Thought this would make a good 'sticky'...How DO I do that? Anyway....here are the stock cam specs as given by Dennis Manner in an old GS-Xtra:
Isky 310 Super Magnum.... The Isky 310 cam I've had in my 425 since 1978! VERY lumpy idle, which sounds awesome, good power from 4-6000.
'Stock' Cam from NAPA..... Just catching up Cheryl!.....With the short daylight hours I spend more time indoors. Add to that I'm on a layoff from work after 11 years....Finally some time to work on my cars! A still available 'stock' cam. Thanks to Mr Telesco for this one: We are talking about the NAPA # 229-1606 right?? which is the only one made for the NailHeads from '57-'66 made by Clevite. The specs are as follows. Cam lobe lift-.269" I&E Gross lift at 1.6 ratio =.430" (more than likely closer to .406") Overlap-74* Advertised duration-295*I-302*E SAE duration 284*I&E Duration @.050"=207*I&E Intake lobe centerline-112* Exhaust " " -116* The following is measured @.050" for timing: Intake opens-9*ATC-closes-36*ABC Exhaust " -39*BBC- " -12*BTC Maybe you should try to retard it 4 degrees as the factory did for more top-end. I have installed a couple of these at my shop & the cars I put them in appeared to perform pretty well. I did degree them in & installed both of them 4* retarded as the factory did. I also know that they fall flat on their face at about 4800 RPM's. Tom T
super wildcat cam? Walt, From what I can tell, the specs you posted look like the the early '60's 401, and the 425 (both single and dual carb) all used the same cam. Doc keeps on talking about the "super wildcat" cam which seemed to be a factory option for the Nailhead. Is the super wildcat in that table and if so, which is it? If not, does anyone have the specs for that cam and could they post them here? Thanks for the great info,
i think it was the dist. that was different, i am under the impression that the cams were the same.when i built mine there was only 1 stock cam offered for the 425.(at least from my supplier) the suerwildcat had 2-4s= more fuel, a recurved dist.with larger springs and weights.but i know i have been wrong before. scott 1964 wildcat 425 2-4bbls 4-speed
Here are some of the threads where the super wildcat cam has come up (one , two , three ). I agree that a recurved distributor was part of the package, but most folks also mention a different cam. I am currently running a 401 with the '66 Q-jet intake, an 800cfm Q-jet, plus a recurved dist. I'd like to get the cam info so when the time comes, I can add that to the package.
old super cat cam I knew that sooner or later some one would come up with the super cat specs and Walt did it. :TU: The cam with the part no. ending in 091 is it. It is an Arkus Zora Duntov grind. He is the man who designed all the famous Chevy and GM performance cam grinds of the Fifties and sixties. :Brow: I have printed out the specs for my ref. library and then I can take them and get the cam ground by Isky,or one of the other cam companies. THE SUPER WILD CAT LIVES AGAIN. There really is a God. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
But Doc, The cams ending in numbers 100, 241 ,and 091 all seem to have identical specs other than the 091 having the groove in it's shank at .120" instead of at .060" as the other two do. I'm not sure what the groove is for, but with everything else being the same, would there be such a big difference between the super wildcat cam and the standard cam for what looks like would be a lot of other Nailheads? What am I missing here?
Missing something???? May not be You missing something, may be me. :laugh: I just remember the 091 number. If you look at the numbers on the chart they are for a " performance" cam, not what I call a "stock" cam that would be in your every day grocery getter. Let us compare the 091 to the Isky listed in the next post down. Now the Isky is a known "hot" cam with a "lumpy idle and good power". I.E. a good, strong running hot cam. Isky lift- .440 Int. 091 cam- .439 Int. .440 Ex. .441 Ex. dur. I&E 244 deg. dur. I&E 290/299 deg. So we see that the 091 is right in there with the Isky on the lift but keeps the valves open longer. Not by much but still a little longer. Definitly a good street/strip cam. Also has a good idle that can be used with a auto trans. A definite plus in my book. AS far as the numbers down thru the years, I think you are looking at the same basic 'super cat cam' that has been modified in one way or another over time and has had the part numbers superceded by other numbers because of such changes as lubrication grooves milled into the cam ect.
Thanks Doc and Cheryl, it all makes sense now! If I want to make the most of my '66 Q-jet intake and 800cfm carb, I should get my hands on one of the '63-'65 425 ci (super wildcat) cams for a little more top end. Great thread Walt!
cams 1 GSCA cam I bought for the MW 425 in a Wildcat Automatic 2 Carmen cam in my 4-speed Wildcat convertible 3 Carmen hydraulic cam for the 4-speed 65 GS Spacing____________112____________114____________110 Intake Open BTC_____2______________-5_____________6.7 Intake Close ABC_____34_____________43.5___________45.7 Intake Duration______260____________218.5__________232.4 Intake Lift__________0.432___________.432___________.440 Exhaust open BBC____45_____________43.4___________45.9 Exhaust Close ATC___-7______________-5____________6.7 Exhaust Duration_____268____________218.5__________232 Exhaust Lift_________0.457__________.4309___________0.4393 Overlap___________________________-9.9____________6.7 I used 1.51 as the rocker ratio... 5/6/2008 note- the 3rd cam is the W-30-10 that I used in the 401 that got dyno'd. 1st cam is duration @ .006 2+3 are @ .050 Why I used 1.51 I'll never know!
I like the Isky cam card... makes more sense than all others. The Comp cam card is the least helpful! Ted
What I find interesting is Buick de-tuned the cams for `66 (Dennis told me this was due to idle quality) except for the very rare MZ `66 Super Wildcat. No compromise with this option package, same cam as the earlier 2 4 cars. In a dealer sales bulletin Buick pointed out the `66 Super Wildcat was equipped with a "high speed camshaft". They didn`t mention the rest of the cams were de-tuned!! Ted, more than your cam`s actual specs I`d like to know about your driving impressions. How do each of the cams compare from the driver`s seat? o No: Tom Mooney
Hey Tom! No driving on the w-30-10 cam (going in a 65 4-speed Skylark GS) The 4-speed Wildcat convert feels like mush on the low end - taking off the line is a clutch feathering affair. Its almost as if the cam timing is retarded. I've been distracted by my a-body cars, got 2 small blocks running this year but no nails.:spank: I should correct the earlier post-data at home.
Thought I would add this cam being used in Eriks build http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?p=1100789&posted=1#post1100789 Comp Cams Part # 91-000-5. Grind#: B364 5201/5203 H 112+2 Gross Valve lift: Intake .485, Exhaust.496 Duration @.006 Tappet Lift: 275 intake 280 exhaust Valve Timing Open Closed @.050 INT 2 BTDC 42 ABDC EXH 49 BBDC 1 ATDC These Specs are for Cam installed @110.0 Intake centerline Intake Exhaust Duration @.050 224 231 Lobe Lift .3130 .3200 Lobe Seperation 112.0
