Cam Recommendations
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,194
Likes: 109
From: Las Vegas NV
Ughhhhh see what I mean? 
So I need to return the bronze gear and bronze tipped rod and spring for the composite gear and locate a roller tipped or poly pump rod?
On summit, comp has a $16 bronze tip rod (the one I ordered), and a $121 roller tip rod. The composite gear is $105 vs the $55 bronze gear, and the composite gear says it is not for use with high volume or high pressure oil pumps (I have a standard oil pump). The bronze gear does say in its description that it is not intended for extended street use. I missed that detail.
What a headache.
So I need to return the bronze gear and bronze tipped rod and spring for the composite gear and locate a roller tipped or poly pump rod?
On summit, comp has a $16 bronze tip rod (the one I ordered), and a $121 roller tip rod. The composite gear is $105 vs the $55 bronze gear, and the composite gear says it is not for use with high volume or high pressure oil pumps (I have a standard oil pump). The bronze gear does say in its description that it is not intended for extended street use. I missed that detail.
What a headache.
Last edited by AboveTheLogic; Feb 3, 2016 at 01:56 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,736
Likes: 56
From: anchorage ak
Yeah I forgot to mention the push rods, those too.
A former engine builder buddy of mine saw my components (comp roller cam) and confirmed that I need the bronze distributor gear and pump rod since the comp cam is hardened steel (or whatever it was that he said). The gear was $55 and the rod was $17. The composite gear is over $100 IIRC.
Anyways, this all confirms my point. Lots to think about and understand, and misinformation to weed through, when going to a retro roller setup. Probably best to talk it out with the cam manufacturer.
A former engine builder buddy of mine saw my components (comp roller cam) and confirmed that I need the bronze distributor gear and pump rod since the comp cam is hardened steel (or whatever it was that he said). The gear was $55 and the rod was $17. The composite gear is over $100 IIRC.
Anyways, this all confirms my point. Lots to think about and understand, and misinformation to weed through, when going to a retro roller setup. Probably best to talk it out with the cam manufacturer.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 6,284
Likes: 1,171
From: Hermosa
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hrs-94475/overview/
For HEI gear recommendation ask the cam company. They should know what is compatible with the gear on the cam.
Had a 1976 L-82, 4-sp
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 5,338
Likes: 1,213
From: Some days your the dog and some days your the hydrant.
Royal Canadian Navy
I run the poly fuel pump rod with a Holley 110 gph pump. No issues so far but only a few thousand miles on them. I also had the poly dist'r gear on my hei. No sign of any wear whatsoever after the same mileage already mentioned. I now have a fully programmable Mallory dist'r which is awesome thus far for playing with timing curves. Summit has a great deal on these dist'rs now because MSD bought out Mallory and they aren't made anymore.
Team Owner
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 21,953
Likes: 1,445
From: Reno Nevada
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist- Modified
I switch my polymer fuel pump rod between my two vette motors. so who knows it might have over 50,000 miles on it and I think 6 motors because of frequent refresh rebuilds.
I did not run a roller tip rod because they were new at the time and heavy. I had some concerns about the fuel pumps springs ability to function with a heavy roller tip when the motor regularly exceeds 7000 rpm. Some body mentioned that they use the Howards in their circle track 8600 rpm motors with stock type fuel pumps
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hrs-94475/overview/
I did not run a roller tip rod because they were new at the time and heavy. I had some concerns about the fuel pumps springs ability to function with a heavy roller tip when the motor regularly exceeds 7000 rpm. Some body mentioned that they use the Howards in their circle track 8600 rpm motors with stock type fuel pumps
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hrs-94475/overview/
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,194
Likes: 109
From: Las Vegas NV
I'll go with that howards rod and send back the bronze tip rod that is en route to me now.
Still waiting to hear back from COMP about the distributor gear compatibility.
OP sorry for hijacking the thread, but hopefully this all helps you with your decision!
Still waiting to hear back from COMP about the distributor gear compatibility.
OP sorry for hijacking the thread, but hopefully this all helps you with your decision!
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 17,676
Likes: 201
From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
don't assemble a street motor with bronze parts
comp cams told me many years ago to run their bronze tipped fuel pump rod. what they didn't tell me is Don't expect it to last 4000 miles! So I'm driving down the freeway and my motor starts hacking and wheezing. I had a fuel pressure gauge on my duel feed inlet and the pressure wasn't even one psi. it could idle and drive really slow so i limped it to a friends house. I got a ride and bought a new ACdelco stock type return pump. the new pump put out the same psi. I was scratching my head. Well I called a friend and he said that the new comp cams were some kind of Austempered (SP?) iron that were prone to failure and maybe your cam lobe for the fuel pump rod is worn away. I was less than 3500 miles or something. So I tailored it home and confirmed the rod had very little travel rotating the motor by hand. So I yanked the motor out and the cam was ruined. But the worst part is I could NOT pull the bronze tipped pump rod out. The tip was about gone and had mushroomed. Making it bigger diameter than the hole. I had to use a small air dremmel to grind it back to round to get it out of the block. I was so pissed at Comp Cams.
30 years ago we all ran bronze dizzy gears in our sprint cars. It was an item that we checked and replaced often.
Roller tipped or poly pump rods are the only way to go
comp cams told me many years ago to run their bronze tipped fuel pump rod. what they didn't tell me is Don't expect it to last 4000 miles! So I'm driving down the freeway and my motor starts hacking and wheezing. I had a fuel pressure gauge on my duel feed inlet and the pressure wasn't even one psi. it could idle and drive really slow so i limped it to a friends house. I got a ride and bought a new ACdelco stock type return pump. the new pump put out the same psi. I was scratching my head. Well I called a friend and he said that the new comp cams were some kind of Austempered (SP?) iron that were prone to failure and maybe your cam lobe for the fuel pump rod is worn away. I was less than 3500 miles or something. So I tailored it home and confirmed the rod had very little travel rotating the motor by hand. So I yanked the motor out and the cam was ruined. But the worst part is I could NOT pull the bronze tipped pump rod out. The tip was about gone and had mushroomed. Making it bigger diameter than the hole. I had to use a small air dremmel to grind it back to round to get it out of the block. I was so pissed at Comp Cams.
30 years ago we all ran bronze dizzy gears in our sprint cars. It was an item that we checked and replaced often.
Roller tipped or poly pump rods are the only way to go
Nowadays it is more common to see a billet solid roller with a pressed on iron gear than it is to see without, times change and the old stuff is easily replaced with modern close tolerance machining of today.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 8,351
Likes: 75
From: Tampa Bay FL
I ran a Crane Energizer 272-H10 grind with both 3.07 with TH350 and 3.54 diff with 700R4.
This is an excellent TORQUE cam and it was a blast. It is also very close to what used to be referred to as an 'RV cam'. I would recommend it.
As an aside, when I went roller, I kept duration pretty close to this cam but with greater lift inherent with the roller. As a result, the road manners are nearly identical but the engine pulls much longer than before (more middle and upper rpm power). Also, I did not have to adjust carb, initial timing or total advance. I would choose EITHER cam again and again.
This is an excellent TORQUE cam and it was a blast. It is also very close to what used to be referred to as an 'RV cam'. I would recommend it.
As an aside, when I went roller, I kept duration pretty close to this cam but with greater lift inherent with the roller. As a result, the road manners are nearly identical but the engine pulls much longer than before (more middle and upper rpm power). Also, I did not have to adjust carb, initial timing or total advance. I would choose EITHER cam again and again.
Last edited by TedH; Feb 4, 2016 at 04:33 PM.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio Texas
No problem. I'm looking to build up an engine from a bare block at some point, just for fun. I'll definitely be looking at rollers then. For this swap, I'm pretty set on keeping it simple with a flat tappet but I think I've found a good solution. Howards has a cam that looks like it'll be a perfect match for the application.