Thread: newbie help building engine

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I can try calling comp cams tomorrow. How about this , just browsing summitracing and whats the difference between a cam kit that comes with roller lifters and a cam kit that comes with retrofit roller lifters. Does the retro fit lifters need that "spider" setup?

Retro fit lifters use a cross bar between lifter pairs, no spider!

what about the ones that don't say retro fit?

Anything with the link bar is designed for the old style blocks, guess I would have to know which one's you are referring to..... With Summit, it's probably an omission in the parts description would be my guess. Their parts descriptions and applications are not necessarily 100% accurate and complete!!!!! When in doubt on a part, I would suggest going to the manufacturer's web site or a conversation with the manufacturer's tech department, beats the heck out of getting the wrong parts!!!!!!

alright thanks. i'll post on here when i get a chance to talk to comp cams and see what their input is.

Mike,
Just got back in.Sorry for the gap.It doesn't hurt to be mindful cam quest is run by Comp Cams who is in business to sell their products.Certainly there are a number of other cam companies that sells retro fit hydro roller cams and kits.One bond you don't want to break is the cam manufactures recommendations for which springs to use with their cams.

So coming from inside the business looking out,my advise is to not buy the first thing you see and shop it with other cam companies.

I am doing my level best not to be bated into a off topic exchange Mike.We build and sell engines all the time for a source of income and all I want to do is help you.True enough we sell mainly hard core race parts,but the same tech applies to your build.

I suggest you call a number of cam companies over the next few days to talk to their tech departments.

One company that I think has a good tech dept is:

Competition Products - Performance Engine Parts, Racing Engine Parts and Accessories

They can give you ideas of a number of different brand name cams.

Mike I can't stress enough to talk it over with your brother to get a idea what his long term expectations are.How that needs to be included in this.What a huge plus it is to be able to reuse this cam swap if at some point he wants to swap to some better heads.
I agree the exhaust upgrade would positively impact any mod.

he currently has a set of no name short headers which hug the block due to very limited space. I took your advice and gave comp cams a call. I let them know my situation and how much i was willing to spend. He pointed me towards a thumpr cam part number 12-600-4. It has a 107lsa with 227 Intake and 241 Exhaust duration at .050. He said it would run fine on pump gas and would gain horsepower. Its also a flat tappet roller setup for around $370 for the kit. I then mentioned about you guys leading me towards hydraulic roller setup and he said that i would be much better off going the roller route due to reliability. So he searched a little and told me about part number 12-600-8. That cam kit runs for around $1100. Which is day and night in price. He told me though that this cam would require machining to the heads to make the newer springs fit which will cost more money but if i call through comp cams he can setup a kit that will use same diameter springs. I still want to call around more this week and get some more opinions but whats your guys two cents on what Chris from comp recommended?

With the part numbers in hand, do some price checking!!!! The manufacturer is normally going to have a higher price, that's how they keep from making their dealers mad!!!!!

When you call Competition Products,there is what they call a broom section which is their clearance parts.Be sure to ask the tech dept if there is a cam and kit to fit your application.

Also on this very forum is a member Pat who is a professional engine builder of 25 yrs.PM him,tell him your story and see what he has to say.

Lastly,we buy and sell only race hard core parts and sell/build only short block or complete engines for the same.I am thinking we have turned maybe 25 engines just this last yr.Been doing that for 40 yrs.It's not like we just build one or two engines in the last 5 yrs.One thing I can past onto you is if you don't ask for a deal,you don't get one.And don't get stuck on just one brand name cam. Keep a open mind to what these places are going to suggest.Especially when it comes to Pat McCarthy.He is a straight shooter who knows what he is talking about.So do PM him.

The shorty block huggers will give high rpm gains. Be sure to include them when you talk to the techs.

I ran that engine casting numbers.There is a shot it could be a 1968 327.Now that cast iron 4 barrel intake is from a 350,but anyone over the yrs could have added that on.So if you post the stamped number from the front of the engine we could tack down a date of build and narrow it down.Really should have suggested that from the get go,but I let it slip by me.

The 12-600-4 cam notes does say ok for a stock t/c but likes a 2,000 stall better and gears.It does say gives the old school rough idle and makes me think of one of those poser cams Dave posted about.The 12-600-8 is what we talked about going over a 500 lift and it then costing you more.Tell you what.I'm not really not trying to shoot down your suggestions,but playing back to you what you found out so far for you to think over.

Well post those stamped numbers and we can go on from there.

I actually did a very quick search on those cam numbers and found that 12-600-8 for about $900 dollars on a different site. I'm going to send Pat an email tonight and see what he can fill me in on. As for those block numbers, we tried like hell to clean up the flat spot on the front passenger side of the block and this is what we were able to make of it. It was K08 07 TJB . There is like a seriel number before that and it looks like it starts with c411. I'll double check on that number in the next day or so and find the rest of it.

Originally Posted by mikesaik

I actually did a very quick search on those cam numbers and found that 12-600-8 for about $900 dollars on a different site. I'm going to send Pat an email tonight and see what he can fill me in on. As for those block numbers, we tried like hell to clean up the flat spot on the front passenger side of the block and this is what we were able to make of it. It was K08 07 TJB . There is like a seriel number before that and it looks like it starts with c411. I'll double check on that number in the next day or so and find the rest of it.

i have found that snapping a photo and then looking at it will many times bring out detail that is invisible with the naked eye.
i have done it a bunch of times and numbers will pop out at you that you couldnt see at all before

I can try that. I'll see if i can post a picture in the next couple days.