Jughead

I'm at the point in my BB assembly where I've read & heard that this is where you "degree" the cam. Is this part absolutely necessary? I don't like the prospect of purchasing a Camshaft Degree Kit, which I've seen advertised for $130, when I'll probably use it once. :cry

thanks
Len :chevy

Jvette73

Not absolutly nessisary. Most cams have some advance already ground in to offset any machining differences. In most situations its not needed. But a serious racer would always want to know exactly where everything is to get the max power for his particular intended use. If you really wanted to do it, you could always buy a degree kit for $130 , use it once, then sell it for $100. I think $30 would be worth knowing for sure.

norvalwilhelm

While is is not necessary I always do it. I don't change anything from the cam card but I do verify that everything is right on. In the dozens over the years that I have done I have never found one off.
There has got to be cheaper degree wheels then $130. As for a dial indicator any good tool box needs ones, even for doing breaks. Start gathering your tools now.
I have found that I aligned the wrong marks and the cam did not match the card so luckily I found it before buttoning the motor up. If I had not degreed the cam I would have tried to start a motor that could have bent valves.

DavidOrr

Like jvette said, you could always buy the kit then sell it after the fact. SummitRacing has one for $85.

http://store.summitracing.com/produc...earchtype=ecat

If you don't want the whole kit you can buy the wheel at:

http://store.summitracing.com/produc...earchtype=ecat

I did not degree my cam when installing, wish I would have just to verify. I have purchased the wheel and had planned on checking mine, however I've put the car up for sale instead.

Good Luck -David


[Modified by DavidOrr, 8:22 AM 7/13/2003]

Tomi72

I did the cam degreeing this weekend on my new engine. Seems that set straight up my cam was 2 degrees retarded from the specs. Don't know how common that is and how much effect it would have had, but I turned the multi key way crank sprocket to correct this and now it is dead on.

I allready had the dial indicator and magnetic base and I managed to borrow the degree wheel from the shop where I get all my parts so there was no cost involved. If you are considering bying a kit the dial indicator and base have other uses too like measuring crank endplay or how deep pistons are in the bore, checking brake disk runout etc.

rgds Tomi

theandies

Do it just for your own peace-of-mind. Cam cards can be wrong and you'll feel a whole lot better if you catch a wrong cam card now with the engine on a stand. You can also find others that are using the same cam and see if they did any "tricks" to liven up the engine a little more. Degreeing a cam is essential part of any buildup IMO.
:cheers:

dman535

The cam timing being off a few degrees is going to move the power band up or down. I don't know that a one or two degree variance is going to be noticeable when you drive the car.

norvalwilhelm

theandies, How is degreeing a cam going to show the cam card is wrong? I degree a cam to make sure I installed it right according to the card. As for tricks I feel the cam manufacturer wants his cam to show it's best so he has already ground the specs he wants already into the cam.

Corey_68

Len, my dad quit degreeing cams years ago and that is who I learned from. If I want to advance or retard the cam, I just turn the distributor, simple as that.

:cheers:

bence13_33

I agree with Corey. I did not degree my camshaft and everything is A-OK.

Flareside

Len, it all depends on how far you want to take tuning and how much you want to know about your engine. Do you want to know exactly when your intake valve opens, exactly how much overlap you have, or exactly how close your valves are to the piston at certain engine positions? If not, 99% of the time you'll be ok just lining up the dots. If you want to just bolt it together and run it, that's all you really need to do.

Some guys want to control and fine tune every valve event to maximize performance, and that's hard to do if you don't know and understand exactly what's happening inside to create the performance you're current experiencing.

Jughead

Norval, Bence, Corey, Flareside and all, thanks for the response. No I really am not that interested in the valves opening & closing etc. I keep trying to tell myself that this all started as a budget rebuild. :rofl: And I don't think I really need to know if my cam is off a couple degrees that can't be countered with the distributor.

Flareside

Sounds good Len. If you change your mind, you can borrow my wheel and dial indicator. :D

FYI, you cannot modify or correct bad cam timing in any way via the distributor. Cam position controls the opening and closing of the valve in relation to the crank, not ignition timing.

theandies

Simple! Wrong cam card for the cam that came in the box. I have seen it before. I'm just saying it's better to degree it so you know everything is correct. Cam/Card/Clearances....the whole 9 yards. :seeya

69stingray

Yes, that way you know it is right. Money and time well spent.

BB wowbagger

Whats the best way to measure the piston/valve motion.I mean,so the valve dont hit the piston..I`ve heard that you put some "clay" on the pistontop and turn the crank and then measure the inprint on the piston :confused: :cheers:

A C

:iagree: My stepfather owns a race engine shop and I talked to him about cam degreeing. He basically told me the same thing Norval just said. He has degree'd hundreds or maybe thousands of camshafts and there were never any out of spec. He said it's nice to know it's right though...he has to put his name on the bill. :D

mxzx turbine

Corey, FYI, when checking cams it is in relation to crank shaft, you can't change cam timing by changing distributor timing. Retarding and advancing cam timing in relation to piston position can and does make a big difference.

:party:

norvalwilhelm

I'm glad some of you jumped on Corey's mistake about retarting or advance the timing in the distributor for cam timing. :)

Flareside

BB wowbagger, if you want to know how much piston to valve clearance you have with your current cam, the modelling clay will work great. No problem at all.

Cam degreeing takes it a bit farther. How about if you measure .200 with your clay, then want to advance your cam 4 degrees to shift the power peak? Can you do it without worrying about a valve collision? It's all about how deep you want to go and how much you want to mess with things. Personally, I want to understand as much as possible about my engine, and then adjust things accordingly. After all, this is a hobby, not work... :yesnod: