Fellas - it all sounds to good be true...when I was 18, all I had was a copied sheet of 8.5 x 14 piece of paper that had items for sale from Red's Headers, I couldn't find anything but them for hi-po parts for the Y. [Now, believe me, my stock looking 272 well tuned 55 Club Sedan ran well enough to bury the speedo - YES! it is true, and the mph had to be close to actual - just ask my brother Mike, he turned as white as a sheet! all this on I-95 in Northern Virginia too.] But I wanted to do a little more as I start getting this thing back on the road.

After a long haiatus, it is time to get back to tooling around with my Y block - from what my wife and kids have seen of the car and as my 4 year old son puts it "daddy's rusty car parts", they are ready for a ride (don't know if they are quite ready for the rumble --though something tells me my son will like it!) in the 55. My 312 crank has been ground down to 292 mains, and the rods to .040, have gathered rods (courtesy of the Hurricane), pistons, bearings, hi ratio rockers, big 4 barrel intake, C heads, a few blocks (that's my next machine shop visit), and various other items - gasket set, water pump, carb kit, etc. But, I know the cam is sort of the heart of what we're doing here - so Mummert's going to get some more business.

By the way, if my rookie build goes according to plan (or even if it doesn't), I am looking at an model T an acquaintence of mine has and a stroker kit from Mummert for one of those other 292's I got lying around!

You don't know how much this web site and contact with some of you gurus out there have helped me out!

Dan

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

Daniel,

       Further to what Hoosier said, John has a tie up with Bruce Crower, and access to his knowledge. Which is considerable. He also has a ton of experience with Y's and knows what works with what combination. If you are honest with him about what you want, you'll get a cam that works. Y blocks are somewhat different from the belly button motors in this department. Guys like Ted, john Feistritzer and Jerry C  can almost look at cam specs and tell you how the cam will work in your combo. Also, back to Mummert, there are newer better cam profiles than we had in the 50's. They check the same as older profiles, but rev higher and make more horsepower. If you're good, I'll tell you how I know, then I'll have to kill you!!

                                                                Frank 

Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart) 

Daniel:

You will find John to be a straight shooter.  Going in, tell him what your engine is and what you intend to do with it, let him recommend a cam.  A lot of people over the years have picked a cam from a catalog, and ordered it because it has the most duration or the idle sound they want or a reputation on the track, and find it was too much for their application.  I have always preached to let the cam supplier make the choice.

John

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Fellas, I am going to go with Mummert. From what I can tell, most folks have been very, very satisfied and have recommended him time and again.

Dan

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

Daniel,If I were going to the trouble of changing cams I'd go at least something bigger than a small 245 hp.I'm sure John Mummert would match up a good combo for you. These engines can handle at least 224@.050 with a running dur. of 264 to 270 in a stock build and using a stock torque converter.

-Gary Burnette-

fellas, I am getting ready to order a mild cam, and I am debating over whether or not to get the 245hp version from Schumann's or if I should get a mild cam from Mummert. I take it I should get my cam bearings from whatever parts man I order from? Would that help the cam and bearing situation?

Dan

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

Hey John,  No I didn't take the cam with me when I had the block boiled out and the cam bearings installed.  I wasn't aware that cam bearings came in undersizes.  I'm sure you're correct about the Ford engine plant not honing out the cam bearings on each engine, that would be way too labor intensive.  I think the new cam blanks are just finished to a larger size, don't know why.  I know that John Mummert says that all cam grinders get their Y block blanks from the same source.

Daniel, If you are trying the fit of your cam bearings on the cam before they are pressed into the block, then I think they will be loose.  Once they are pressed into the block, they will have a smaller I.D.  Check the fit of the cam in the bearings once they are in the block.  The main thing, if the fit is OK, is to make sure the oil holes are aligned properly.  The center one is the most critical of course, because the oil from it goes up to the rocker arms if it is installed properly.  By the way, my old stock cam with the 1.915" journals only had about 15-20 thousand miles on it, so I think the size must have been close to original.  Engine had good oil pressure.  Good luck, Nick

Nick:

Did your machinist by chance have your old cam when he ordered the bearings?  This is the reason I ask.  I just looked in my NAPA bearing catalog and found that cam bearings are available in .002, .010, .020, and .030 undersize.  I knew production rebuilders reground camshafts, but I always assumed they only ground the lobes.  Apparently not true.  So if your machinist measured your old cam to buy bearings, and if it was reground .010 under, that's the problem.

I personally doubt if Ford installed semi finished bearings and align bored them in production.  Having retired from the production sector, that would be considered unnecessary extra labor.  Finish bored blocks and precision bearings properly installed would be the norm.  They didn't bore the main and rod bearings after they were installed.  Small block Fords have cam bores progressivly smaller from front to rear.  I can visualize a multi sized mandrel pressing all 5 cam bearings in at once.

John

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Nick,



The journals on my new Isky cam measure 1.926", but the Durabond bearings are a sloppy, slip-on fit. If the cam bores were aligned, and the bearings not installed improperly, I wouldn't anticipate a problem. I will check the cam for runout to be safe.

I wonder if your OEM cam started out smaller, or could it have lost journal OD from normal wear? Anybody out there have a NOS Ford cam they could measure?

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Hi Daniel,  When I was overhauling my 312 I also had trouble getting the cam to fit with new bearings.  Mine are also the Durabond brand.  I brought the block home from the machine shop, and the new cam (Schneider) wouldn't go in.  My old stock cam would go in just fine.  So I measured the cam journals; the stock cam measured 1.915" and the new Schneider measured 1.925".  So there was 10 thousandths difference, no wonder the new cam wouldn't fit.  I cut  grooves in the old cam and tried to enlarge the new bearings, waste of time.  So I took the new cam and the block back to the machine shop and they honed the bearings out so that the cam would fit.  It was a snug fit, but 9,000 miles later it is still doing fine.  My machine shop owner is 60+ years of age, he also said that Ford machined the bearings out after they were installed in the block at the factory.  Anyway I don't think that you've got a crooked cam, it's a matter of larger journals on the replacement cam vs. bearing diameter.  Good luck, Nick