Description: have stock 56 pan motor wanting to put in mild cam that will need no alterations to engine. any ideas what will give me best all round performance
have stock 56 pan motor wanting to put in mild cam that will need no alterations to engine. any ideas what will give me best all round performance. running a flh cam now.
Cams with allround performance
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knm
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Jack_Hester
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Re: Cams with allround performance
knm -
By 'mild', I take it you want something with more pep than the FLH cam. The stock cam is a very good choice, if the engine is stock. An Andrews 'A' will make it a bit more crisp. But, not a major jump in noticable power. In most cases, no other mods, to run the 'A' grind. Still a good idea to check for component interferance, when changing cams from stock.
Jack
By 'mild', I take it you want something with more pep than the FLH cam. The stock cam is a very good choice, if the engine is stock. An Andrews 'A' will make it a bit more crisp. But, not a major jump in noticable power. In most cases, no other mods, to run the 'A' grind. Still a good idea to check for component interferance, when changing cams from stock.
Jack
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mbskeam
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Re: Cams with allround performance
hello,
on my 56 when I put the A grind in I had to grind the case to get the inner lobe so it did not hit the case, but It did not require a lot of metal removal.
mbskeam
on my 56 when I put the A grind in I had to grind the case to get the inner lobe so it did not hit the case, but It did not require a lot of metal removal.
mbskeam
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King
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Re: Cams with allround performance
Hi KNM
I just installed an Andrews #1 cam in my 51 FL. Andrews claims it is the "low compression version of the A". It was pretty much a bolt in operation.
I had no clearance problems either with the case or the big idler gear. If you have over .450 lift on a cam, the front lobe could interfere with the idler gear necessitating it be ground down a bit. Also as mb said you might get rear lobe interferences with the web in the case.
With your year Pan there is another problem. Most cams are designed to fit the later needle bearing case bushings which came out in 57. Thus, the journal that goes into the case bushing will be about .002" fat on your new cam. You can either install the needle bushing or as I did, have the .002 ground off the journal and retain the solid bronze bushing. I did that as I wanted to be able to revert to the stock cam if the #1 was a dud.
Another hassle is gear lash with the pinion gear. This could cause you to buy a new pinion gear (~$80) to match the new cam gear. I got around this by pressing off my stock gear and pressing it on to the new shaft.
My Pan is a 51 and had the old oilcan hydraulics (the ones built into the push rods) which had tanked so with the cam I also converted to solids. But the general consensus is that if you have the later hydraulics keep them, they soften the blow on the tappets. Speaking of which, while you are in there it is best to replace the tappet rollers. They are little grenades waiting to go off and scatter needle bearing all through your motor. Be sure to use a quality brand. No el cheepos.
I haven't had a lot of hours on the new cam but have noticed a marked improvement in performance especially when pulling grades. The acid test will come soon when start my commute over the Blue Ridge. I will post results after a while.
Good luck with the cam and good rides.
King
I just installed an Andrews #1 cam in my 51 FL. Andrews claims it is the "low compression version of the A". It was pretty much a bolt in operation.
I had no clearance problems either with the case or the big idler gear. If you have over .450 lift on a cam, the front lobe could interfere with the idler gear necessitating it be ground down a bit. Also as mb said you might get rear lobe interferences with the web in the case.
With your year Pan there is another problem. Most cams are designed to fit the later needle bearing case bushings which came out in 57. Thus, the journal that goes into the case bushing will be about .002" fat on your new cam. You can either install the needle bushing or as I did, have the .002 ground off the journal and retain the solid bronze bushing. I did that as I wanted to be able to revert to the stock cam if the #1 was a dud.
Another hassle is gear lash with the pinion gear. This could cause you to buy a new pinion gear (~$80) to match the new cam gear. I got around this by pressing off my stock gear and pressing it on to the new shaft.
My Pan is a 51 and had the old oilcan hydraulics (the ones built into the push rods) which had tanked so with the cam I also converted to solids. But the general consensus is that if you have the later hydraulics keep them, they soften the blow on the tappets. Speaking of which, while you are in there it is best to replace the tappet rollers. They are little grenades waiting to go off and scatter needle bearing all through your motor. Be sure to use a quality brand. No el cheepos.
I haven't had a lot of hours on the new cam but have noticed a marked improvement in performance especially when pulling grades. The acid test will come soon when start my commute over the Blue Ridge. I will post results after a while.
Good luck with the cam and good rides.
King