OK, next problem on my budget refurb on the 351W. I put the newly machined heads on and pulled the lifters to fill/lube them before installing & adjusting the valve train. All went well until I pulled #4's intake lifter and discovered it is dished/concave on the bottom - to the extent of .070".

On the 351 block you can't see the cam lobe for #4's intake through a drain hole, like you can on some other cylinders. And, looking straight down through the lifter bore makes it difficult to tell if the lobe is rounded. But, I am assuming that the fact that the lifter is dished means the cam is bad as well, although I am certainly open to persuasion to the contrary.

Assuming it is ruined, what recommendations do you have for a replacement given the following:

• This is a budget refurb! Money is an object.
• The heads have not been ported nor have the huge AIR bumps in the exhausts been ground out
• The heads are low compression with small valves & ports
• The intake is 2bbl and the carb is a 2150
• I want it to run well but wouldn't mind more torque

I will peruse the cam vendors web sites awa the catalogs I have, but am looking for your experience. And, again, this is all predicated on my assumption that the cam is a goner. Please advise.

 

Your cam is wiped, cam and lifters need to be replaced. How old is the cam? What was the breakin procedure? Or was this the original cam?

If you need cheap and every dollar counts, just get this and it is what it is. Should be maybe alittle more than stock but don't expect to be impressed or anything. It'll work and be fine for a daily driver. Basically I would consider this a stock replacement.
Summit Racing SUM-K4400 - Summit Racing® Cam and Lifter Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com

If it were me I'd probably go with a Comp XE 262/268. I've used this cam in several 289 and 302 builds. It has a noticeable idle and pulls good from fairly low. Will be fine with a stock converter if you have a slushbox. Should be alittle more mild in a 351 than a 289 or 302. Good all around cam for a daily driver with a bit more power and RPM than stock.
COMP Cams CL35-238-3 - COMP Cams Xtreme Energy Cam and Lifter Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com

Breakin procedure is critical. Run Valvoline VR1 for breakin and use a bottle of cam breakin additive for cheap insurance. I usually use the Comp Cams stuff since that's waht the local speed shop has on hand. They're all more or less the same, contain significant amounts of zinc and phosphorus. Be sure to liberally use moly lube on the cam lobes and lifter faces. Prime your oil pump before firing. immediate go to 2000 RPM and hold it at 2000+. Occasionally do long slow gentle sweeps to 2500 RPM then back down to 2000 slowly. Do this for 15-20 minutes. At the end do a few sweeps from 2000-3000 RPM slowly up and down, then bring it to an idle. You'll be fine if you follow this. Biggest thing is proper oil selection for breakin and use an additive. VR1 + additive. Don't use Rotella, don't use any other generic oil or diesel or or anything thinking it'll have good zddp and phosphorus numbers. If you use anything aside from VR1, check the numbers. VR1, regardless of weight, is in the 1200ppm/1300ppm zddp/phos ballpark. You want to be around there, definitely over 1000ppm of each. zinc cushions the metal on metal contact, and phosphorus carries the zinc to where it's needed.

 

Thanks for the help - although I was hoping you'd tell me the cam may be fine. But, I knew that wasn't to be.

Good to hear that the Comp Cams sticks work. I've run their program to check out various profiles. However, the cam you suggested would appear to be a bit much at first blush. The truck is auto (C6) w/a stock converter and AC as well, so I don't want too much cam. Also, the heads are rail rocker units and Comp Cams says .500" lift is the max that should be used w/them, so that cam is right on the limit.

The XE250H shows to drop 2 HP from the one you recommended (199 vs 201), but it gives me about 15 more ft pounds of torque (359 vs 341). Thoughts?

 

I just pulled the cam and lifters out of a 351W that I am stroking. The flat tappet lifters had virtually no wear. Cam appears to be in very good shape. E-mail me off line if you might be interested. ronbelldvm@gmail.com

 

With a 2 barrel intake and log manifolds you won't see a big difference in power. My choice of the 262/268 would be assuming a 4 barrel and some sort of header down the road. If that's not in the works for the truck, run the Summit cam or something else mild. The 250/??? stick you mention would probably be fine as well and possibly give slight improvements over stock. It will perform about the same as that first cam I mentioned.

As for lift, yes with rail rockers you need to keep lift around .500" max. That's why my choice would be the XE 262/268 over a more aggressive Lunati. Basically it boils down to what you want to do with the truck. If you have no plans for performance improvements then go with either the Summit cam or the XE 250/260.

 

The original plan for the truck was to get it into good shape and use it for some time. Then, when my father is done w/his '81 4x4, to swap beds since his is crunched, and sell this truck.

I THINK that's still the plan, but every once in a while I get the urge to restify it - inc 4 bbl, headers, paint job, etc. But, then reality sets in and I remember that the following need to be corrected long before paint:

• Replace the door gaskets as they are gone and it has to be kept indoors
• Replace the window trim as it is almost non-existent
• Get the driver's window to go up with the motor instead of ratcheting
• Replace the carpet that has a funky, moldy, awful smell from being wet for extended periods
• Get the parking brake working
• Speaking of brakes, turn the rotors to remove the shake
• Get the HVAC working - currently the fan spins but the air goes nowhere - probably due to having no vacuum to the "motors"
• Then, maybe get the AC to work? A bit of R12 replacement if I can find it
• What about the fuel gauge - shouldn't it work?
• And, why is the windshield so streaked by oxidized paint? It'll have to be polished out.
• And, how 'bout that rear tank? It SMELLS! And the valve doesn't work

Sorry for the laundry list, but maybe I'm trying to convince myself. Anyway, I think I'd rather wait on getting the '81 351M 4x4 to start w/headers, et al. Dad's 90 and still uses the truck every once in a while, so it won't be right now. But....

 

Sounds like all minor stuff to me. Beware if that '81 is a "holy frame" truck. These trucks are very flexy anyhow, but the frames with all those holes in them make me really nervous and I would avoid them. Pick your poison though. Keep in mind these '80-'86 are not too common anymore and most will have rust issue in the cab corners and such so if yours doesn't need much in the way of rust repair (sounds like you may need floor pans, which are cake) then it may be worth hanging on to. Also keep in mind hte 351m is not a great engine to get performance out of. I actually have one on my bench right now that I was porting the heads on, but a 351w will be cheaper and easier to get power from, and a 460 is crazy cheap power (easy conversion).

 

Thanks for the encouragement! I've heard what you are saying about the M, but I've also read that they respond well to headers as the exhaust manifolds are where the air injection bumps are. True?

On the other hand, I got 10 mpg out of the M when I borrowed it and Dad said that's pretty much what he's always gotten. On the other hand, this W has gotten 13 consistently over the several hundred miles I've had it. And, that's despite #2's intake and #3's intake & exhaust valves having been burned. In addition, that head had cracks in both #2 & #4. Further, you were right - the cam is wiped. #4 intake is down by .155" and #1's intake is down by .075". So, the passenger side bank was loafing.

I'll have to look at the frame on Dad's truck, but from memory it looks pretty much just like mine.