New Camshaft

Hey Folks,

I just scored a new (older but never installed) Crane Cams camshaft at roughly half price and an NOS FoMoCo steel shim head gasket so I'm going to go ahead and have the cam changed. I'm not into messing around with serious mechanical work quite yet, but one of the mechanics I have do work for me might let me help (ie watch). My engine is a '66 200, and I have a '77 250 cylinder head.

My question is what other parts should I buy so that I have everything in place for the swap? Lifters, cam bearings, etc. Do I need a new timing chain? What other gaskets should I get other than the head gasket?


Thanks in advance for the help,

CC

tell us why you're making these changes (Y not what U had?).
What R U seeking to do - specific application statements yield more accurate answ.
90% of the automotive pic is answ by the 'application' Q.

Do U have the 'cam card' for this cam?

That head has some advantages over earlier 1s.
R U going to 'optimize' that? What for? (same Q).

Hi, I would want the specs on a cam. If it is a high RPM racing cam you might not like it. Wild cams mean bigger intake and exhaust, high idle, no vacuum, higher stall speed torque converter, etc.
Crane may have a recommended valve spring set.
You should degree the cam to specs. See the excellent Echo video at the top of the forum. See what I went through on my cam timing issue thread.
I think you may as well get the whole engine gasket set. Buying the pieces one by one may cost you more. You can figure it out.
Lifters goes without saying. If you need cam bearings you have to pull the motor.
Good luck

Howdy Back CC and All:

You may have posted the answer before gut I don't remember, but, what is the condition of your engine? How many miles? Any other modifications? What trans? And the new cam information.

Installing a new cam will require that the head be removed to access the lifters. While the head is off, I'd strongly suggest that you invest in a valve job. The valve job should include, at least a three angle performance cut as well as a back cut on the intakes. I'd also suggest that you have your head milled at least .050" to maintain the stock '66 compression ratio. Even using the NOS steel shim head gasket. With an increased duration cam you will need the extra CR for low end.

A new cam chain and gear would also be a good idea. You can check your cam for stretch as the old one is removed. It doesn't do much good to index your new cam if chain stretch is excessive.

I'd second Ron's suggestion that buying a complete rebuild gasket set makes sense. It would include the gaskets for the valve job as well as the cam cover. If you mechanic doesn't have the tool to remove the lifters out the top of the engine he may have to drop the pan to remove them.

I'll be looking for answers to the above and anything else you can tell us. Good luck and keep us posted?

Adios, David

I'll try to answer all the questions. The 200 ci engine just passed 55,000 miles and the 250 ci cylinder head was completely rebuilt including valve job and valve seats, etc about 1000 miles ago. I informed the shop that did the head that it was a 250 going onto a 200 block and they milled it about 55 thousandths. My reading here and on the Classic Inlines tech site inform me that 75 thousandths would be better for compression.

My thinking was that there were two options to get the optimal compression: one would be to re-mill the head the other would be to install an OEM Ford gasket. I figured if I am going to the expense of taking the head off again I might as well put a mild street cam in at the same time. The specs on the cam are: lift @ cam: intake 265, exhaust 275, advertised duration: intake 256, exhaust 264, recommended rpm min 1000, max 3500.

Hopefully my thinking here doesn't prove that I have more money than brains on this topic. However so far I have been very pleased with the progress on this car. When I got it she was a slow, gas guzzling slug, now she's quite lively and gets 26+ mpg combined city / hi way (or what passes for a hi way where I live).

luv 2 hear what carb (& transmis) gets 26 & over MPGs...
Thnx~

I've got a Carter RBS, C4 transmission, the green dot variety, header and 2" stainless exhaust and pretty free flowing muffler. Not a lot of stop and go driving since I live in a small town and drive a lot on country back roads. I was pretty shocked when I calculated the mpg but that's over 1000 miles so I know it's accurate.

What is the part number on the NOS steel shim head gasket? There are two NOS head gaskets for the Falcon engine; one is for the 144/170 engines with a 3.5' bore, and the the other is for the 200/250 engines with the 3.68" bore.

The latter will work on all engines (144/170/200/250), but the former will only work on the smaller two (144/170).

Just want to make sure you have the correct head gasket.

The part number on the gasket is: D3DZ-6061-A. I sure hope that's right, because it wasn't cheap.

possibly cheeper than custom (which R readily available).

Howdy Back All:

According to my research the D3xx is the 200 head gasket. Be sure to measure the diameter across the narrowest span to be sure.

Given the new cam specs you may want to start looking for a lower rear end gear. What rear gear are you running now?

Keep it coming and good luck.

Adios, David

Okay, so the gasket is correct. Thank goodness, otherwise I would have had to buy another car with a 144 or 170 (I joke, but I have half a mind to do a Falcon build for maximum fuel economy). Right now I'm running a 2.80 rear end, I was toying with the idea of switching to 3.25 since the highest speed limit on the Island I live on is 55 mph. I have to ask though, what is the reason that the cam would want a higher ratio rear end?

Howdy Back:

Q- what is the reason that the cam would want a higher ratio rear end?

A- Increasing the cam duration is holding the valves open longer which reduces cylinder pressure. It acts like the engine has a lower CR. Also, increasing cam duration shifts the power band from lower rpm range to higher rpm range. Both make it seem that your engine has less power than with a stock cam. Increasing the CR (your new/old gasket) will help. Also increasing your initial advance helps to cover the soggy low end. Once the new cam gets into it's performance range it will really wake up. But the most significant change to help that low end would be from lowering the rear end ratio. A 2.80 rear is snooze. Going to a 3.00:1 or a 3.20:1 will really put a smile on your face. The downsides are you will need to recalibrate your speedometer by swapping a drive gear in the transmission, and possibly a slight decrease in MPG depending on your right foot.

Keep it coming and good luck.

Adios, David