Clay Smith cam ID?

hotrodA

hotrodA

Well-known member
Hope that one of you experts can ID this 59AB cam I have
Thanks!
 

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That's a pretty hefty cam. Good for a large cu in engine. No low end torque so definetly not a good street cam.
 
The 272 was a good track cam, but the 282 was more of a top end grind. Should sound great tho.
 
Yes, it should read 282, its cam lobes have quite a wide flat on the (normally) pointed part of the lobe. Not really a high lift cam, more of a long dwell at full lift cam, quite a high lift rate.
A stout cam, use with high compression heads eg offy 400 (highest off the shelf offy's) 350's would have been good on a small size engine.
Martin.
 
Clay Smith Cams are not known for being a high lift cam. I have a 272, 282, and a 284 cams in my stash. I think the highest lift of the bunch is somewhere around .350.
 
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High lift and high lift rate are two different things, I agree the Clay Smith cams arnt high lift, but the rate if I recall was correctly was quite high. Sorta gets up quickly, stays full up quite a long period, the closes quickly. I'm sure that's what my notes says? The cam in my notes is actually a 282-2 which had slightly revised exhaust pattern. Again if I recall, my notes arnt with me though.
Martin.
 
scooder said:
High lift and high lift rate are two different things, I agree the Clay Smith cams arnt high lift, but the rate if I recall was correctly was quite high. Sorta gets up quickly, stays full up quite a long period, the closes quickly. I'm sure that's what my notes says? The cam in my notes is actually a 282-2 which had slightly revised exhaust pattern. Again if I recall, my notes arnt with me though.
Martin.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. I guess I've always used the term fast action v. lift rate.

Yes, I think once Clay Smith took over the grinds from Smith-Jones they tweaked the grinds a bit and added the -2. All of my grinds are Clay Smith's so they read 272-2, 284-2, etc.

Curious if anyone is running a 272-2 in there car? It was a popular grind back in the day.
 
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So that's what the -2 bit comes from, thanks for that.
From Ron's book, 272-2 rough idle but ran good on the street. Also states can be used in any weight car.
Martin.
 
If it has a rough idle, that would definetly adversely effect low end torque and so would not be the best for a heavy car. Probably has tight lobe centers and a lot of overlap.
 
I have a piece of a 272 in a drawer someplace with 3 lobs onit. Came fron a Danbury stockcar from the late 50's. Not much was left of the engine as it blew going into turn 3, leading the race.
 
Crud. I never posted the specs. I'll find them and post here later.

Can still get Clay Smith cams ground by George and the gang.
 
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