purchasing flathead camshafts who do we turn to?

[Walt Dupont--Me.]

Originally Posted by Tim Ayers

Their is also Nielson Cams in MT (I think).

I talked to Nielson about a year ago about a Nielson cam that I have, He sent me a sheet of all the flathead cams that he can grind. He has a good price on grinding your core also. Walt

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by Walt Dupont--Me.

I talked to Nielson about a year ago about a Nielson cam that I have, He sent me a sheet of all the flathead cams that he can grind. He has a good price on grinding your core also. Walt

Chris also offers a grind similar to the famous Weber F4. The F4 is in the same ball park as the Potvin 3/8, L100 and Clay Smith 272-2. It has a little less lift that the Potvin and L100 @ .340 but has a fairly radical lobe design and is a quick action cam.

I don't have one, but from I understand from guys that run it they say it sounds like a mean one.

For those on budget, don't forget about Delta Cams. I believe their grinds are all under $100 and offer a quick turn around. Delta's offerings are large, but they do offer some of the good ones. 400Jr, 1007, Winfield SU-1A and Max 1.

Interesting story about the Winfield SU-1A. I believe the only person that had the true master of this cam was Kong. There a lot of SU-1A grinds that are not as radical as the true design. If I recall correctly, Winfield offered a few versions of this grind.

The one used by some of the 1/4 mile guys is not the same grind offered by some regrinders.

[Tony, NY]

Never hear much talk about Schnieder cams. Why?
http://schneidercams.com/ford_flathead-solid.aspx

[4tford]

Look at the dollars they are asking. Both Pete and Kiwi Tony are way below that and both sell an excellent product. Schneider cost me around $460 Canadian before shipping.

[Tony, NY]

Yes. That's for new cams. They say they do regrinds. Don't know the cost.

[Tim Brown]

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I have installed the Schnieder 248 cam in my last 2 flatheads. Its a very mild cam. Idles down nice and very good on the street. I want to go far, not fast....

[HOTROD_WILLIE]

I like Kiwi Tony L100 cam for the money. My friend has one in his car very nice cam for the money. I plan to put one in my car. Plus Tony cars just came in First and Second place at Daytona 500.

[rockfla]

PETE,

There was a fellow years ago here in Jax that was very well known for cams and cranks for flat heads named Frank Schooler. He did engines for all the old time racers all over the southeast since we are an hour from Ormand Beach/Daytona. Not sure if your racing buddy ever heard of Schooler cams or Knew Frank but I do know of one flat head left here in the area in a 34 coupe that Frank rebuilt personally and broke it in after he built it. He called it his 3/4 motor because it wasn't all the way race but would haula$$ on the street. If there's any interest???? not sure I could get any measurement but could try.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by rockfla

PETE,

There was a fellow years ago here in Jax that was very well known for cams and cranks for flat heads named Frank Schooler. He did engines for all the old time racers all over the southeast since we are an hour from Ormand Beach/Daytona. Not sure if your racing buddy ever heard of Schooler cams or Knew Frank but I do know of one flat head left here in the area in a 34 coupe that Frank rebuilt personally and broke it in after he built it. He called it his 3/4 motor because it wasn't all the way race but would haula$$ on the street. If there's any interest???? not sure I could get any measurement but could try.

I have heard of Schooler cams.
A customer brought one in for a regrind several years ago. I put a 1007B over it and the customer said his engine felt like he had added 2 more cylinders.

[Tim Ayers]

I find these cam conversations a bit funny. Everyone pipes in what they think is best, but yet nobody asks some important questions about the end result. For example: A cam recommendation for a heavy car like a fat fender Ford may be a lot different then a car 1/2 it's weight (AV8 roadster).

The cam for a 239 may different for a 296 stroker.

My point is, these conversations are getting to be a lot like the cam war ads found in the hot rod mags of the 60's and 70's.

Just because a 1007B or L100 worked for Joe Smo, doesn't mean it will work for you.

Just like aluminum flywheels and LZ gears. They all have their place, but that place may not be best in your car. Make sense?

[Ol' Ron]

Tim, you hit the nail on the head..

[38 coupe]

For people who want to school themselves on how flathead cams work and what they should look for, the information on this site can't be beat: http://www.tildentechnologies.com/Ca...rformance.html

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by Ol' Ron

Tim, you hit the nail on the head..

Thanks Ron. Like you've always said, could always take it out if you don't like it.

I truly wish there was an easier way to get an idea of how a cam would perform instead of having to place it in an engine.

Like many of you, I love cams. I've actually gotten much better at not buying cams to just add to the collection. I don't know why I love them so much, but there is an air of mystery about them. Black magic some would say.

I think I got hooked on the magic of a cam when I spoke to an old dirt track racer. This gentleman use to race at Flemington Speedway and told me about how they would literally grind a cam in the pits if it wasn't work up to their ideas. He, and others, called them belly grinds. At first I thought he was full of shit. Then, while in 8th grade, I went on field trip to the Mack Truck factory.

I still remember the cam grinding section. The tour guy said that the worker (lets call him Joe) could tell if a cam was out a thou of inch just by looking at it and running his finger over it.
Sure as hell, Joe ran his finger over a finished cam. He put a mic to it and it was out of spec. and on the reject pile it went. From that day on, I've been hooked on cams. Don't ask me what correlation a diesel engine and a flathead V8 have, all I know I wanted to know more about these lumpy sticks.

After seeing Joe work his magic over the cams in his charge, it made me realize that it would actually be possible for someone to grind a cam in the pits if they really knew what they were doing. Wouldn't be the most accurate, but hell, you were losing so why not take a chance in the next heat?

I still find it amazing that you can change the performance of an engine just by changing the timing of the intake and exhaust valves.

In my travels I've picked up some NOS cams that I'd really like to know how they'd perform.

Melling A-200 **
Crane 353-2 ** (East Coast roundy round guys go ga ga over this one)
** Both of these cams are ground on new billets and are not regrounds
*** The Melling came with two different feeler gauges wire tied to the snout. Not sure why I love that, but I do. Plus, the original box just oozes old timey speed shop. Proudly proclaims "for racing only!" Who could resist that call? You? Not me!

-Clay Smith 272-2 and 284-2. I had George and his crew @ Clay Smith grind these since I wanted to have some of Clay's magic sitting on my shelf.

-Potvin 3/8ths. Ground by the late Bill Jenks. I know he wouldn't have remembered, but I still recall my conversation with him about the cam. He told me about his old roadster and this was the cam he used. Bill shared some stories and told me why he liked this grind so much.

When my cam was done, he called to tell me it was ready and how he hadn't seen a wide lobe cam in years and wanted to tell me my core was one of the nicest he'd seen in a long time. I thanked him and told him it was an honor to have him grind my cam. In turn, he wrote a nice note on the back of the timing card. How friggin' cool is that?

Best of luck to all of you who are trying to find magic in that lumpy billet of cast iron you got in your mills. I hope you find a good one. In the end, nothing sounds like a well-tuned, full race flathead blatting out those exhaust notes from some straight pipes. It's like Beethoven's god damn 5th symphony to the mechanically inclined.

You either get it or you don't. Once you do get it, there is no cure. Only more sickness. I'll take more of this sickness any day of the week.

Here is some required reading if you've got cam fever....
http://www.midstateantiquestockcarcl...at_heads4.html

[Kahuna]

Thanks, Tim for posting that info. Lots of good reading and fun stuff from long ago
Jim

[HOTROD_WILLIE]

Originally Posted by Pete

I have heard of Schooler cams.
A customer brought one in for a regrind several years ago. I put a 1007B over it and the customer said his engine felt like he had added 2 more cylinders.

Pete can example a little more deal. What you did to the cam? I don't understand. Thanks

[rockfla]

I've been following this thread and though I've been around flatheads all my life (50 years old) I am getting more interested in the intricate details of the flathead which is why I'm asking (and learning). I read the links to the performance cams so where can one learn what L100 is and 1007B an all the others talked about in this thread as they are not listed on the performance cam chart linked in this thread?????

[Ol' Ron]

I spent allot of time back in the 60's as the engine man on a car running at the Danbury speed way in Ct. My Mentor was a fellow named Bill Barth. I had been running a SBC at the drags and had a Hemi powerd 47 Plymoth, but that's another story. After changind a bunch of cams over the years I finaly landed on the 400jr. This was a good education on the power a cam can provide when racing. The last two seasons were run with the Sig Errson D410 which was a marked improvement over the 400 jr. However, after we installed it, it didn't sound as radical as the 400jr/ On the track it proved to be much stronger off the corners and held it down the straightaways. So I too fell in love with cams
Ny next love afair came in the late 80's. I was working in a body shop sobering up, when a fellow asked me if I would put a flathead together for him? Why not, I needed the money. After looking over all the stuff he had bought I told him the cam was no good for the application. A 5500 lb 1942 Ford Ambulance. He told me that Mike Hart said it was a great cam and that was good enough for him. Well the rest is history, it ran that big tub of lead as well as I could ever expected. Cruising down the interstates at 70-75 mph and getting 18 mpg. I was in love again and installed them in almost every engine I built. Now I have no idea how well it would preform on a race track, but it's a great street cam in most applications.

[Tony, NY]

Ol' Ron. What cam was it you put in the big tub?

[Ol' Ron]

It was the L-100, sorry about that. Since then I realized the numbers didn't mean all that much. Just try it, you might like it. I doubt that Pete has never seen one let alone run one. And yes, I think the 1007B is a great cam as well, because I have run it, along with the Howard F-9. But I picked the L-100 as the best street cam and have sold dozens of them and had no complaints.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by HOTROD_WILLIE

Pete can example a little more deal. What you did to the cam? I don't understand. Thanks

I just ground the 1007B on the core as if it was starting from a stock cam. You can do this as long as the base circle is not too small to start with.