,,? what happened?
 
#142 ·
Jersey Rat:

This is a learning experience. You took on a huge project, you made some good decisions, some 'okay' decisions and some bad ones. But, you're DOING it. This is how we learn - doing it. Yes this is unfortunate, but, like everything else so far, you'll get past it. Don't take your project frustrations out on the engine builder. Make sure what you say, and how you say it... is only about the oil pan.

I burned up my oil pump and found the washer...how do you think it got there? Let him give you a hand to play. He may say "Aww crap; come by after work and we'll pull the pan and see if we can find the nut easy, if not; we'll pull the motor and I'll go through it with you if thats okay. And let me rebuild your oilpump, I'll pop for the belt" and life isn't so bad

I built a trans for a guy, and left one 1 needle roller out (of 112) of the cluster. Burned up the trans, wasted his qualifying race. I built the replacement trans on saturday afternoon in my garage, drove to Watkins Glen, switched gearboxes with him, ate 1 piece of awful pizza and drove home about 1am Sunday.
Mistakes and unfortunate things happen - give him a chance to make it right; he may surprise you.
 
#143 ·
Im very friendly with my builder, he has done several engines for me in the past. I went to him with the washer and the pump and told him I knew the washer was from the oil pan cause I have had it off myself. He agreed and said he did loose a 1 washer, and assumed cause his guy took the motor apart, it just got lost and he used a different one. So that put my mind at ease that there is not a bolt floating around the pan. Also I can see how you can loose it in the pan, since there is a lip on the windage tray that if it got stuck behind you would have a very hard time finding it.

He did say since i shut the motor down fast it should be fine, he said they can run for a minute or two with no oil pressure. He said if anything is messed up he will fix it. And he is fixing my oil pump and paying for the parts. It only chewed up 2 gears and a key way. So I ordered all the parts.

I aint mad at him, mistakes happen..But I will be ordering a pressure shut off switch, thats for sure..

On a side note, i did notice my brakes need replacing..LOL
 
#144 ·
Glad to see the builder is standing behind it and working to resolve the issue. Stand-up guy.

Don't forget the screened inlet fittings for the rebuilt pump, to prevent the pump from ever ingesting anything big enough to halt its rotation again.

I've never seen a remote pump that wasn't screened on the inlet side, either in the pan or at the fitting on the pump.

Even a factory wet-sump has a screen on it.
 
#150 ·
Another idea, Moroso fitting filter screens, #23965.. Allows you to add cone screen to an existing fitting, you might investigate this further.

Moroso also has some internal screen fittings, but all I can find are -10 to -12 adapter fittings, screw into a -10 on the pan or pump but take a -12 line #22610

#23960 is 3/4" NPT to -12 male
 
#152 ·
I got the oil pump back int he car, primed up and car fired right up. Motor sounds fine. I kept a sample of oil from the pan and the sump tank to send out for oil analysis just in case. Now Im just waiting for the brake rotors to come in, I had to send them out to get cut cause the Hawk racing full race pads, wore some grooves in the rotors. The pads were replaced with some nice street pads.


I have one oil leak at the distributor to fix, for some reason this manifold leaks unless you use black silicone along with the gasket.. Also have to mess with the sender unit in my fuel tank. Im not getting any Ohms signal from it...:(

I will have this car up and running this season, I will...Once im all done the only winter project I have planned is rear 1/4 glass and new tires...


If it breaks again this time out, it will definitely sit in the garage for a long time while I gather my composure..
 
#153 ·
Well Its been a long journey and a real frustrating one to say the least. I finally got her up and running after taking 2 weeks off after getting Lasik surgery and shoulder cortisone injections.. I also waited 2 weks around July 4th to get the rotors back from the company I sent them to so they could be cut. No one and I mean NO ONE by me even does it anymore and these were some custom 12" and 13" racing rotors from Coleman Racing..

Well here she is...

Walk around off. - YouTube

67 camaro walk around - YouTube
 
#155 ·
It was set up for full road racing, but I calmed it down a bit for some street use. Got rid of the tiny clutch,big cam,big carburator and replaced the full metalic racing pads on the brakes.

Once I get used to it a bit I might do a road race day, but I dont trust these tires cause I have no clue what they have been through. On the street it handles like a rat wearing sneakers..

Im fairly happy but now Im afraid to drive it since my maiden voyage I got towed home..Im a bit gun shy right now..
 
#159 ·
What would cause #8 exhaust and #6 Intake lash to be way off 2 times in the past few days on a new motor? The roller lifters are new, the push rods are new and the cam is new...I saw somewhere that this was a symptom of lifter going bad..I swear to god if this is the case Im really giving up..
 
#165 ·
Would it still feel tight when you loosened it to re lash it? or would it feel physically loose? Im suspecting the worst of course... Bad lifter on my brand new motor with brand new lifters.. Or it could be the rockers..they are the only previous part of the valvetrain..
 
#166 ·
You can move those jam nuts to a different stud, and see if the problem follows the jam nut to the new location.

Are the tops of studs ground flat, or still have the thread forming divot in the top of them?? They hold better if stud is flat.

Lock set screw, then turn outer jam nut tighter by 1/8th turn or so.
 
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