Hot Rods Anyone have any late 60's cam catalogs?

I have been perusing the old Al Gore inter web and not having a lot of luck.
I am curious about the most radical roller cam ever made for the Cadillac 365/390.

I know designs have changed, but I am wondering what was available back in the day for the all out drag cars with a mechanical roller cam.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Root

 

I think you would have to decide "what day" you're looking for, as they changed that stuff all the time. I would suggest calling Isky or Crower or somebody that was actually around then. Good Luck

 

I have tried. They don't keep records, well that's what they tell me. I think they aren't interested in old stuff.

 

1969 is the last year Isky advertised the Roller for Cadillac, they are missing on the catalogs from 70 and up... except for the flat tappet grinds..

 

Man, That's pretty healthy. 320 degrees was a lot for a Caddy. I appreciate you digging that out for me.

 

Well, that sucks. I had an old dirt track Crower cam and I called them and gave them the number on the end and they gave me the specs. But, this was 20 or so years ago, so I guess things have changed.

 

I had a mystery cam that I was looking for info on and basically, they told me that back in the day, they could have ground anything for anyone. Mine just said "Killer 90R" on the end if it.

 

FWIW, Iskenderian used the same 505 series profiles on all the '50s and '60s engines. A Cad or Packard V8 would probably not make one 1/4-mile pass at the 8,000 RPM level the 505C makes power.

jack vines

 

I'm mainly trying to see what the companies experimented with. I had heard from several Caddy guys that you were wasting your time at over .450 lift. I just can't believe that. I would understand if you were trying to stay with non-adjustable rocker arms etc. because the geometry would get off the more radical you went. The Caddy is basically a stroker SBC with crappy heads.

 

I did not know this. I remember Daddy and my Uncle had a 505 Iskederian in a 223 Ford 6 cylinder they ran on dirt.
"We" ran pretty good, but there was just so much we didnt know back then.

 

You can get the cam specs by running it through a measuring program called Cam Doctor which will give you coordinates of the entire lift curve.

All those rollers seemed like low lift profiles until I remembered that no high-flowing aftermarket heads capable of flowing big numbers at high valve lifts were available. Everybody was using factory castings so raising the valve past the max flow point was largely moot.

 

If you can find flow bench numbers, you might find why people were telling you to not go over 450 lift. If the port flow flatlines, you are wasting motion and increasing valvetrain drag and the associated wear. Remember that a lot of times the increased lift was used to smooth out valve motion with increased duration rather than any other reason. Also, in the 60's, valve spring tech wasn't very advanced. Remember the small block chevy rev kits that bolted under the head on top of the lifter? I dug out a Howard's cams catalog from the mid 70's. At that time, all caddies were special order with no listings at all. One of my blown fuel 392's had a 410. That was a real common blown fuel cam. It's listed at 282 degrees at .050 and .615 lift. In that same box was Jahns pistons catalog number 82. There are 2 listings for 390's. One is 58-62 and the other is 63. That piston was listed as flat top and 11-1 comp.

 

Yeah, the 58-62 is the ticket. The other one listed is the predecessor to the 429 Caddy. It's really not cost effective as far as Cubic Inch/Dollar, but it's what we do.