I have a flat spot on one loab of the cam in my 57 F-350 w/272. I need to know were I can go to get a mild cam for this engine. Right now only engine mod is mallory unilte dizzy.

Your help would be greatly appreciated,

Ben

 

there are many places to go.one is www.ford-y-block.com

 

O'reillys or Auto Zne parts stoe, either one, can oder that camsaft for you dear/ BTW, changge your lifters while you do the job////Janet

 

Any other web sites with a mild cam?

Ben

 

Have you tried JC Witney??? Its worth a try

 

If you are planning to use the truck for hauling, then don't go much past 256 degrees advertised duration and about .420" lift. Otherwise, you will start to lose bottom end. Don't skimp when purchasing a cam-especially for a Y. They are a chore to replace, so you ony want to do it once. Most people would suggest you find a set of lifters too. Clay Smith can grind you a really high quality camshaft (they have a website, but call them). You may pay about $50 to $100 more, but it will be worth it. Tell them you application and they can come up with a good match. I put a Clay Smith cam in my '56 F-100 that has the same specs as the one that came in the '57 245 horse 312 Fords. I am very happy wirth it.

 

j.c.witney doesnt keep much of anything anymore.nothing old.

 

I am planning on pulling the engine but not completly disassembling it. Is this a bad idea to try to recam like an inframe? Do you have the phone number for Clay Smith?

Ben

 

I agree that JC Whitney has gone to pot!!!! Sometimes you can get lucky though and vendors run a few things through them. But as discussed above, if you could get a cam for 100 to 150 dollars with lifters, it's worth it for sure!!!....I would remove the gril an radiator and do an inframe replace myself.......Janet

 

Clay Smith Tech Line: (714) 523-0530

There is another guy.. in Farmington, Utah I think, that grinds cams and has the lifters too. I don't think Clay Smith has lifters. The guy in Farmington is Nielson Cams- sorry, I don't remember his first name. I have talked to him over the phone a couple of times and he is a great source of information. He is anorther guy that can really gind one for your specific need. His phone is (801) 451-7745.

As far as replacing the cam in the truck, it can be done, but replacing the lifters will be very difficult. The trouble spot is the mushroom style lifters that are designed to come out the bottom-you can't remove them from the lifter valley. Before you actually pull the cam out of there, you have to secure all 16 lifters somehow in order to keep them from falling out. The factory manual shows re-worked clothes pins that have been narrowed so they grip the lifter barrel. The lifters need to be clean and oil free for this to work.

If the cam lobe was damaged, the face of the lifter is probably bad too. Your new cam won't last too long if the lifter is bad. So if you want to put new or re-faced lifters in there, you are better off pulling the motor. Even then, it will be tricky getting the new lifters in there with the crank and rods in the way. Sorry about that- not one of Fords better ideas I guess. Try calling Chrs Nielson (see I just remembered his first name!) He has built Y blocks in the past, and will surely have a comment or two..

Danny

 

Ben, it looks like these folks led you in the right direction, bat as one suggested, wow oh wow, do it right the first time, you don't want to have to do it again, and check for cam trust after you install it too, that is forward to rear movement, there should be only a little thrust. One good way to hold those lifters in is by applying vaseline on them, grease works, but it takes too long for the motor oil to get it out of the way after you start running your engine, hey, let me know how it works out, and good luck....Janet

 

Thrust is suggested at .004 inches.

 

I agree that 4k would be about right on that thrust, just a tiny bit basically..4 thousandths is such a tiny amonut on thrust, it is like taking a paper business card and cutting it in half, now we're are talking about hardly none inotherwords..Janet