I am still putting back together the first engine I have built and have ran into a problem according to my co-workers. My question is, can I re-use the original cam that came out of my engine?It is out of a 1967 Skylark. They say I need to buy another one because the lobes are probably flat in some spots. The only problem is I have already put it in. I bought new lifters and bearings for it as well, but the same cam. Keep in mind now that I don't care if it runs like a champ. I just want to throw the motor back together to get me back and forth to work because when I bought it the engine was disassembled already. I plan on building a brand new engine for it in the following months. Will it atleast run fair enough for a daily driver? I figure yes because I see plenty of other crappy cars out there with high mileage still clunking along that are probably worse off internally than mine. Any suggestions would be helpful before I drop the motor in, just incase I have to yank it out again.:gt:
As long as everything is in good shape, you'll be fine. If you re-use the old lifters (on the same lobes they came from!!!), you are even better. Did you replace the cam bearings? -Bob Cunningham
new cams have a coating called parkerizing to help break in. using new lifters against an uncoated cam may spell trouble. call comp cams tech line, or crane cams tech line and tell them what you are doing. for $60-80 bucks it might be better to slap a new cam in, also i have heard that the quality of lifters out there may be suspect since one of the 2 plants in the U.S. went out of business that makes lifters. the company trying to take up the slack seems to have quality issues. i would do some more research and check on the big block forums if anyone has had trouble with lifters recently. good luck
