engine that broke a cam... any good?

heres the story... I bought two parts trucks last august. in the bed of one was a bare 302 ford block. I have the block, crank, and the cam(both pieces)

what causes cams to snap in two, and is the block worth saving? its standard bore...

what could a cam breaking do damage wise to the engine?

it broke cleanly into to pieces.

 

The valve covers and intake are probably alright. Besides the stress of internal broken parts and unknows as to what it actually screwed up, it moved some of the valves out of time and they probably smacked the pistons, and also probably chewed up the lifter bores. This is from previous experience, mind you. I chucked most of the stuff since it was a cheap sbc.

 

If your cam stayed within the bearings you might squeek by.

I had a cam break into four pieces and one piece fell between the crank throw and the block..., and it blew the side out! Bent three rods and I had bits and pcs. everywhere!

Yes the valves were bent and damage was extensive throughout the entire engine. Kept some parts for paperweights and tossed the rest.

Either way I'd tear the engine down and inspect it for other damage before throwing another cam into it!!

Good Luck...!

Mark

 

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I have the block, crank, and the cam(both pieces)


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it is a bare block guys.

once i have it machined, and new bearings in, will i be ok?

the lifter bores look fine.

the cam was laying in the bed, when i put the two broken parts together, it was a clean fracture...

 

Was it a Crower cam?

They do that.

Usually buying a good cam and new bearings is all you need to do.

 

Chances are the cam was dropped on the shop floor after removal. They're very brittle and will break on impact with concrete.
I'd borrow a buddy's ford cam and slide it into the engine. Should spin freely with fresh oil on clean bearings. If it does, I'd prolly have the machine shop do their magic with hot-tanking, new cam bearings and frost plugs. If there is a problem at that point, they should be able to hone the cam bearings for very little expense. 'Splain your misgivings to them when you take the block in for machining. no sweat.

 

it was a stock cam.

I was told the broken cam was the reason it was pulled and torn apart.

rocky... a buddy's ford cam?

all my buddys are chevy guys... haha


thanks for the advice

ill check it out sometime...

 

I may still have a brand new stock replacement 302 cam laying around here. It was installed in an engine, but never run...pulled it out of a fresh rebuild to slip in a Melling cam before initial fire-up. If it's still here and you want it...pay the shipping and it's YOURS!