Flathead Cams

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Krylon32

Well-known member
For a 4X3 5/16ths street motor. Isky 400Jr or Max 1? 32 highboy with a T5, 3.78 gears and 31 inch tires. Looking for a smooth running motor with a fairly smooth idle and good street manners. My last Flathead.
 
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Isky 1007B. Very ice street cam with good low end torque Stock valve springs with .060 shim, Excellent cam for stock or up to 276 cI and still turn 5K,
A cam insolation can cost up to 500 bucks these days, so gust work can be expensive. The max #1, 77B, 88 race cam and many others can't hold a candle to it, might as well run a EAB cam and save the money.
Gramps
 
There's a little more to it. What type of car, trans, rear end ratio, etc. Assuming you are talking a light hot rod I agree with Ol' Ron. The Max 1 would be last choice for your motor. I would also suggest talking to Kiwi Tony or Pete.

There are numerous stories of new Isky cams having serious issues with quality control. When these folks called Isky, they were told to pound salt. It would infuriating to say the least to spend big bucks on a new cam that isn't correct.

Tony or Pete can hook you up with a quality regrind for much less than a new Isky.
 
Ol' Ron said:
Isky 1007B. Very ice street cam with good low end torque Stock valve springs with .060 shim, Excellent cam for stock or up to 276 cI and still turn 5K,
A cam insolation can cost up to 500 bucks these days, so gust work can be expensive. The max #1, 77B, 88 race cam and many others can't hold a candle to it, might as well run a EAB cam and save the money.
Gramps
Click to expand...

Just for a base line, is an EAB cam what would be original to a '49'-53 merc?
 
I am using a Potvin.425 Eliminator . I have one from the late 50s. I am running it in a 276 C.I. 59AB It is a 1/4X 5/16 Configuration. They were ground on a steel billet 1932 cam. Most guys think that it is to much cam for the street. I ran it it the drags and on the street. No problems. I have a couple of Ed Bingly Engines. He had Bings Speed shop in Santa Rosa. He was quite the Flathead guy back in the day. I also ran three Stromberg 48s with H&C Dual coil Distributor, No progressive linkage. Schafer Aluminum clutch $ Flywheel. Ed Did Exstensive Porting when doing the Flatheads he is the only one that I know of that cut the Blocks at the end ports and did his magic then welded them up.
 
The 52/53 Merc had an EAB cam with alittle more timig, ot sure about the lift, The EAB is ore available, and I have one in my 280. I like the way it pulls in the truck and there are very few hills in VT I can't climb even in OD. Excellent cam for a street engine.
Gramps
 
What;s wrong with the Isky 88? I used to get a Crower regrind from Baxter Ford Parts that was a clone of the 88. Ran good and no head work required, I probably used that cam in at least 1/2 a dozen engines with good results.
 
The 400 jr. is a bad choice for any long term(mileage) use. It is a high wear item. It provides good street power because it has relatively mild timing which means good lower RPM torque. However, it is "noisy" and the acceleration of lift is such that wear is a problem if sufficient spring rates are used to take full advantage of the full range of power.
 
It kind of depends on the usage of the car, how much of a "cam sound" you want, etc.. I tend to run pretty stout cams - and I am happy to lose low-end power for higher RPM power (my choice). If it was my engine and the car was a lighter car with not too tall of rear-end gears, then I'd probably choose between the L-100, the Isky 1007B or a Potvin 3/8. All of these cams will run really well, will have a lopey idle and will make a 276 flathead a lot of fun.

Always make sure you check the timing on the cam, determine the intake centerline and install the cam to match the spec provided by the Mfgr. It you have a mill and a rotary table, it is no problem to re-drill the cam gear to set the intake centerline where you want it (or it needs to be!).
 
Why is it that the majority of the replies leave out what may be very important in the choice of cams. My '40 came with a 59A and an old Isky full cam plus port/deck relief/heads. Rear gear was 4.44 behind a 18/26 geared ford box. Reason was clear why it was retired beneath a patio cover in 1971. A '40 is a middle weight car. Now all has changed as will be how the car is used. Too late for this time, I have found a new EAB cam in the Ford box with the plastic sheath unopened. Seems like a fair stock cam, snout modified replacement for my 99A engine for the same car. Now my gears have gone tall, 15/29/, 3.25. All these specs should be part of the answer. Not, 'I always run this or that'. You think Ford engineers just shot from the hip and didn't consider weight, street or highway use and gears? I know you're all racers and more is not enough. Must be getting old. Good Luck: Fred A
 
The cams you mentioned have an aesthetic value, and ther's nothing wrong with that. However if you compare the timing figures it the Tilden list you'll find them all very similar to a 3/4 cam. The L-100 doesn't work well in a small engine because the long intake closing kills a lot of low RPM compression by closing the intake balve very late. the 1007B has a faster lift rate. For the exception of the 400 JR.r most run very well on 50/lbs spring pressure. Now for the BIG reason. Any cam and lifter combination today will cost over $500, so you might as well get your money's worth.
Gramps
 
Ron, in both your responses you laid it out in a real world, cam in your engine as the performance in "the truck" places the cam where some special performance issue is met. Many of us out west have done very well on the relative cheap with parts that may have been around since WWII or Korea from the surplus market. New cams are still floating around assuming that new is not that much better than good used. Just a clue as to where things perform well and how it is used in what kind of car and how it may be otherwise modified can complete the picture. Thanks Gramps: Fred A
 
"Runs great" is fine, but what about an increase in performance over a stock cam? A stock cam also "runs great".

(BTW, I have a MAX-1 in the 258" engine I just built for my "T" tub.)
 
Like others have mentioned, we really need more information as what this is going in before a real recommendation can give narrowed down.

With your track record of past builds, we are all assuming it's some type of '32, but we don't know.
 
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