Solid Cam, Use it or Not

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Probably a market for cams that have went flat.
Some of these modern day geeks might think they are buying 3/4 race cams
 
Probably a market for cams that have went flat.
Some of these modern day geeks might think they are buying 3/4 race cams
lol There is a huge shortage of cores right now, that's a fact.
 
106LSA, 244-249 @.050, 532/543 lift.

Street car, ported X heads, 750 Holley, 3.23 gears, 4 speed, RPM air gap. 69 Swinger 340

I'm pretty cheap too, even reusing head-gaskets.
But I'm not so cheap as to run a cam I can't put eyes on, and that one has my azz puckering. It may be good, IDK, but not from where I'm looking, and not enough to risk doing again in a few miles. So then I'll just say;
No way I would run it on the street in that combo.
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Not to mention;
>it's too big anyway for a 2.66low 4speed and 3.23s.
>Not to mention how much gas that cam will suck, and the price of gas.................
> the slowest you can likely drive your Swinger without slipping the clutch, with that cam, is gonna be about 7 or 8 mph.
>And if the power starts at 4200rpm, that would be 39mph, where it starts.
and the peak might be 5400, so 50 mph. And if you shift at 6000, that is 56 mph.
>the bottom end is gonna rival a 318, and that is how it will take off every single time; even with the cylinder pressure maxed out for your X-heads..

I ran a hydraulic version similar to that; the mighty 292/292/108 with the 2.66low trans and 3.55s. That was a mistake. and within a few thousand miles I pulled it out. Here's the kicker; I ran it at 11.3Scr (alloy heads); and making over 185psi, in a 367.
Maybe you don't care about driving slow, but there are times when a 7 or 8 mph minimum speed is just way to fast. AND, 30mph in second with 3.23s is ~2320rpm, so your 340 will have 318 power down there and accelerating from there in Second, you can measure that on a sundial. So you'll be forced to downshift and hit ~3210, yippee, those 3.23s are killing it. Been there done that.
 
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Well the one thing it's not worth is throwing insults around. It's pretty childish to not even be able to give an opinion on something this simple without going to war.
 
Well the one thing it's not worth is throwing insults around. It's pretty childish to not even be able to give an opinion on something this simple without going to war.
Your wrong!-I will tell you what's right!-and if you don't agree your an idiot! :rofl:
 
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Street car, ported X heads, 750 Holley, 3.23 gears, 4 speed, RPM air gap. 69 Swinger 340
It'll be fun at first but you'll quickly notice that that much duration with that gearing is not going to have great drivability...
I think sending it into Ken for $99 and having him take a little duration out of it and resurfacing your lifters would make you a happy camper...
 
Not everybody has multi million dollar equipment at their disposal or the money to arbitrarily replace possibly good parts. Consider yourself very fortunate.

Rusty sounded like you were claiming I was fortunate to have things handed to me. Multimillion dollar equipment at my disposal? I wish.

I used many used parts in my past. From experience I would be leary of using a cam from an Engine I knew nothing about. It should be magnafluxed checked for straightness and lobe wear. A used cam that I know where it came from would be a different story. How can someone tell this man the cam is good to go by pictures?
Sorry if I took your reply wrong. Steve
 
Rusty sounded like you were claiming I was fortunate to have things handed to me. Multimillion dollar equipment at my disposal? I wish.

I used many used parts in my past. From experience I would be leary of using a cam from an Engine I knew nothing about. It should be magnafluxed checked for straightness and lobe wear. A used cam that I know where it came from would be a different story. How can someone tell this man the cam is good to go by pictures?
Sorry if I took your reply wrong. Steve
No. You are fortunate on several fronts. Your relationship with your son is great. Yall have a good business obviously built on hard work through the years.

I just don't understand why you would think I meant it otherwise. I've never insulted you in the past. Why would I start now?

I also see a couple other member disagreed with me where I said I meant it as a compliment. I guess they think they can read my mind through the internet.
 
No. You are fortunate on several fronts. Your relationship with your son is great. Yall have a good business obviously built on hard work through the years.

I just don't understand why you would think I meant it otherwise. I've never insulted you in the past. Why would I start now?

I also see a couple other member disagreed with me where I said I meant it as a compliment. I guess they think they can read my mind through the internet.
Again sorry Rusty, It hasn't been a good week so far. **** happened and I guess I took it out and vented on you. My sincere apology , Steve
 
Thank you all just so you know Im not the fastest to respond. I was in my shop all day with a bow tie and my friend. I will get the lifter pics. Some of these pics could be interpreted wrong as lighting play tricks sometimes. I cant get any history info becasue the guy I bought it from didnt run it and the guy he bought from. Well you know its not worth the time to try and hunt it down. I will send it to a shop here in Houston or else where and have them look at it. There were some recommendations for lobe repair. Thanks again all. Lunati said they didnt like some of lobe wear, but again it could just be the light. Never mentioned "Let me help you pick a new cam". Im not done yet just didnt get to do anything with it today.
Thanks FABO
 
Again sorry Rusty, It hasn't been a good week so far. **** happened and I guess I took it out and vented on you. My sincere apology , Steve
It's ok. Man. We all have a bag of rocks to tote and I know yours has been heavy as hell the last couple of years.
 
Ok guys I finally got around to getting the lifter pics. Theses are the only ones that have wear. All of them have the circles from rotation. The fourth pic that looks like it has wear on the left side is the lighting. I snapped to try and show the wear pattern of circles. With the exception of the other three all on the drivers side they all look good. I have not held the bottoms up to a lifter side to see if I can see any light around the edges.
Thanks FABO

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Ok guys I finally got around to getting the lifter pics. Theses are the only ones that have wear. All of them have the circles from rotation. The fourth pic that looks like it has wear on the left side is the lighting. I snapped to try and show the wear pattern of circles. With the exception of the other three all on the drivers side they all look good. I have not held the bottoms up to a lifter side to see if I can see any light around the edges.
Thanks FABO

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A side picture with a straight edge on the top of the lifter would show a crown or a dish. That would be the only way to see their condition in a picture, Are they crowned or are they dished or are they flat. They should be crowned
 
thought about keeping quite, but just wanted to give my 1 1/2 cents. i don't know as much about mopars as i do GM's, as this is my first build of a mopar. with that being said, some things are the same: that cam has been rusty from sitting probably a few years, oil goes away and moisture loves that shinny metal. then it's ran and gets those pattern on it. i would use it in a motor where you plan to replace lifters and cam and bearings in not to distant future rebuild, or a cruiser and not daily driver and/or not race the car. it will run fine but cut 80% off you expected run time of a new one. also maybe put a magnet on your oil pan. the bad don't outweigh the good of just get another cam. when i build a motor, my goal is to never go back and do it again. Just for what's it worth. tks Mike
 
thought about keeping quite, but just wanted to give my 1 1/2 cents. i don't know as much about mopars as i do GM's, as this is my first build of a mopar. with that being said, some things are the same: that cam has been rusty from sitting probably a few years, oil goes away and moisture loves that shinny metal. then it's ran and gets those pattern on it. i would use it in a motor where you plan to replace lifters and cam and bearings in not to distant future rebuild, or a cruiser and not daily driver and/or not race the car. it will run fine but cut 80% off you expected run time of a new one. also maybe put a magnet on your oil pan. the bad don't outweigh the good of just get another cam. when i build a motor, my goal is to never go back and do it again. Just for what's it worth. tks Mike
Thats a pretty good assessment for a chevy guy! :poke: :rofl: just kidding ya bud. But seriously I do agree with you.
 
Seeing the lifters, I say no.
 
Seeing the lifters, I say no.
Just curious what are you seeing on the lifters thst changed your mind? I don't see any obvious dishing or anything looks like a nice shiny circle which means they were rotating. Im not arguing or questioning your opinion just want to know what your seeing that im missing.
 
It'll be fun at first but you'll quickly notice that that much duration with that gearing is not going to have great drivability...
I think sending it into Ken for $99 and having him take a little duration out of it and resurfacing your lifters would make you a happy camper...
I agree with send it to Ken, with the lifters. He can give it a good inspection. If the lobes are a little past safe use, he may be able to do a regrind. If the lifters are not marked for the lobe they can off they may be able to be reconditioned to new. If the cam is reground, the lifters should definately be resurfaced or get new lifters. Yes some guys get away with just tossing parts in from a pail, but my experience says, no. The expense of having to do a total rebuild because of the damage from wiping out the cam is a big hit to the wallet. Especially these days.
My 289 Ford stock? cam was just on the verge of failing from probably low ZDDP oils, before I became aware of the problem. For quite a while it was considered that a broken in stock cam would be OK. Wrong! I have a hyd flat tappet to put in that I took out of a 351 I sold. I drilled a 2 x 4 to put the lifters in, left and right, front to rear. This way the lifters go back on the lobe they ran on previously. I will use a 5W30 or 10W30 diesel oil with a good amount of ZDDP in it.
Just my 2 bits.
 
You can run it if you want I get a new set of lifters in and hope for the best I see that same spot and everybody else is pointing out it may not be anything or maybe something will turn out to be a expensive that. Get the cans checked out see if your fingernail catches anything if it does Polish it little bit see if it still does and then make a decision to see if you’re interested in running it or not
 
So I bought a used Lunati solid cam and lifters for my 340. Saw a few pics before purchase but not anything up close. I am posting these pics for opinions if you have cam experience as a professional. Use it or not. 106LSA, 244-249 @.050, 532/543 lift. I will use new lifters if I use it. If a no please explain why. I also posted on Facebook at Mopar Engines. Just wanting a few more opinions.
Thanks FABO

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Take it to a machine shop that polishes cranks and have it polished than make a decision. I would bet you end up using it.
 
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