57 & older inner cam bushing/ bearing question

[Saintly]

Is there anything to prevent me from swapping to a torrington on my 53?

I see cams listed as 48-69, so I'm assuming the ID is the same. Any issues I should know about?

Thanks

[Cotten]

Saintly!

Having repaired cases damaged badly by this conversion gone wrong,
I advise against it.

There is little or no benefit anyway.

....Cotten

[Saintly]

Having repaired cases damaged badly by this conversion gone wrong....
....Cotten

So, judging by the fact that you used the word "conversion" I assume that the OD of the inboard bushing is different from that of the bearing?

I'm not dead set on putting a bearing in there mind you, its just that there is nothing in the hole at the moment, and I need to either buy a bushing or buy a bearing. I figure the bearing was better.

However, I am very curious now as to what the difference is case-wise.

Any knowledge shared is appreciated.

[Cotten]

Saintly!

The bearing is 1/16" fatter than the bushing.

A bushing is a simple thing that anyone with a lathe can custom-cut to fit the need, and quite often there is one; to fit a worn cam journal or take up endplay immediately comes to mind.
Bushings are forgiving of foreign particles and gentle upon the journals they bear. They can run far past their specs without a catastrophic failure. Their heat expansion is similar to the case around them.
Accomodating alignment problems frequently only requires a scraper.

Bearings are ok.

....Cotten

[Robert Luland]

My 48 case was a victim of exactly this. Some bone head tried to bore it out for the bearing and blew it. I had Carl Olsen weld it up and install the bushing. I think the only reason the MC went to the bearing was to speed up the line. You didn't have to fit anything. Bob L