Is an E cam possible?

[1987cp]

I asked over on MustangForums, the general concensus so far is no, the E cam is too agressive for flat tops.

Too aggressive, as in, you'll have clearance issues if you don't notch the pistons?

[89LincolnTWNcar]

Yeah, but I still think it would fit, just barely though. Only way to know for sure is to do that goddamn clay test I keep hearing about. I'd just rather not purchase and install an E cam, only to find out it will cause my engine terminal damage

[1987cp]

Yeah, but I still think it would fit, just barely though.

Sounds like you're running a complete '86 Mustang short-block with true flattops without valve notches ... fun!

Let's see ... quick search at Summit for street/strip and street cams under .498 .... there's the B303 with 480/480 lift ... Crower 15511 with 468/486 .... Lunati 55113LUN retro-fit cam with 445/477 ... Comp CCA-31-412-8 with 480/480 (looks a lot like the B303 for like twice the $$$) .... and a Crane 364215 truck cam with 445/470. Maybe one of those would leave a bit more elbow room?

[Lincolnmania]

lopo pistons are not flat tops........they have a dish, just no valve reliefs
i can think of better cams than the e cam.

[89LincolnTWNcar]

i can think of better cams than the e cam.

This is true, people over on the mustang forums tell me that the letter cams are outdated and a waste of money if you pay for them.

[Mr. Land Yacht]

you would always add 1.72 Roller Rockers with your HO cam..that will put your lift somewhere around .475"
with those ported E7 heads and a good EFI setup(with ported intake) or Carbed setup(with edelbrock intake, like Performer RPM or Torker II), I would imagine ~350hp at the flywheel is possible...am I right Turbo? or just babbling
BTW, I do see a small dish in the pistons, but it's not much of anything...about 1mm

[88Vic]

Just a few cam questions: do 85 Mustang cams use the 351 firing order, and will they work on a carbed Panther? Also, if I was getting say a Town Car carbed from the factory, would I need to use the pistons out of an 85 Stang to work with the 85 Stang camshaft, provided the cam will work with that engine? If my questions are hard to understand cuz i'm so ignorant on this subject, just tell me and i'll try to reword it so you smart people understand me.

[1987cp]

Hm. Not sure if it'll help with your question, but I'll give it a shot .....

Any cam ought to work with a carb. You only need to know the firing order so you can wire the distributor correctly. The 351 firing order is said to place somewhat lower stresses on the crank, but a 302-firing-order motor can live quite a long, healthy life as well.

If you're using a factory-style hydraulic roller camshaft, such as that from an '85 or newer Mustang, and it's installed in a roller-compatible block, again such as that from an '85 or newer Mustang, you can use stock roller lifters and retainers and the whole valvetrain will be basically stock.

A roller camshaft can be used in a non-roller block, but the stock lifter retainers won't bolt up without modifying the block. This can be done by a competent machine shop, or you can just buy a combination of parts intended to retrofit a roller cam to a non-roller block. You could also use a flat-tappet cam in either a roller or non-roller block and have fewer worries, you just won't have the rollercam advantages such as reduced friction and the possibility of more radical cam profiles (i.e. higher lift with shorter duration).

Cam selection also affects distributor selection: a flat-tapped cam is made from cast iron, and is generally used with a cast iron gear on the distributor. Roller cams are made from billet steel and are usually used with steel distributor gears. Using an iron gear with a steel cam or vice versa can result in bad things happening, such as premature wear that will in turn cause inaccurate spark timing. There are gears available that are compatible with either style cam, but they cost a lot, so for my junk I stick with either steel or iron. The good news is that if you, for example, buy a Duraspark distributor at AutoZone like I did, you'll have the option to get either a steel or iron gear. Proform HEI distributors come with a steel gear, so they'll also be fine with a roller cam without modifications.

For simplicity, I've so far stuck to using post-1978 cylinder heads that use pedestal-mount rocker arms. These are easy to set up because you just install the rockers and torque the bolts to 20-25 ft-lbs or so, and you're done. You can make earlier heads work just fine as well, but you'll have to talk to someone other than me about how to do it. You can also buy conversion kits to install adjustable rocker arms such as Comp Pro Magnum rockers; I think using these rockers would require knowing how to set valve lash, but that's a story for someone else to tell at some other time.

Let's see.... I haven't addressed the piston issue at all, have I? Obviously, if your block needs to be bored, you can buy any pistons you want. On the '96 engine I built, I got regular 9:1 SpeedPro notched flattops with a .530 lift cam and have had zero issues. True flattops with no valve reliefs such as those in the '86 Mustang may require clearancing, depending on what cam you want to run. If you have the patience, this can be done at home with a special tool and your electric drill; I saw an article about it in Car Craft where they ran a big cam with a totally stock '86 Mustang short-block, and it basically just involved taking the heads on and off and checking piston-to-valve clearance half a jillion times.

So ... have I confused you enough yet?

[Mr. Land Yacht]

I'd curious to see Anabelle built really similar to my motor...then I could see what a TC runs vs what a MGM runs with ~the same motor.
'cause I'm doing the Ported E7s by Turbo and a 600cfm carb, Victor Jr intake Ecam and long tube headers...but I'm rebuilding my bottom end with KB Hyperutectic pistons, they have deep valve reliefs in them...you'd never have to worry about valve clearance ever again but they would run you about $240 for the pistons, then you would need to get rings...which are about another $100 new.
I got a heck of a deal from Jeff Boudah...KB Pistons, Rings and reman'd Connecting Rods for $250 shipped...it was a steal! and they were practically new! assembled, but never put in a motor! :banana:

[1987cp]

My Federal-Mogul/SpeedPro rebuild kit was like $260 from Summit, and included rings, pistons, bearings, and a complete gasket set, though I made do with getting the stock rods resized and magnafluxed at the machine shop as part of the standard block prep service. Keith Black pistons might be a bit better, though.

[89LincolnTWNcar]

I'd do it if I knew how do change pistons.

[1987cp]

LOL .... I don't know how, either, I pay my friendly machinist to do it for me.

I think you remove and install the press-fit wristpins basically by heating the assembly until the small end of the connecting rod expands enough that you can get the pin out, and then do exactly the same thing to get it back in. Not sure what sort of heat source would normally be used, though. I think you pretty much just have to make sure the wristpin is centered and the piston is on the right way.

[89LincolnTWNcar]

Whats a ballpark estimate of what your paying to get your pistons redone and stuff??

[1987cp]

I wanna say my machinist charges like 8 bucks each. He does the rod resizing as part of the standard block service for something like $250. I'd have to dig up a receipt to be more exact.

[OVERKILL]

I think I MIGHT have an E-cam in mine, which is unfortunate, I'd much rather have an HO cam, but the 15 inches of vacuum it's pulling has me wondering. It's often been a very popular choice with Mustang guys, though with no real reasoning behind it.............. I have plenty of piston to valve clearance with it and 1.7's.

I just got back from the track, and the car only picked up a second over last year, which isn't cool. The cam would come on just before the car would shift, it was awful.

Need to get it on a dyno and see where it's making power.

Regardless, there ARE better choices than the E-cam, and for a heavier car, the stock HO cam is a good choice.

An neat combo would be the TFS top-end kit, have you looked into it?