Cam Shaft Storage
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 14,468
Likes: 8,252
From: Napa Valley California
Cam Shaft Storage
I've heard that you should always store a crank sitting upright on end and not lay it down on its side.
How about the camshaft?
Is it ok to store the camshaft laying down or should I store it on end like the crank?
How about the camshaft?
Is it ok to store the camshaft laying down or should I store it on end like the crank?
Racer
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 289
Likes: 32
It would actually be better to store crank shafts on their sides to prevent their bending at the #5/#7 rod journals. And camshafts? Store them on their sides like the camshaft people do.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
Steel (or cast iron) can withstand its own weight without 'sagging'. 
You may want to stand it on end to save floor space or to have less of the part on the floor where it can rust/corrode, but that's about it. If stored for more that a day or two, you want to oil/grease the machined journals and bag it to keep moisture out.
You may want to stand it on end to save floor space or to have less of the part on the floor where it can rust/corrode, but that's about it. If stored for more that a day or two, you want to oil/grease the machined journals and bag it to keep moisture out.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2007
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From: RI, Now Franklin/Nashville TN
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 3,235
Likes: 658
From: Thunder Bay
Howards was selling those cam cases at the Street Machine Nationals in St Paul last year for a couple of bucks. I wish I had bought a few for the stack of cams I have sitting on the shelf. They are genius.
Last edited by drwet; Nov 26, 2017 at 08:34 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 8,336
Likes: 2,810
From: Cool Northern Michigan
Old school wives-tales. Just think of the tons of forces put on that crank every time the sparkplug fires or when you dump the clutch. And someone thinks it will bend just laying there? I wouldn't own a crank that would be subject to bending under it own weight. And just think about the potential damage that could occur if it fell over onto something, marring the journals. However, vertical is a space saver, but I would wrap it like it was being shipping to the moon with bubble wrap after it was soaked good in your choice of lube. Camshaft in a PVC tube sounds inventive too.
Last edited by HeadsU.P.; Nov 26, 2017 at 08:44 AM.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 9,452
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From: Powassan ON
Neighbor has some new Ford BB cams stored inside PVC pipe, filled with new Dino oil. Been that way for 10 years or so (as long as I've known him), perhaps since his FoMoCo tech days, decades ago. Caps glued on. I can only assume they'd be like new. Laying flat, in the rafters in his shop. I'd guess he'd have 50 of them.
Also has five 45 gallon plastic drums with bare big blocks in them, again, filled with oil. Might have cranks in them, no idea. Helped him load one in the back of a truck once, sold it to some guy who was building a jet boat or air boat, I forget. He's they type of guy you see on TV, hoards **** and his kid sells it off at 1/2 value to some "collector". Sold off his last car a couple summers ago, a pretty nice Mach 1.
Also has five 45 gallon plastic drums with bare big blocks in them, again, filled with oil. Might have cranks in them, no idea. Helped him load one in the back of a truck once, sold it to some guy who was building a jet boat or air boat, I forget. He's they type of guy you see on TV, hoards **** and his kid sells it off at 1/2 value to some "collector". Sold off his last car a couple summers ago, a pretty nice Mach 1.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 17,676
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From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
My friend stores his cranks one the end or vertically. At any given time he has 30 - 40 cranks sitting this way with only a few inches between them. I feel sorry the the employee that knocks one over creating a domino effect.
Never asked why but I assume it is to gain floor space, even though he has a 40,000 sq/ft shop it probably carried over from when he first started in a small shop where it was a necessity.
As for a cam I don't think there is any worry about it getting damaged, heck you could spray it with WD 40 wrap it in bubble wrap and it would be good 50 years later
Never asked why but I assume it is to gain floor space, even though he has a 40,000 sq/ft shop it probably carried over from when he first started in a small shop where it was a necessity.
As for a cam I don't think there is any worry about it getting damaged, heck you could spray it with WD 40 wrap it in bubble wrap and it would be good 50 years later
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 6,952
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From: melbourne florida
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
Pvc pipe with s screw in plug on one end always worked for me.
I have an old friend that had a very successful speed shop in the 60's that closed in the early 70's and last I heard he still had hundreds of cams in the rafters of his house. I'd bet they are all still useable,
I have an old friend that had a very successful speed shop in the 60's that closed in the early 70's and last I heard he still had hundreds of cams in the rafters of his house. I'd bet they are all still useable,
