flat crank cam

If you're talking about a 180 degree crankshaft, then there were a few cam grinders that made cams for these.

You can't just ask for 'specs' if you don't know the cam and grind you're talking about. :D
 
I have some info on 180° cranks.

These are made with Farmall "H" cranks, that are 4 1/4, to start with. curiously the bore & stroke of a "H" is 3 3/8 x 4 1/4, 152 ci.

They can't be made with the "M" engine, as it is a much larger engine with a 5 1/4 stroke.

You may have to save and then, enlarge the text on the magazine article to read it.

There are many firing orders that can be used with a 180° crank. Basically, they are two, 4 cyl engines on one crank, that fire 90° from each other so, you can use any 4 cyl firing order, on each bank, such as 1342 on one side and 1243 on the other, phased 90° apart (15364827) or reverse the firing order on on side such as 1243 on one side and 4312,on the other that would be, 18274536. I think there are 8 possible firing order combos available, some vibrate worse than others.

You can also run two separate 4 cyl mags or dist on each bank.

The bad thing is, that you have to find a crank grinder that is knowledgeable enough, to grind that "H" crank to a flathead spec!
 

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The most popular setup that I heard about was known as the Norden Crossfire. They made a complete setup for the flathead - usually used on dirt track cars.

I've never actually ran one or looked at the crank/cam/ignition - just knew they were made back in the day and somewhat successful (if the engine held together).

I'd lookup everything I could find on the Norden crossfire . . .
 
Bored&Stroked said:
The most popular setup that I heard about was known as the Norden Crossfire. They made a complete setup for the flathead - usually used on dirt track cars.

I've never actually ran one or looked at the crank/cam/ignition - just knew they were made back in the day and somewhat successful (if the engine held together).

I'd lookup everything I could find on the Norden crossfire . . .
Click to expand...

Back when he was in still in business, Flathead Jack offered the Norden crank. Maybe there is info in one of his old catalogs about it.
 
Are matching cams available?

Edit. Jeez, what a space cadet! I got the idea that the topic was the crank.
 
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Frnkeore, thanks for the great history lesson. It amazes me what you guys come up with from back in the day.
 
frnkeore said:
I have some info on 180° cranks.

These are made with Farmall "H" cranks, that are 4 1/4, to start with. curiously the bore & stroke of a "H" is 3 3/8 x 4 1/4, 152 ci.

They can't be made with the "M" engine, as it is a much larger engine with a 5 1/4 stroke.

You may have to save and then, enlarge the text on the magazine article to read it.

There are many firing orders that can be used with a 180° crank. Basically, they are two, 4 cyl engines on one crank, that fire 90° from each other so, you can use any 4 cyl firing order, on each bank, such as 1342 on one side and 1243 on the other, phased 90° apart (15364827) or reverse the firing order on on side such as 1243 on one side and 4312,on the other that would be, 18274536. I think there are 8 possible firing order combos available, some vibrate worse than others.

You can also run two separate 4 cyl mags or dist on each bank.

The bad thing is, that you have to find a crank grinder that is knowledgeable enough, to grind that "H" crank to a flathead spec!
Click to expand...

This post is really informative, thank you for sharing these articles with us.
 
The 'specs' are completely related to the cam lift, duration and associated profile . . . every cam design is different.

In the end, it comes down to the specific cam and the timing/lift (the grind) associated with it. No TWO cams from different manufacturers will be the same.
 
Bored&Stroked said:
No TWO cams from different manufacturers will be the same.
Click to expand...

Old days, 3 different cam companies, identicaly same grind just with different part numbers. I always wondered which one did the original design work.
There were several cases where just 2 companies had the same grind.
Pirating was commonplace in the old days.
Isky made a big deal of it in some of his advertising even naming locations of some of the offending companies.
 
I've read some of the 'Cam Wars' advertising and other fun stuff from the 50's and early 60's . . . quite a bit of crap slinging going on. Isky was a Hell of a marketer in many ways - it really helped grow his business. Some of the marketing terms/slogans he came up with (or used) got him a lot of attention -- things like his '5 Cycle' slogans, advertising, t-shirts, decals, sponsorships, etc..

Also, he always showed interest (and still does) in talking to the common man about whatever engine project he was working on. He always had time for and seemed to make friends with everybody who comes into his booths at trade shows or through the front door of his office/company (if he was around and not in the back digging into something).

I think his personality and entrepreneurial skills had as much to do with his success as his cam grinds. That, along with the fact that he always paid his bills and had a reputation as a solid guy to do business with. Can't believe he turned 100 this year and is still doing his thing.
 
I just returned from checking out a stash of flathead parts. In the stash was a few camshafts one was marked 180 flat no doubt from one of the the grinders mentioned by Pete above.
Ronnieroadster
 
Bored&Stroked said:
Some of the marketing terms/slogans he came up with (or used) got him a lot of attention -- things like his '5 Cycle' slogans, advertising, t-shirts, decals, sponsorships, etc..
Click to expand...

Most but not all of the advertising catch phrases he used had been used by someone previously.
5 cycle = Milan cooling 5th stroke.
Constant velocity = several different cam grinders.
Polydyne = several different cam grinders.
 
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