Thread: Cam Question

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Jim, thanks for the kind words. You know, every single one of us on this forum started off knowing NOTHING. We learn by asking others who have been there, reading books and magazines pertaining to the subject at hand and by practical, late night boogies with wrenches in hand. I have an additional "leg-up" by having spent a great deal of time at dragstrips and talking to experienced racers and engine builders who know what works and what doesn't. Even with all the experience I bring to bear, sometimes I get caught short on something. Nobody knows everything.

I remember it as if it were yesterday. I was 13 (1955) and picked up a Hot Rod magazine from a newsstand for the first time. I began reading and came across the word "manifold". I asked my dad what it was, he didn't know. I went next door and asked the old man and he didn't know either. That's when I began to seek out the older guys (16. 17 older guys, haha) who had cars. I found a few of them that would talk to a "kid" and explain some things to me. Also, the father of one of my best buds was a mechanic at the Buick dealership, so he filled in a lot of gaps for me. By the time I was 16, I was doing technical inspection at the local dragstrip.

It's funny, sometimes the things you don't even think of can make the biggest differences. I remember several years ago on this forum, some fellow posted that he had a mid-70's Ford truck with a 460 in it. He was complaining that it was a fresh motor but just didn't have any get-up and go on the bottom end, but ran great on the top. I advised him that because of the Arab Oil Embargo and growing concerns over emissions, the car makers had installed timing sets which retarded the camshaft on '72 and up models. I suggested he change out the chain and sprockets for ones intended for a '68 to '70 429. He did and wrote back that he was astonished at the change in the motor. It now ran like the proverbial "strip-ed ***ed ape" and tried to tear the rear tires off. It was hard for him to believe that a single simple change like that would make such a difference. What it actually did was to advance the camshaft 8*.

These are just things that you learn through the years and are able to pass on to others.