My cam numbers!

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AZ-Nick

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Well I finally have time to dig into the 340 that came in the Dart I bought and I pulled out the cam to see what it could be.
There are 2 sets of numbers on the end so I am guessing it could be a regrind.
270AH-8
7085
It definitely is NOT a Comp Cam 270AH, this cam sounded like a step above a stock cam.

IMG_5494.jpeg
 
Originally it was probably something like .477/.480 224 and 230 @.050 on a 108. I don't know anything about the "7085" so that's all we have to go on unless you put the wheel on it. You could measure the lift with dial calipers and get a guess there.
 
Probably 270* adv duration, 108 LSA, hyd. The other number is probably a date code or serial #.
 
If that number is LIKE a Hughes(Engle) Cam,
then PERHAPS, it is a 270/285/108 cam..
The events of the stock cam, in at 110 (4* advanced) are;
268/116 comp /104 Power /276 exh /44overlap /Ica of 64*.. The cam in question COULD be;
270/118.5 comp/108Power/285exh/61.5 overlap/ Ica of 61.5* If you have enough Scr, to pull that off, that could be a real nice cam, in every arena. If the lobes are still good, I'd run that in a heartbeat, installed at about 106.5. With headers, I'd probably shift it around 5600 max with a 4-speed, but with an auto, I'd rev it a couple hundred higher. Remember, I'm speculating.
Set up as above;
the Ica is only 2.5 degrees different from the stock 340 cam, so it will make similar CCP,
but the Power is 4* greater, which speaks to better fuel economy;
and the EFFECTIVE overlap is 57 compared to 40, so it's gonna make more absolute power, and idling at ~700 it will sound about 2 cam sizes bigger, which because it's all in the overlap, that's a good thing. But, because of all that overlap, for economy, that engine will want to cruize at a higher rpm; Ima thinking at least 2400, which translates to maybe 3.23s for 65=2614.
>I don't think that combo can touch my personal best of 32mpgUS, lol, but Ima thinking 20Plus mpg is doable, if the chassis is willing;
>but you'll have to run enough cruize rpm and TIMING to keep the intake clean.
>This cam NEEDS headers to get the best out of it. I wouldn't even think of running it with logs.
>Overdrive will not net you much better mpg, unless you get the rpm back up, lol..
I'm liking those imaginary cam specs.

BTW
if you retarded this imaginary cam to, in at 109, the new numbers are;
270/ 116/110.5/285/ Ica of 64, but the EFFECTIVE overlap is now 52*, so she's now sounding about a size and half hotter than the stock 340 cam, but the compression is now same as as the 340 cam, whereas the Power extraction is now a vastly better, 110.5. So it looks like the cam gave up a lil absolute power, and a few psi cylinder pressure, to get more mpgs.
Yes, at the price of gas today, I'd have no problem to run it at 109. if I had the cylinder pressure to spare.
This cam is like the Holy Grail of street cams; you can move it around quite a bit to target what you want it to do. I mean, If you had the pressure to spare, you could retard it another 2>4 degrees, and pick up even more fuel economy and still have a tad more Effective overlap than the Stock cam.
The more I play with this cam, the more I like it. Boy, where is an auto-cam-phaser when you need it.
 
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If that number is LIKE a Hughes(Engle) Cam,
then PERHAPS, it is a 270/285/108 cam..
The events of the stock cam, in at 110 (4* advanced) are;
268/116 comp /104 Power /276 exh /44overlap /Ica of 64*.. The cam in question COULD be;
270/118.5 comp/108Power/285exh/61.5 overlap/ Ica of 61.5* If you have enough Scr, to pull that off, that could be a real nice cam, in every arena. If the lobes are still good, I'd run that in a heartbeat, installed at about 106.5. With headers, I'd probably shift it around 5600 max with a 4-speed, but with an auto, I'd rev it a couple hundred higher. Remember, I'm speculating.
Set up as above;
the Ica is only 2.5 degrees different from the stock 340 cam, so it will make similar CCP,
but the Power is 4* greater, which speaks to better fuel economy;
and the EFFECTIVE overlap is 57 compared to 40, so it's gonna make more absolute power, and idling at ~700 it will sound about 2 cam sizes bigger, which because it's all in the overlap, that's a good thing. But, because of all that overlap, for economy, that engine will want to cruize at a higher rpm; Ima thinking at least 2400, which translates to maybe 3.23s for 65=2614.
>I don't think that combo can touch my personal best of 32mpgUS, lol, but Ima thinking 20Plus mpg is doable, if the chassis is willing;
>but you'll have to run enough cruize rpm and TIMING to keep the intake clean.
>This cam NEEDS headers to get the best out of it. I wouldn't even think of running it with logs.
>Overdrive will not net you much better mpg, unless you get the rpm back up, lol..
I'm liking those imaginary cam specs.

BTW
if you retarded this imaginary cam to, in at 109, the new numbers are;
270/ 116/110.5/285/ Ica of 64, but the EFFECTIVE overlap is now 52*, so she's now sounding about a size and half hotter than the stock 340 cam, but the compression is now same as as the 340 cam, whereas the Power extraction is now a vastly better, 110.5. So it looks like the cam gave up a lil absolute power, and a few psi cylinder pressure, to get more mpgs.
Yes, at the price of gas today, I'd have no problem to run it at 109. if I had the cylinder pressure to spare.
This cam is like the Holy Grail of street cams; you can move it around quite a bit to target what you want it to do. I mean, If you had the pressure to spare, you could retard it another 2>4 degrees, and pick up even more fuel economy and still have a tad more Effective overlap than the Stock cam.
The more I play with this cam, the more I like it. Boy, where is an auto-cam-phaser when you need it.
I don’t believe this cam is a 270 at this time, I believe it was reground to something else milder. I was told that there is a place in town that will take measurements of the cam and spec it out for me but I’m not sure if that’s what I want to do because I’m not going to install it back into my engine.
 
If you think it was reground then you def have to put it a block and measure or take (or send it) it somewhere to measure it.
 
factory 340 cam had 268/ 276 duration
Yes I agree but the Comp 270AH-8 has 108 lobe sep angle and I may not be cam savvy but I think this sounds like 112. When I purchased this car and checked the timing it was at 24 initial. I have a video I posted on this site months ago and I will look for it.
 
I would believe that could be the comp magnum 270 if it sounds like that at 900 rpm
I just went to Comp’s site and looked at the 270 specs and somehow I made a mistake in reading it or I looked at a different cam. I thought it was a 236/238 108 but I just confirmed that it is a 224/224 110. So I guess it could be a real 270AH. I guess if I were sell it at least I now can say that it could be.
 
The 270AH cam is in my Comp catalog in the 'Special Purpose Cams' section. 270/280 adv duration, 224/230 @ 050; 108 lsa
 
I just went to Comp’s site and looked at the 270 specs and somehow I made a mistake in reading it or I looked at a different cam. I thought it was a 236/238 108 but I just confirmed that it is a 224/224 110. So I guess it could be a real 270AH. I guess if I were sell it at least I now can say that it could be.
thats a good cam with 3.91s or 3.23s with rhoads lifters
 
If
your cam turns out to be a 270/280/108, the intake side is about the same as was my Hughes 270/276, but at 108LSA, the exhaust side is better. and with more overlap for absolute power.
This cam, in at 107, the big picture is
270/118/111/280/59* overlap/Ica of 62* .....Mine, when in at 109, was
270/116/111/276/53* overlap/Ica of 64*
Notice that power extraction is the same 111*, and overlap is down 6* on mine With that combination of events, I got fantastic hiway fuel-economy with it.
For comparison,
Here is the 340 cam, in at 108*(+4),
268/116/104/276/44* overlap/ Ica of 64* This cam sucked gas, not because of too much overlap, cuz the manifolds pretty much killed the overlap, but for the lack of Power-Extraction. Compare the above 340 cam, which we know is a gas-hog, to yours
270/118/111/280/59* overlap/Ica of 62* .
The two big deals here are 7* in Power extraction, and 15* in overlap.
As to economy;
The extra 7* is helping your cam, but the 15* overlap is not.
As to power;
the extra 7* are NOT helping whereas the extra 15* overlap is.
IMO, this is a pretty good trade off for most of us.

And finally,
here is a 318 cam, in at 108;
240/132/120/248/20* overlap/Ica of 48*. This is about the smallest cam ever.
Notice the Power extraction is 120*, and overlap is just 20*.. Those two are responsible for the fuel economy of the 318.
In my experience, 120 is excessive and 20* with logs, is dead.
IMO, 112 and up to 40overlap, are still gonna make great economy, even with headers.
In my experience; 111 and 52 Effective can still work, down at 2100, and with headers. I proved it.
In my experience; 105 and 61 overlap are hopeless at making fuel economy no matter what the rpm; I proved it.
IMO; that 59* overlap is gonna mess up the intake and reduce fuel economy, even tho the power extraction is up at 111*.
For Economy with reasonable power, then
somewhere between 53* overlap and 61* is where badchit happens in the intake, and somewhere between 111 to 105 Power extraction, more badchit happens.
IDK which is worse, but I know that cruising at a higher rpm, cleans up the intake of a long- overlap period. and power extraction of more than say 114, IMO is more than a streeter wants, cuz it restricts the other numbers too much.
IMO, the Power-extraction window for a streeter should be like 110* +/-2. and
IMO, a good overlap target might be 54,+/-4
To get them both on the same cam, will likely need a 110LSA or maybe a lil less.
If your engine is short on Scr, and you want to keep your power, yur gonna have to compromise.

The thing to remember is that at cruising speed with a V8, the engine is heavily throttled. So how much Cylinder pressure it is capable of making is not at issue. While cruising, your EFFECTIVE Scr might be down at 4/1. If your engine requires less, then you will close the throttle. If it needs more, then you will open the throttle.
Therefore can a 318 still cruise at 8/1Scr with a modest 135psi.
If you pump your engine up to 185 CCp, but it only requires 80 psi to cruise , then you will need to run the throttles nearly closed, and the extra pressure is good for nothing. Well almost, If you simultaneously reduce the rear gear, then the cruise-rpm goes down, and with it goes the torque. To get it back, at your chosen cruising speed, you need more cylinder pressure, so you are gonna have to open the throttle more.

And that is how you get into trouble, cuz opening and/or closing the throttle changes the fuel-delivery and Cruise-Timing requirements. and there comes a point where the neither carb nor the distributor can keep up. You then need a computer. By experience, I find this point to be about 1800>2100 rpm, depending on the Cam in my 367. I like my Power, so 2100 is already too low for my cam. Apparently the factory thinks that 1980 is about the lowest that they want to run the 318, so it installed 2.45 rear gears. Eventually they even went to 2.20s and 65= ~1800. Drive one of those Diplomats up over the Great Divide, and see how you like that. With the current cam, my 367 runs 65=2240, with 3.55s, in od. The car will run 65=2040 with 3.23s, but the fuel-economy is no better. The slowest I have had opportunity to run it was, don't laugh, was 65=1240, but that was just for a very short time, during the spring changeover from the 318 winter-motor.

I said IF
 
The 270AH cam is in my Comp catalog in the 'Special Purpose Cams' section. 270/280 adv duration, 224/230 @ 050; 108 lsa
You must have a different Special Purpose Cams catalog than I do because mine does not have a 270AH-8, see the picture.

IMG_5503.png
 
If
your cam turns out to be a 270/280/108, the intake side is about the same as was my Hughes 270/276, but at 108LSA, the exhaust side is better. and with more overlap for absolute power.
This cam, in at 107, the big picture is
270/118/111/280/59* overlap/Ica of 62* .....Mine, when in at 109, was
270/116/111/276/53* overlap/Ica of 64*
Notice that power extraction is the same 111*, and overlap is down 6* on mine With that combination of events, I got fantastic hiway fuel-economy with it.
For comparison,
Here is the 340 cam, in at 108*(+4),
268/116/104/276/44* overlap/ Ica of 64* This cam sucked gas, not because of too much overlap, cuz the manifolds pretty much killed the overlap, but for the lack of Power-Extraction. Compare the above 340 cam, which we know is a gas-hog, to yours
270/118/111/280/59* overlap/Ica of 62* .
The two big deals here are 7* in Power extraction, and 15* in overlap.
As to economy;
The extra 7* is helping your cam, but the 15* overlap is not.
As to power;
the extra 7* are NOT helping whereas the extra 15* overlap is.
IMO, this is a pretty good trade off for most of us.

And finally,
here is a 318 cam, in at 108;
240/132/120/248/20* overlap/Ica of 48*. This is about the smallest cam ever.
Notice the Power extraction is 120*, and overlap is just 20*.. Those two are responsible for the fuel economy of the 318.
In my experience, 120 is excessive and 20* with logs, is dead.
IMO, 112 and up to 40overlap, are still gonna make great economy, even with headers.
In my experience; 111 and 52 Effective can still work, down at 2100, and with headers. I proved it.
In my experience; 105 and 61 overlap are hopeless at making fuel economy no matter what the rpm; I proved it.
IMO; that 59* overlap is gonna mess up the intake and reduce fuel economy, even tho the power extraction is up at 111*.
For Economy with reasonable power, then
somewhere between 53* overlap and 61* is where badchit happens in the intake, and somewhere between 111 to 105 Power extraction, more badchit happens.
IDK which is worse, but I know that cruising at a higher rpm, cleans up the intake of a long- overlap period. and power extraction of more than say 114, IMO is more than a streeter wants, cuz it restricts the other numbers too much.
IMO, the Power-extraction window for a streeter should be like 110* +/-2. and
IMO, a good overlap target might be 54,+/-4
To get them both on the same cam, will likely need a 110LSA or maybe a lil less.
If your engine is short on Scr, and you want to keep your power, yur gonna have to compromise.

The thing to remember is that at cruising speed with a V8, the engine is heavily throttled. So how much Cylinder pressure it is capable of making is not at issue. While cruising, your EFFECTIVE Scr might be down at 4/1. If your engine requires less, then you will close the throttle. If it needs more, then you will open the throttle.
Therefore can a 318 still cruise at 8/1Scr with a modest 135psi.
If you pump your engine up to 185 CCp, but it only requires 80 psi to cruise , then you will need to run the throttles nearly closed, and the extra pressure is good for nothing. Well almost, If you simultaneously reduce the rear gear, then the cruise-rpm goes down, and with it goes the torque. To get it back, at your chosen cruising speed, you need more cylinder pressure, so you are gonna have to open the throttle more.

And that is how you get into trouble, cuz opening and/or closing the throttle changes the fuel-delivery and Cruise-Timing requirements. and there comes a point where the neither carb nor the distributor can keep up. You then need a computer. By experience, I find this point to be about 1800>2100 rpm, depending on the Cam in my 367. I like my Power, so 2100 is already too low for my cam. Apparently the factory thinks that 1980 is about the lowest that they want to run the 318, so it installed 2.45 rear gears. Eventually they even went to 2.20s and 65= ~1800. Drive one of those Diplomats up over the Great Divide, and see how you like that. With the current cam, my 367 runs 65=2240, with 3.55s, in od. The car will run 65=2040 with 3.23s, but the fuel-economy is no better. The slowest I have had opportunity to run it was, don't laugh, was 65=1240, but that was just for a very short time, during the spring changeover from the 318 winter-motor.

I said IF
How does this 270/280/108 cam compare to the Hughes one below? They never have it on their website but seemed to be a good runner in an almost stock 5.9 magnum a guy on YouTube had. Always was curious and the cam in this thread reminded of just based on some of the numbers.

IMG_9067.png
 
How does this 270/280/108 cam compare to the Hughes one below? They never have it on their website but seemed to be a good runner in an almost stock 5.9 magnum a guy on YouTube had. Always was curious and the cam in this thread reminded of just based on some of the numbers.

View attachment 1716320616
Magnum=roller,...???
 
How does this 270/280/108 cam compare to the Hughes one below? They never have it on their website but seemed to be a good runner in an almost stock 5.9 magnum a guy on YouTube had. Always was curious and the cam in this thread reminded of just based on some of the numbers.

View attachment 1716320616
IDK, one is advertized, the other at 050
one is FTH and the other is a roller.
None of the numbers are comparable.

I can tell you that I ran a Hughes HE2430AL, a FTH cam with specs of 223/230/110 which at 11/1 was a smoking hot street cam and it delivered the mpgs too. This one was 270/276 advertised, and I ran it with 1.6 arms. I loved it .
IMO your if-it-is 270/280/108 would be hotter, and with better mpgs, and IMO, I wouldn't swap this FTH cam for the roller unless I had to have a roller, or the FTH was damaged.

If your cam turned out to be as guessed at, and
I didn't think the world was gonna go to chit soon,
I might offer you money for that dang thing. I believe it would be a heckuva nice cam in my 367.
 
I decided to take the time and check the lift of both the intake and exhaust lobes on most of the lobes.
I checked them with 3 different tools, Calipers, Micrometers and Dial indicators.
I checked each lobe a minimum of three times with the same tool before moving on to the next lobe to get to the end and then I went back over each lobe once more. The Caliper gave me the most errors between them.
I did the same test process with the micrometer and the errors were at a minimum.
The most accurate way was using a dial indicator and mounting the cam in V-Blocks on the cam bearings, this resulted in the best accuracy.
The lift on the
Intake .465 +/- .001 (.310x1.5 rocker arm)
Exhaust .477 +/- .001 (.318x1.5 rocker arm)
 
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