Group Purchase - Crane Nailhead Roller Cam BLANKS!! - $150

Ok Nailheaders, here's a fantastic opportunity to buy a Crane Cams Roller cam blank. Price is $150 and the 'banker' will be Lee F Schelin from the NailheadBuick group at Yahoo.

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/NailHeadBuick/

He needs 40-50 orders to make this happen and is already receiving a good response from that group but they have asked me to pass the word onto this group and also the BPG.

He is in touch with Jim Hill of Crane Cams who said this...

Then in a later thread...

Then in a later thread...

You can follow the thread by logging into the Yahoo NailheadBuick group but this is one of the latest posts by Lee F Schelin

This is a rare oppotunity to obtan a roller cam blank that after getting your heads flowed can be ground specifically for your application by any grinder you like. The benefit over a replacement or re-ground cam is that...

Let's support this group purchase as it might be a long while before we get another opportunity like this again.

 

The boards been busy and this post dissapeared off the list within a few minutes. TTT for those who missed it earlier.

 

Howdy,

While it would be nice to have something like this, if there are no compatable roller lifters how would we use something like this and wouldn't it mandate the use of roller rockers as well? If you could get us a list of where to get all the parts to put together a viable valve train to untilize the roller blank ground to our specs it would be alot more enticing to alot of us I bet. I know roller rockers are offered but they take big orders for them too. I'm also leary about no lifters or matching springs for a such a cam.

Thanks,

 

Obviously I don't have a vested interest in these cams other than wanting to pass on the news but he does say...

I'd say the best thing to do is to go and join the Yahoo group (which I think is a must for any Nailhead lover anyway) and ask them as they seem to have many of these answers. The thread has been going for some time and the question of the roller lifters might have already been answered. I'll check tonight when I get home.

In the meantime...

I believe Tom Telesco is in the final stages of developing his roller rockers and with the entire valve train being 'roller-ised' would make a great improvement to any Nailhead. In fact I'm not sure I'd use a roller cam without using Tom's Roller rockers.

Tom, any input on this?

 

Response From Tom Telesco regarding roller lifters...

I don't believe that Hydraulic Roller Lifters were ever available for a NailHead. I am in contact with a company now about the availability of Hydraulic Rollers, but they won't be available for 3-4
months. It's thru Schubeck Racing.

Just today I sent Lee some info about them. I ordered a set of Flat Tappet Hydraulic Racing Lifters to try in my stocker '64 Riv. They aren't cheap at $720.00 plus shipping & they would have to be used with some kind of adjustable valve train, pushrods or rockers. I'm sure Hydraulic Rollers are more, I believe Joe told me around $960.00.

The positive side is they don't need any break-in, can be re-used over & over again on any hydraulic cam, new or used, will not wear out cam or lifters, & can be put back in any hole if the motor comes apart again for any reason. This is especially appealing to racers who may try many diff. cams to find the best combo.

 

I don't know about you guys but I'm dreaming of a full roller Nailhead. Hang on...I'm not dreaming at all, it's about to become a reality!

Tom's roller rockers+crane roller cam+dual quads+TA headers...somebody pinch me!

 

I am very interested in a roller cam, but a blank cam? I personally don't know anything about the grind that a nailhead would like, and if I did, I wouldn't have the foggiest idea about who to have grind it. Maybe Carmen Faso would have some ideas.....Dan

 

Dan, you don't have to know. The beauty of getting a blank is that you can have it ground to suit your application exactly. Cams should be ground to suit the flow of your heads, the size and tune of your carb, the weight of your car, the gearing of your rear end, your gearbox type and the intended driving application. I'm sure that there are people who will help you determine the specs of your cam based on their collective experience if you give them these specs. The problem with getting an existing cam reground is that you usually have to compromise things like the base circle. I'm obviously not an expert but I believe that you are limited in the lift available from a stock reground cam as the only way to get extra lift is to reduce the base circle which ends up too small requiring custom pushrods and can possibly lead to your lifters fowling on the cam bearing shoulders.

Vendors like TA Performance, Tom Telesco, Carmen Faso or any of the cam builders etc... would all be able to assist you in determining the exact specs of your cam. I suppose you could do it backwards and build your motor to suit a readily available cam profile but the choices are limited and may not suit your intended application. Sure it's a pricey alternative but at least now you will have the choice. The trick to getting the most out of your engine is in the matching of your parts to the cam and at least now you will have the opportunity to tune it to get the most of your engine.

 

Hi Bill,
I don't know a whole lot about roller cams, and perhaps that is part of the problem. As I understand it, they reduce friction, but a major advantage is that you are not limited to a purely egg shaped eccentric profile. You can use a figure 8 profile if it suits your needs. There aren't a whole lot of guys out there with Buick nailhead experience like Carmen or Tom, and I don't know how much collective experience they have with a roller cam in the nailhead. That stuff requires a lot of experimentation, I would think. It's probably fairly easy for the Chevy guys to call the machine shop and have them "plug in the numbers" to get the grind they want, but then there are problems with indexing, etc. Even new boxed cams have to be indexed. Is it the same process for a roller cam? While I am not averse to buying a few blanks while they are available, I'm not sure I'd be better off than just buying a tried and true conventional cam that was worked out with racing experience. 150.00 apiece sounds like a great price, but if I get them both ground, and they don't optimize my particular package, I could be worse off than with a "blueprint" grind. Maybe Tom or Carmen can help me out here. Is it really that easy to call the grinder and have him grind the optimal nailhead cam for me? Again, I think my lack of knowledge is holding me back.....Thanks, Dan

 

As you know, I do a lot of aluminum Buicl/Rover work.

Those lifter bores can get nasty after lots of miles, and bushing them is a real pain, and severely weakens the lifter holder bores.

I don't sleeve the lifter bores in those engines any more, I simply bore the lifter holes to accept the next diameter in the food chaini, Ford small block lifters.

Since there aren't any Nailhead roller lifters, solid or hydraulic, why not use the next easily available parts. Just have to make sure theire isn't a lobe to adjacent lifter interference problem.

In the case of my aluminum stuff, the difference in lifter bore diamerter from the stock lifter to the Ford is .013/.015 difference. More than enough clearance for no interference issues between adjacent lobes to lifters.

Might look into alrternate makes of roller lifters.

 

Re: Response From Tom Telesco regarding roller lifters...

I know this is an old post, but did they ever make thse roller lifters? Dan

 

This post is from a long time ago. Did the order for the Crane roller camshafts workout? Will they ever do this again?

TA Performance claims to have NH roller lifters in their catalogue.

 

TA is doing a hydraulic roller cam for the nailhead now...

I thought Crane Cams was liquidated sometime last year?

 

Yes Crane is long gone.
S & S bought the remains, I believe they only make Motorcycle Cams now.
Howards Cams still has Roller cams and Roller Lifters for the Nailhead.

 

Called Howard's and was told that they do NOT have a roller cam or lifters for the Nailhead! Infact, they make NOTHING for it.
---Jim

 

Yes we have roller cams and lifters for the Nailhead engines :beers2:

 

Cool, thanks Mike...someday...

 

dont see anything online, how much are lifters? got any specs on cams?

 

See this older thread for pics, info and prices on cam, grind and lifters.

http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=177998&highlight=roller+cam+nailhead

TA perf link for NH roller cam - you specify the grind.

Search TA website for "1412" and there is a listing for "Hydraulic Roller Lifter - $495" - However, this same part number indicates "400-430-455 Hydraulic Roller Lifters - $345" in the current download catalogue.

 

I might not have them online, look through the catalog I know they're there for sure