Stage 1 V8

I am going to change the camshaft in the near future as it is giving all the signs of needing it. Just looking to hear from anyone who has changed one with the engine in-situ for any tips that they may have or things to watch out for, as it looks reasonably straightforward.
I was going to buy a kit and do the chain as well, Rimmers do one for about £140 complete, but another company'Autopost' do one on ebay a little cheaper. Anyone got any recommendations, I know 'Britpart' items can be of differing quality at times.

The problem will be where to stop with replacing parts. Any kit won't give you a fraction of the parts you will need, such as the woodruff key for the cam.

I suggest you read your shop manual and look at your car. You should be able to predict what else you will need, from a S/S timing cover fitting kit, stud goo, oil pump kit, oil filter, oil, distributor 'O' ring, coolant hoses, sundry radiator fittings, coolant, degreaser, the pipe that runs under the manifold...

You can easily spend most of a day getting the insides of the rocker cover clean.

I used the britpart bits and they seem ok (having said that im still building the car, so not tried it on the road yet)

Its not to bad to do, be carefull of damaging the threads in the block or snapping studs
You will probably find you need new hydraulic tappets as well, and possibly rocker shafts (both common V8 weaknesses)

I used a Crower cam - with the Level 2 or slightly higher lift. The Crower has various levels of performance from Stock profile thru Level 5. 5 is full on racing profile.

Everyone here in the US highly and solely recommends the CROWER cams (in any flavor).

I also replaced the timing gears and chain along with it. I did not replace cam bearings or distribitor drive gear.

I agree that you can get caught up with kits and all of the small parts and not knowing what parts to stop replacing.

My results have been really good. I run the Edelbrock carbs and my engine runs really strong. I have about 5K miles on the rebuild in the full range of conditions (summer / winter / highway / off road / etc).

Interesting to hear about the Crower cams. The most common approach here has been to replace with newer model cams, for example from the 3.9l Disco. Not so keen on that option since those cams are designed for EFI and the timing is different, but some I have spoken to swear by them, so there you go.

Is this the right one?
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CRO-50227/

That link to Sumit racing points to a .402 lift CAM. I got a .446 lift CAM - so I got a little higher lift.

The description suggests the same part number for both (?)
Camshaft, Hydraulic Flat Tappet, Advertised Duration 246/253, Lift .402/.421, Buick, 215, 300, 340, V8, Each

IMPORTANT: I forgot to add that it is highly recommended to replace tappets with the CAM since their surfaces wear in and mate with each other (CAM and tappet lifters) - they become a match set.

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The UK guys have RPI Engineering. In the US - 'THE" Rover V8 engine guy is D&D Fabrications. He helped me pick out the components for my engine rebuild.

http://www.aluminumv8.com/catalogpages/ ... onents.htm


Part# 50227 Camshaft – Made by Crower - 246° - 402 lift.
Part# 50228 Camshaft – Made by Crower - 250° - 424 lift.
Part# 50229 Camshaft – Made by Crower - 258° - 430 lift.
Part# 50230 Camshaft – Made by Crower - 260° - 446 lift.
Part# 0231 Camshaft – Made by Crower - 270° - 451 lift.
Part# 50233 Camshaft – Made by Crower - 280° - 488 lift.
Part# 50234 Camshaft – Made by Crower - 284° - 512 lift.

The 50227 is the stock profile. I just checked the old CAM box and I put in the Part# 50230. According to the CROWER web site - my CAM is a Performance Level 2 cam:

http://www.crower.com/camshafts.html#Performance Level 2

Performance Level 2
Level 2 profiles are for individuals that require more power and an extended rpm range. Works well with stock or near-stock engines and drive trains in a lightly modified street engine. These camshafts provide excellent low end and mid-range power for spirited street, off road driving and mild marine applications. Modifications that should accompany installation of these cams include small diameter tube headers, low restriction dual exhaust, aftermarket manifold, increased cfm carburetor and reworked or performance ignition. Increased compression (9.5:1) is recommended for maximum output. Aftermarket torque converter with slightly higher stall speed is recommended because stock factory converters do not allow the engine to provide adequate idle speed and off idle performance. These camshafts work well with four-speed manual transmission.

If you look over those web sites, you eyes will quickly start to spin inside you head with all of the options and variations.

For my engine rebuild, I installed higher compression heads from a later model EFI engine - so my compression is 9.5:1 and my heads got a light port job. I have petronix ignition and I use the Edlebrock carb. My exhuast is the factory standard. So, the Performance Level 2 CAM fit my build well.

(For another CAM replacement reference - search YouTube for "Wheeler Dealers Land Rover Defender" - it is a 5 part series of fixing this old Defender and they replace the CAM in one of the episodes. http://youtu.be/6J81yW7Ryd8 )

Excellent info. Thanks.

Here is a link to a google docs file for the cam I got. It's made specifically for an engine with minor mods and specifically for 4wd, ie torque.


My engine has a comp ratio of around 9.9:1, 60 thou over pistons, ported heads, modified guides, 365 holley and edelbrock with a 1" spacer, headers and full engine balance along with a few other minor mods. I also drilled holes through the block from the the lifter gallery to the timing chain area so that a bit more oil gets chucked around in there and the little spot where oil pools up in the gallery drains away nicely. I also die ground and sanded the whole lifter gallery, and the heads where the oil drains back through. Probably negligible benefit, but gave me an excuse to buy a new compressor, die grinder and a set of tungsten bits. rofl. I probably put 100 hours into porting the heads, and doing the lifter gallery and drainback areas in the head.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid= ... E&hl=en_US