Breaking in the cam
 

Hello
I have not posted here much in the past little while. I had hoped to be able to take my car out for a pass this fall, but work is very very slow and I would need to spend more money yet. I just don't feel comfortable spending anymore than I have been right now
This is from last night, my brother and a good friend is helping me out. The motor is loud even at 2,000 rpm. I just propped up a fuel cell/battery to run the motor. No leaks or bangs and lots of good oil pressure even when hot
This has been a long project(7.5 yrs) and I feel really crappy about not getting to make a pass, but all of us had big smiles on our faces after this
take care
Tom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55t7_J_yXrE

If I put a sticker on the car for each state and pc I bought off racingjunk from, you would not see much of the flame paint job. I bought quite a bit off this site and met many good people along the way. I have made a lot of friends with this build
Thanks to everyone who has helped me with advice or encouragment along the way

Sounds nice Tom,its been a long time coming.Keep up the good progress,there is always next summer to enjoy the car.

Great Job Tom,congrats

You are the man !...you have come a long way..i can remember that body stripped down to nothing with a bunch of fiberglass dust on it...lol.

take your time my man..comb that bad boy over the winter and come up screaming in the spring..besides now is the must fun times.

Brian

congrats Tom.

Re: Breaking in the cam
 

Tom you have absolutely nothing to be embassased about, you've taken the amount of time to finish the car that you could afford and that's what racing is all about. There's a lot of little guys out here including me, that don't have the money to put together cars in a hurry. So what if it's taken you yrs., you've done it and you're almost ready to run it and now it's time to go to the track. Guess what!!, it may not run like you want it too, but you are a surverior and it will get there. In my opinion you are the salt of the earth and people who make racing what it is today without the big sponsers..

Zip.

I look forward to finally driving thic car, but I fully expect a lot of things that I want different or have to fix. I have been buying lots of extra parts over the years, so I do have some things to play with and to change the combo a bit
It will be a constant learning experience that I look forward to. I will still have many question to ask in the furure from you guys on the forum
thanks for the comments
Tom

That car is kool.

Great work Tom .. it sounds great !!

i still dont believe in breaking a cam in, jusst dont understand the point its hardened steel, oil pump works at the turn of the crank, ect... :D

Nice !!! Congrats Tom !!! Dont worry about it just ENJOY IT !!! D.R.

Sounds and looks good.
You'll have plenty of time to get it perfect for this spring, no sense in rushing it now - take your time. You could use the extra time to tidy up the shop a bit though...lol J/K it looks just like mine and I bet you know exactly where everything is too.
My car took me 3 years to put together. A divorce, new job, new housing and the lack of funds prevailed over the car, but now I'm happy as a bug in the rug with it.
It was the first car I ever built that I didn't max out a credit card on.

BTW> Nice car - keep us updated, Cp

that Flat tappets is a y good idea to break in..thats why the pasty cutting grit comes with the flat tappets so you put on the bottom of the lifter so the lifter seats with the cam lobes...they do cut down a certain degree..

rollers are a different story...i agree with you...but always a good idea to get heat in motor and seat rings..i think many of us old timers still refer to this as "breaking in cam" even if it really means seating rings with a roller...imo :D

hell rings take a lot longer than a lot of guys think . it depends on the rings
there are so many now days
remember when it was (chromeoly,or standard?)lol

the pasty cutting grit
my cam came with sticky red lube ,no past, never seen past stuff
they did say use plenty of the lube everywhere
to keep from scorching or burning things on start up
but thats why ya prime the motor with the screwdriver in the pump first lol

ppl havent thought right in this country for a long time-cant explain it but double ,and trippl think ,and check every thing

I didn't even have a credit card for almost 12 years. Da* if I didn't make up for lost time with my new ride!!

Tom nice car and you'll enjoy more for all the years of labor. But to be honest guys I would have a stroke if it took me more than a few months to build anything!

here is some paste they put out now..back in the early 80's this paste came in a small round container like the lip balm ( carmax) ..it was grey and nasty.

http://www.streetperformance.com/par...862-35000.html

the Gray Gritty paste i am thinking of is the seating compound used on valve jobs..


Both compunds looked very similar..the grit being for the valve jobs

also here is Crane Cams Procedures and explanation of a flat tappet cam break in.

ttp://www.cranecams.com/pdf/548e.pdf

bud that's not gritty though it says lubricant lol
comp cams is red and sticky-or was,and helps out

(Do not use on piston rings or cylinder walls)

wait a minuet - dont they know or realize its going in the oil,and will end up on the pistons?-hahahaha
:roll:

really...lol :D