i need an opinion and some info on a vintage camshaft needing some rework

[fixitman04]

ok guys i am in the middle of procuring parts for my vintage datsun racecar engine. i have found a fairly rare race camshaft grind that has some minor pitting on the upsweep side of the lobe. i can get it extremely cheep due to this. it is an overhead cam engine and has a 9000rpm redline. can i have this repaired? what are the risks of running it as is?

here is the damage

also who could repair it

 

[85celicasupra]

that is nothing. Any good machine shop should be able to fix it. Or possibly send it off to a camshaft grinding/performance cam shop. Should easily be fixed for cheap.

 

[benchwarmer]

Don't run it as is or it will chew up your rocker. Have it reground as mentioned above and re-shim as necessary.

 

[IJ.]

Don't run it as is or it will chew up your rocker. Have it reground as mentioned above and re-shim as necessary.

If it's an L series engine it will have cemented carbide pads on the rocker (same stuff they make Lathe cutting tips out of) so I can't see it chewing the rocker....

If you were Ultra paranoid you could have it hard face welded then reground to spec but if it were mine I woulkdn't bother and just run it as is seeing that's it's suce a small percentage of the surface area then inspect it from time to time.

 

[fixitman04]

it is a u-series engine, and it will come with the later style hardened rockers. it is a bre cam, very little use, then shelved for 40 years

 

[IJ.]

That's very minor pitting Fix, never had much luck with straight cast welded repairs I think it would casue more damage and a hard face repair isn't cheap.

 

[fixitman04]

so you would run it? i can get this cam for $50, it is priceless in my opinion though due to its former owner. so aside from it going flat or destroying the rocker there is no real risk?

 

[IJ.]

It won't even mark the rocker (Don't know about the U engines but if you screw the geometry on an L the rocker will slice the lobe clean off without leaving a scratch on the rocker they're that hard)

My way of looking at it is it's only "worth" something if it's rare AND mint, this cam isn't and never will be so I'd run it and inspect it from time to time, as I said it's very minor pitting, not really sure how it would have happened other than it may have been a slightly porous blank to start with way back.

 

[fixitman04]

well the damage occurred during storage. he said the cam had torn box, and paper. it had a little spot of rust there, he cleaned it off while getting ready to send it to me and found the pitting. im tempted to send this cam to a cam grinder to be copied... this grind was never released to the public. it was a bre insider only item. the grind is worth more than the cam. i would have to talk to the bre guys to get permission though.

im gonna buy it then, and enjoy it thoroughly. this is a perfect example of why you should always properly store parts. one mistake and damage occurs.

---------- Post added at 03:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:30 PM ----------

the later u series engine uses the same design of rocker as the l series.

 

[IJ.]

Just make sure the geometry is perfect then
(saw a few round cams back in the L series days)

 

[7Matt-GE]

check out delta cams talk to em and tell em your situation. i bet they could help you. they are cam shaft kings.


http://deltacam.com/services.php