camshaft questions, and basic build set up, advice welcome.

[deaconfrost]

I own a 81 te72 wagon, this camshaft came with the car, to be honest I am still learning the technicalities and this car is my first full project. can someone help me identify what I am looking at? I understand the basics behind everything but could use some help.

I plan to bump up the compression, whether or not I shave the head or buy pistons I dont know yet.
I also am looking into carbs right now, stuck between a webber 32/36 or some sort of side draft set up. I have also ported and polished my intake manifold, I have stiffer valve springs and new valves (the valves came with the cam). and a 4 to 1 header ( I forget what brand). and I have also thought about boring the block out a bit, again I am a novice with the technicals so I am still researching this. I dont want to go turbo but want to squeeze a bit of umph out of this old, but wonderful engine.

please throw any and all advice my way, and I am glad to see there is still so much love for these old powerhouses!

[deaconfrost]

I should have stated, I have not put it in... yet.

[NME308]

Wow that is a grumpy cam that one! In the little 3TC it will sound HOT!
I have a turbo cam 18 degrees smaller which sounds a bit lumpy.

What do you know about the engine?
Maybe it already has more compression than stock? Best way to determine compression is with the head off & check the chamber cc's & piston dome or dish.
I am a tad more conservative than I used to be so if it will be street based I would look for 10:1 compression. If the measured compression ratio isn't high enough my preferred option to raise it is with pistons - they can be changed again later if you ever go another route...

You will definitely need a decent carb & header to let this baby breathe. If you don't know carbs I would look for someone in your area to take advice from & learn, use what type of carb they are a guru with. Or of course you can do it the fun way & jump in the deep end, buy a carb & learn it all as you go! I use Holley because I came from V8 circles & learned them...

You are going to need a heavy duty clutch & a sweet shifting gearbox to enjoy this properly.

Cheers,
Jason

[deaconfrost]

I know the engine is bone stock as it sits right now. I agree with you on the pistons for increasing compression, it seems like if i shave the head there is just more room for error, and you cant dial it back down. I know a bit about carbs, I am still reading up on them though, I will definitely try and find someone to help me out with that.

And the purpose of the car is street, with minor track use. its basically going to be a summer time baby. so it doesn't have to be really practical haha

I have 4 to 1 headers already, but am still trying to find the right clutch/flywheel set up, and carbs.
Thanks for responding!

[oldeskewltoy]

that cam could really use a static compression of about 12 to 1, to see the best results. Installing that in a otherwise stock engine will be disappointing.

[NME308]

that cam could really use a static compression of about 12 to 1, to see the best results. Installing that in a otherwise stock engine will be disappointing.

Correct to a point. He would then need to run race gas if he was doing anything other than putting gently around town.

Cheers,
Jason

[deaconfrost]

Haha 12 to 1 compression is a little more than I was thinking, I was looking at either 1.5 to 1 or 11 to 1, I need it to run on pump gas, doesnt matter to me if I need 94 octane though.

[oldeskewltoy]

Haha 12 to 1 compression is a little more than I was thinking, I was looking at either 1.5 to 1 or 11 to 1, I need it to run on pump gas, doesnt matter to me if I need 94 octane though.

You may get by with 10.5, or 11... My point was more that you NEED a compression bump to enjoy that cam... stock compression with that cam will cause poor operation.


12 to one compression doesn't require race gas unless the duration of the cam is too short. In essence we are discussing dynamic compression ratio. If you have a long duration camshaft, which this camshaft is (310 total, or 248 @ .050"), then you can likely run a compression ratio that is very high... and do it on pump gas.... the key is cylinder pressures based on the intake valve closing event

[NME308]

12 to one compression doesn't require race gas unless the duration of the cam is too short. In essence we are discussing dynamic compression ratio. If you have a long duration camshaft, which this camshaft is (310 total, or 248 @ .050"), then you can likely run a compression ratio that is very high... and do it on pump gas.... the key is cylinder pressures based on the intake valve closing event

If 12:1 compression doesn't require race gas (when giving it a hard time) then the engine is built all shades of wrong. If the engine cannot rev high enough to capture the cylinder pressure then it is inefficient and should not have said camshaft in it in the first place! I could write a small thesis on why the new school theory of dynamic cylinder pressure being lowered by large camshaft is doing it all wrong but here is not the place... Suffice to say that if you are deliberately blowing the charge out the exhaust or back up the intake before combustion to lower the cylinder pressure then the logic is non existent.

Cheers,
Jason