Yes I did know it was over 10 yrs old, that's why I titled it " the mother of all thread bumps" thanks for noticing. Why start a new thread if the information I am seeking is similar to the original thread? Can't please everyone I guess.
Thanks for the info on the cam degrees tho I appreciate it. I have been trying to wrap my head around for a while now and looked everywhere with no straight answer. Thanks again!

 

Hey, getting some pretty snarly answers, sorry.

First of all, Mr. Bubba says there was NO camshaft retard when the 335 engines went into trucks, and those on the board say he's the king of knowledge. He also says it was built into the stock timing set (crank gear) of those engines that got it.

Now on to your question and here's my answer.....IF you can do it, degreeing in a cam is the BEST way to know exactly where the cam is. Keyways and timing marks are supposed to be precise and in about 80% of cases they are doggone close. Every once in a while they're not.

But first you have to make sure that Top Dead Center is actually where it's marked on your damper, this is for later but best to do it with the engine with heads off. It can be done with heads on using a piston stop that screws into the spark plug hole. With heads off you use a piston stop that sticks down into the bore. Actually, even if you decide to just install the cam dot-to-dot, it is useful to have checked TDC on the damper.

When you come to degree in the cam there are a lot of tutorials that'll take you through it. Most performance street cams are ground so that when installed dot-to-dot the intake lobe is 4 degrees advanced. So if you install the cam and use the 4A keyway, the cam will actually be 8 degrees advanced. Most cams should be installed at the 0 mark if all the machining is what it is supposed to be.

PM me if you have further questions about this. Come prepared with model numbers and manufacturers of your component timing set and camshaft.

R.

 

I don't know that the cam or timing set was retarded, but I do know a buddy just put an aftermarket timing set on w/o replacing the cam and says it is a different engine. MUCH stronger. 1981 400 w/a stock cam.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I was going to just slap it in initially, but now I will wait till I rebuild it so I can do it right, on a stand, with the heads off.


Thanks again