cam exchange

[Russell Roach]

Hey Fellows,

I'm about to change the cam in my 1600 3main I would like any suggestions you might have. The engine is fairly stock with stock valve train 9/1 to 10/1 compression(guessing) and I run the four speed, lightened aluminum flywheel and I'm going to be running 4.38 gears in the rear-end.

I'm looking for a cam that will come on about 3 grand and pull past 7 grand I will be running a MSD 6AL ingnition with a 7k rev limit. I have been told by several folks that even a mild cam exchange can't be done without major head and carb work I just don't believe this to be true I'm not going radical Like the BL-4 grind just a little extra over stock. I need it to give my vintage f prod competition a spankin.

I would welcome any and all suggestions on cam specs and vendors to talk to. I have made preliminary contact with Schneider cams(wasn't that impressed) I want a vender that says "Oh yes the r16 we have grinds for that" any other venders that you have used would be appreciated.

Need Some Help

Russell

[SLOroadster]

Russel,
You might try ELGIN cams. They redid some u20 cams for a friend of mine. They know that a u20 is different than a L20. I would assume that they know about R16s as well

Will

[S Allen]

Russell.

There is a guy in Glendora, CA that should be able to help you out. I have yet to use him but have heard he knows his stuff about the R16 motors. You can put a hotter cam in without alot of head work and different carbs. The name of the cam company is American Cam Grinding. Their address is 2001 E. Gladstone, Unit G, Glendora, CA 91740. The owner's name is Joseph Bray. Phone number 909-599-1225.

Steve

[SLOroadster]

A friend talked to Joe at American Cams, and they didn't know roadsters very well. They tend to turn cams to L series specs rather than U or R series. That is why we decided to use Elgin instead.

Will

[S Allen]

That is strange as Richard Browne had him do a grind for his R16 stroker project and all went well. I need to give them a call to see what is up. I do not intend to pass on bogus information.

Steve

[S Allen]

Russell,

I just got off of the phone with Joe the owner and he does know the R16 motor well and will grind a cam to suit your specific needs. Just tell him what you want the motor to do. It is a family owned business started by his Dad over 30 years ago. He just ground an R16 cam this morning for someone out here.

Steve

[SLOroadster]

I guess he just doesn't know the U20. Thats cool that he knows R16s.

Will

[Minh]

Does anyone know how much did it cost him to do the grind?

I am debating the cost from a B-Cam to grinding one from a A-Cam.

[Russell Roach]

Minh,

I'm sending my cam to have a regrind done I will let you know what the cost is. Looking at 450 lift 290 duration. I am also having my lifters resurfaced so I'll have the cost on that also.

Steve,

Both myself and my mechanic talked with Joe he was very helpful and patient. Elgin may know their stuff but they acted very proprietary with it, kinda turned me off and made my decision to go with Joe an easy one. Do either of you know the stock lift and duration for a r engine?

Russell

[S Allen]

Russell,

Yes, Joe seems like a good guy and was very helpful over the phone. The stock R16 cam has a duration of .256 and a lift of .335. I have cam specs on the main website at http://www.311s.org/tech/engine/camspecs.html

Let us know how it goes.

Steve

[Minh]

Just to make sure.

A U20-SU can be grinded to a U20-Solex?

Thanks...

[SLOroadster]

I guess you could regrind to a B cam spec, but why stop there? I have an A cam that was reground to 284 Degree intake, 290 exhaust at .48 lift. The car really comes alive at 3500rpm and pulls to 7000 no sweat. Its almost like it has a small turbo that kicks in at 3500. If you regrind a cam, you should also get new tappets for the tops of the valves inorder to keep the cam/rocker geometry correct (very important.) You also might want heavier duty valve springs to avoid valve float. If you decide to do a regrind, talk to the guys at ELGIN, they just did a batch for a friend of mine.

Will

[Minh]

I guess you could regrind to a B cam spec, but why stop there? I have an A cam that was reground to 284 Degree intake, 290 exhaust at .48 lift. The car really comes alive at 3500rpm and pulls to 7000 no sweat. Its almost like it has a small turbo that kicks in at 3500. If you regrind a cam, you should also get new tappets for the tops of the valves inorder to keep the cam/rocker geometry correct (very important.) You also might want heavier duty valve springs to avoid valve float. If you decide to do a regrind, talk to the guys at ELGIN, they just did a batch for a friend of mine.

Will

Thanks Will... I definitely look into that option. I remeber you had some problems in rush hour traffic. Do think with a stock flywheel and that modified cam the "rush hour problem" is a non-issue?

[Alan Duquette]

Hi,
I coordinated a .45" lift 274 duration R-16 cam grind with Ameri-cam in southern California thru Classic Datsun Motorsports. All went well.

Your R-16 will not pull 7 grand, it will float the valves near 6,300 rpm without extensive valve train work. I know from holding my foot down real far and hard between shifts

[Russell Roach]

Alan,

What work did you do to your valve train to keep from floating the valves. The cam I have in there is a little hotter than stock right now and I have used Chevy valvesprings from I believe a 283. I am less worried about valve float than I am about coil bind. However I'm not really sure that is the lessor of the two evils.

Russell