Im building a 429 for my 78 F-250 SuperCab 4x4. Ive got a Crane roller 359341. I degreed my cam last night and the intake centerline is at 111* with the timing straight up. According to Crane its supposed to be at 109*. I set the timimg to +4* advanced and the intake centerline came to 106*. Do I get shims to set the degree it in to 109* or is 111* close enough? The truck will be used for towing so low end power and economy are important. Would it be any better to go with the 106* setting? Or should I skip the intake centerline method and try degreeing it with the duration method and see what I come up with there? I would be interested in any suggestion.

 

I don't see any point in degreeing a cam except to verify that the specs match the cam card. Have you degreed the exhaust side as well? If it is also off 2 degrees in the same direction then you know the cam alignment pin is off slightly. This isn't a big deal IMO, I'd still install it straight up, you'd need a dyno to see the difference this would make.

 

I talked to a different Crane tech and he advised not to use the centerline method to find the intake centerline. I will try the +.050 method tonight to see what I get. He also told me the intake centerline is supposed to be 107 as noted on the 'max lintake lift @ .050' on the cam card. He also told me how to figure the lobe separation from the cam card. It is supposed to be 112 which I confirmed last night for cylinder #1.

 

According to my cam card @ .050 intake lift I should be at 1* BTDC. With my crank gear set 4* advanced and @ .050 intake lift Im at 2* BTDC. Also at this setting Im 1* off using the centerline method. I think I will keep it here.

 

I would let 1 deg go, but 2 deg I'd fix.

 

How are you determining TDC? Piston stop or dial indicator? FWIW, I ALWAYS degree my cams. I've found faulty timing sets (SA Gear, who makes Manley, Comp, Crane, etc.). Using a dial indicator to find TDC can leave you off by a few degrees since there is some dwell at TDC. A postive stop is a better method.

Pete

 

I used a dial indicator. Its all set now so we will see how it runs then I get the motor installed.