I just wanted to drop a note here to comment on Engle's service.
I've used them several times, initially because they were the first one I got in touch with that was willing and able to carry on a real conversation about what I wanted to do. I spoke to just about everyone out there, large and small and once you got past discussing something they could punch in the computer to spit out the standard answer, they were lost.
I KNOW Comp and Crane and others have some very smart folks there, but it's pretty tough to find them at some of the larger places. The first time I called Engle, I got Mark Engle on the phone within a minute or two. The regular Tech guy said, "Hold on..you're past me....you need to talk to Mark". I thought that was great and Mark spent a good deal of time listening to what I had planned and what I thought I wanted. Made me feel pretty good when he essentially agreed with what I wanted and then spent the time to pick out the right lobes to match my request and build a custom cam.
I'm going to be honest here and admit that the first cam was screwed up. There was a machining problem. When I called back they immediately ground a new one and overnighted it to me that day! I can handle a screwup IF it is handled properly. They did fine.
So now I'm at the point of finishing up the HP upgrade for this year and I want to play with the cam some. I speak with Mark a couple of more times, he suggests some older lobes that aren't even in the catalog to think about. Recently they just came out with some brand new lobes that aren't listed yet either. The more I looked at the new ones, the more interested I was in a couple.
So I sent my old cam back to them April 11th (Friday) using normal ground freight to see if they could use it to re-grind it to what I wanted. I called yesterday (21st) to make sure they had received it and to see if they had a chance to look it over. I figured it probably took 'till Wednesday(15th) for them to get it. Mark went to check and came back to the phone. He said "Yes we got it, Yes we looked at it, Yes we could cut it, Yes we did cut it, and Yes we shipped it back out last Friday to you". (18th).
Considering there were two weekends involved here and me just using normal freight and just sticking a note in the box, I was very impressed with the overall service. Considering some of the horror stories I've seen here, I think an "attaboy" for some good 'ole personal Customer Service is appropriate.
For sure there are bigger companies out there, but they've been around a long time and grind some of the cams for some of the leaders out there from Top Fuel to Pro Stock. Plus lots of Sportsman racers and some of the well known engine builders. I know I made good power with the one I had and it had exactly the manners I asked for. If the new one does what I want this time I will be one happy camper! :D
Its good to know I'm not the only one that got a cam from a realitvely unknown company, Buttlet Cams. I actually spoke with the owner there. http://www.bulletcams.com
Sounds like Engle treated you well and I agree being able to talk one on one is invaluable!! They bent over backwards to make it right!
Jim - the whole problem on so called custom cams is: Every company has only so many lobe profiles in their computer banks. So if you ask for an extreme profile - Max lift open and a slower setting the valve back down. they only have a certian amount of degrees and lift per lobe depending on the base circle.
So bigger base circle more possible lobe lift. So they have all these profiles in 2, 4 ,8 degree possibilities. So when you call all these companies and ask for a custom billet cam with XXX amount of lobe lift you might get wild split durations or having to run some BS $100 carbon fiber dist. gear.
Comp Cams does not make their grindable blanks. They are a piss poor excuse for a company :U they promise you the world and then have to wait for the billet company to send them blankes for them to grind. It was right down the line from every company I talked to. Crane makes the blanks which others sell. But just spend lots of time and decide what you think you need and every one of them only has so many profiles. The LC is a moot point. But just don't ask for a certian degree @ .050 They only have lobes in 4-8 degree increments.
I ask for a 238/244 and they say well we have a 244/252 or a 234 248 or a 252/242 Then the scum at comp cams said that they would have just what i wanted in five days. 32 days later I have what I didn't order and it was $100 more plus a new set of $140 push rods to make them work.
I'm with you George... that's another reason I liked dealing with Mark. As we spoke he said "Hold on a minute" and went and dug out some old notebooks. What he came up with at first were some old race cam lobes from many years ago that were considered radical in their day, but with improved valvespring and head flow technology they are relatively mild by todays numbers. I was able to originally find what I needed by doing some combining of stuff too. What impressed me the most was his willingness to go look for them instead of saying just what you said...."these are close enough" type of an answer.
They had mentioned they were working on some new ones and they just got them finished. I actually used some of them to give them a try rather than the old ones, but I'm telling you, some of that old stuff ain't that bad!! They have always used a lot of non-symetrical lobes and inverted opening flanks to gain opening rate and then control it on the closing side. I think they were in front of a lot of folks years ago in that area.
During our first conversations he discussed all the issues a bunch of local guys hit that have to use flat tappet cams but want to run 8's with lots of NOS and then drive to the drive-in on the weekends. He is very pragmatic and will tell you what works and what won't very matter of factly. Which is much better than blowing smoke up you dress!! So the odds of a flat tappet cam able to run that fast and last forever is pretty small and he'll tell you. He'll tell you what's in his race car and what his buddies are using.
Just overall better to deal with someone who wants your business. He also never complained once about me wanting to regrind my cam instead of buying a new one. No pressure. He said sure no problem!
By the way, he also uses Crane blanks for the rollers. There are only a couple of folks making cores and Crane is about the only one that makes there own. The rest all buy from the same foundrys. In fact, if you notice, just about everyone offers cam lobes in the same ranges, very close to each other. But when you check Crane, they have lots more variations using their cores becasue they are designed to allow more.
I'm making progress, or at least as much as travel schedule allows!
Body is back on frame, Shortblock is together, new TTII's are mounted and installed with new long wheel studs, rear end is all done, line lock is installed and brakes are bled, layed out new carpet inside the other night to get wrinkles out, fuel tank sump is installed, gotta mount pump, filter and regulator and run fuel lines, looking at moving battery etc etc.
Still waiting on heads, but they are making progress as of last week. Gotta port intake still too. If I can get heads back I can have it assembled and dyno'd within a couple of weeks and driving not long after that. That's really all I'm waiting on. All this other stuff is pretty easy.
I'm ready..it hurts to have a convertible sitting in the garage dead during springtime!! Plus I need something that goes FAST!
Corvette Store
Great Service from Engle!!
