Yeah, I'm tweaking out about organizing my motor build tonight and I'm using and abusing the HAMB to do it. Bear with me.... Do I try to track down some rare NOS Isky cam or...? I don't want to get stupid with it, it truly is my daily driver, but I want it to be snappy and sound cool! Thanks, new"no more coffee"stranger ps- I promise not to post anymore threads re: 235 stuff for at least a couple of days.
id try langdons stovebolt. they'll sell you a custom ground cam ground to match whatevr carb setup your gonna run. no need to use nos part on the internals... no one will ever see it anyway, unless you have someone elsework on your engine
sorry, i meant patrick's antique car and truck parts... they sell cam's. langdons might too though or you can call american custom cams at 626 938-0073, and ask for joseph bray he grinds alot of custom cams for 235's, but i dont know what he charges. patricks cams are $140
I just went on the Isky website and they don't even offer anything for 235s anymore.... but if you have some POS 1996 Ford truck with a V6 or something they got all kinds of shit! weird, ns
try Clifford performance...I had one of their 3/4 race cams in my 235 and it sounded and performed great!!
Man, I forgot to ask a VERY important question: HYDRAULIC OR MECHANICAL?????? I don't mind adjusting valves from time to time, how much more performance can you get from running mechanical lifters? -ns
They are the same family of motors, but you'd have to do the research. All I know is that they aren't Jimmy motors, and they have a higher compression than a 235. I don't mess w/inlines, but I'd check the option if givin such. Hope it helps.
Here's a hot tip for you guys....a 261 head is the same as a 235 head, except for the steam holes drilled in it. Same port sizes, same valve sizes. Don't knock yourself out trying to find one.
The 261 heads have low compression ratio. Especially the earlier ones from 54-55. Look for the famed '848' (last 3 digits of casting number) head cast from 56-62. It gives the highest compression ratio of all 235/261 heads. Delta cams in Tacoma WA supplies the vendors mentioned with their cams. They will regrind your existing cam for about $50. Give them a call and tell them what you are after. They got a range of cam patterns to choose from. For the 235 and staying under 3500 rpm, the stock 261 solid lifter cam grind pattern works best. That's what was in the Corvette 235 engine with 848 head. Under 3500 rpm you could go with either hydraulic or solid lifters. Above that the hydraulics tend to 'float' and not cool the valve seats as well.
you guys have it backwards. A 261 head on a 235 will do nothing. A 235 head on a 261 will raise your compression slightly and do you some good, but you will need to drill a steam hole. The famed 848 head is just a later 235 head... 54-62, I think.
Yeah, what HEATHEN said! I knew that... ok, no I didn't, but I do now and that's what the MF'n HAMB is all about right?!?! Thanks Hellfish, but I can't exactly tell by your wording, do you think the "848" head is "all that" or a waste of money? -ns
I think what he meant was that an 848 head is no big deal. It came out in mid 56 as a replacement head and then was standard on 57-62 - 235's. There are a ton of them around, and the compression bump is only .5 (or less)
Buy your cam from Delta. can't say enough good about my dealings with them. The 261 truck cam is a good stock option good torque. If you want something with a lumpy idle a 350-327 hyd profile works well with multiple carbs etc. A bit milder is the old 097 injection solid lifter cam profile. Saying that I had a 261 with 3 carbs [Corvette] and the stock cam and it pulled like a freight train.
yep. I wouldn't pay a lot for one, but it would be a nice (albeit a small) bump in compression if you can find one. Every little bit helps with a 235-261, but you will get the biggest bang for your buck from better breathing (better intake, headers), followed by a small performance increase from a cam and an 848 head, followed by teeny increases from porting and other expensive modifications.
They're still VERY affordable; I bought my last 848 head last month out in Rhinebeck off a vendor's dollar tarp! Not a bad looking one, either.
I cc'd the chambers on a '62 235 "848" head and a '60 head from a 261 (forget the casting #) and found them to be within 1 cc of each other. I haven't taken the time to calculate everything out yet, but I don't believe the factory specs for any of these engines concerning compression ratios. At least not yet. I have a '53 head also, but I haven't cc'd it yet for comparrison. If you need a new cylinder head, and find a good 848, then go ahead, otherwise don't sweat it. When they crack, its usually in the "round over" area next to the intake, towards the exhaust chamber. It's usually obvious to the naked eye. The 848 was used from 56-62. Alot of people have had problems with hydros bleeding out at sustained rpms, myself included. Solids are the way to go. If you surface the tips of the rockers, they won't make much noise. When talking about '57-earlier blocks, only ones that originally had hydros can use hydros, because they didn't cross-drill the lifter bores on the solid lifter engines. 58-62 engines are all cross-drilled. The Howard F298 cam is about as big as you want to go. Anything bigger will probably require machining the piston for clearance, Especially if you are planning on milling the head or decking the block. Some people recess the intake valves, but I don't recommend it because it screws with the low lift airflow. For good driveability, the Howard M4F, stock 261, or the dual pattern one that Langdon sells are all good choices. I believe Delta makes the bulldog cams that Langdon sells??
I got my cam and lifters from Particks. I called him up, told him what I was wanting to do and he sent me the right stuff. It was easy and no hassel. I has my cam and all the rest of the parts in about 3 days.
Hey Snarl, where can I find the specs for those Howard Cams? I was looking for one that was a SU-09 or something like that grind. I don't have the numbers in front of me.
I was ALL over the Isky website and couldn't find JACK in the cam section. Repop Fenton stuff, Offy linkage, and other doo-dads, but NO camshafts. Maybe I'm blind and/or retarded, if you can find somethin' can you post a link? thanks, ns
as mentioned before, just call up Delta in tacoma. those guys know their stuff and will treat you right. I had 235 cam ground there and i love it. or maybe its the supercharger i love......
The old cams weren't listed on their website. The speedshop owner, where I bought it from, had to call Isky to get the info on it. It was a local speedshop, (The Hot Rod Shop in Rockford Il.) not Summit or anyone national.. I got a brand new set of lifters, (made in about 1972) and a set of aluminum valve retainers from them also. The cam was ground from a brand new core, it wasn't a regrind.
Anyone got any experience with a bulldog cam from Langdons? II'm runnin a 235 with a Howard intake with three Holley/ford 94's and progressive carblinkage. Lookin after a camshaft that has good torque and revs good?
I dealt with Isky for my cam, you have to ask for Ron Iskenderian for old grinds. Mine is an Isky C-4 cam. I had a bad experience with Patrick's. I will never deal them again.
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