howards cam
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Ohio
howards cam
Just looking around at future upgrades for my 390. It's in a 75 f100 4x4. Any of you heard of this brand? cam any good? would i need to replace anything if i got this and put it in?
Howards Cams 250021 - Howards Cams Max Efficiency Camshafts - Overview - SummitRacing.com
Howards Cams 250021 - Howards Cams Max Efficiency Camshafts - Overview - SummitRacing.com
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Joined: Dec 2005
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Howard's Cams and Racing products is a company based out of Oshkosh, WI. I have not used there products yet, but local people like to buy from them. I do know someone who had a cam and lifters and pushrods from them, and he told me they set him up with everything he needed for is engines, and had really good tech service.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Ohio
Yea from what it looks like they may not be too big of a company, which in turn can be a very good thing. I'm not getting anything like this yet, but it's caught my interest for something to buy next year for next years muddin season. My main concern is if i'd have to buy stuff such as new springs and what not, cause it looks like nothing get's to intense with this cam, but that's my wag.
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As for the cam choice, The stock FE springs can handle around .500 in of lift so this cam would fine with stock replacment springs if on the iron head. If your are going with aftermarket heads I would not worry. It doesnt sound like this cam is too radical so you could get away with stock replacement parts.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Ohio
Yea i'd love to just build this engine from the bottom to the top for a strong mud running truck. But i'm in college, and i work at pizza hut and make almost no money anymore, so a simple cam like this should just give me simple improvements but still noticeably better than stock right now. My engine is an FT engine where the intake goes under the valve covers, if that helps to tell if i have iron heads or not. Are you saying I NEED springs or I should get them to be safe?
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FE and FT are two different engines. The FT was 361 and 391 cu. These were Fords industrial truck engines. Your 390 is out of a F100 so my bet is that this is a true FE we are dealing with(Iron heads are just the stock cast iron heads). Some parts interchange between FE and FT.
I would suggest to replace your valve springs, just to make sure your have nice new components, The valve trian is one place i would not want to have bad parts in. If you are really tight for money you could get away with the old valves. For the sake of discussion, lets say your stock cam has .474in of lift, now for who knows how many years have those stock springs been pushed down to .474in of lift. This work hardens the springs and will make them more willing to fatiuge and break with a new cam that is pushing them further. Now the cam you want has .484 in of lift, so its not that much more lift, but your new springs will last longer and function better then your used ones. And valve springs can be had for a fairly cheap price. Sorry for the longer post but the more you know the better you will be off when building your engine. Take care
I would suggest to replace your valve springs, just to make sure your have nice new components, The valve trian is one place i would not want to have bad parts in. If you are really tight for money you could get away with the old valves. For the sake of discussion, lets say your stock cam has .474in of lift, now for who knows how many years have those stock springs been pushed down to .474in of lift. This work hardens the springs and will make them more willing to fatiuge and break with a new cam that is pushing them further. Now the cam you want has .484 in of lift, so its not that much more lift, but your new springs will last longer and function better then your used ones. And valve springs can be had for a fairly cheap price. Sorry for the longer post but the more you know the better you will be off when building your engine. Take care
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Ohio
Oh i'd prefer the longer responses as long as they are helpful with my topic. First off, would it make any difference for this cam if my engine were in fact a 391? cause i searched for stuff for a 390. Second, where/ how do i find a set of valve springs? I looked on summit as always and couldn't find any for the 390...
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I am not too good with knowing the differences between the FE and FT engines. I think the only differences is the crank and the heads on the FT. I cannot say for sure if a FE cam willl work in a FT (might need to start another post for this question). I think the blocks are the same and it should work.
I did a search for valve springs at autozone and found a whole bunch. Here is a set of Edelbrock valve springs for a stock 390 FE part # 5806 They are like $70 for a set of 16.
Alot of times performance stores like jegs or summit will show the valve springs based on measurments, like (outer diameter, spring hieght, spring pressure, spring bind height) and you as the customer have to determine which spring will work for you. You can also ask the tech line for summit and they would help too. Hope this helps.
I did a search for valve springs at autozone and found a whole bunch. Here is a set of Edelbrock valve springs for a stock 390 FE part # 5806 They are like $70 for a set of 16.
Alot of times performance stores like jegs or summit will show the valve springs based on measurments, like (outer diameter, spring hieght, spring pressure, spring bind height) and you as the customer have to determine which spring will work for you. You can also ask the tech line for summit and they would help too. Hope this helps.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Ohio
Okay I searched the part number you gave me at summit for kicks and giggles, and found the same ones as at autozone, but about $14 bucks cheaper. So if I seriously only pay under $150 for a cam/spring swap and i'm good to go, then i might just go ahead and do this for sure next year.
FE "Freakin Expensive"
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From: Smith Mountain Lake, VA
Well first off a dollar to a donut unless the motor has been changed in your 75 4x4 its a 360 in it..they didnt put 390's in from the factory in a 4x4...second of all the springs are stock springs are good for about a .550" lift if there in good shape.. But only a spring tester would know for sure.. 3rd off..I havent heard of many running a howard cam in sometime..Most run Comp cams or Crane cams..Or have a cam grinder that knows FE's do a special grind for there particular build or set=up...
I dont know your build as I didnt read it at 4:30am.. But your not going to get much out of a aftermarket cam with at least headers and an intake change..a cam is meant to get more air in to make more power..and if you cant get the air in via the intake..or cant get the air out via the exhaust...It wont do much good..
Side note...that so called 1996 ford that in the avatar..isnt a 1996..
I dont know your build as I didnt read it at 4:30am.. But your not going to get much out of a aftermarket cam with at least headers and an intake change..a cam is meant to get more air in to make more power..and if you cant get the air in via the intake..or cant get the air out via the exhaust...It wont do much good..
Side note...that so called 1996 ford that in the avatar..isnt a 1996..
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