U20 camshaft

albert gast · Post by **albert gast** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:26 pm

would anyone know where there may be a source of U20 camshaft blanks?
we are developing a new cam profile and in order to get that profile and proper lobe seperation a blank camshaft is needed .
so far i have drawn a blank [pun] . any suggestions ???
regards ; al gast

SLOroadster · Post by **SLOroadster** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:28 am

Al,
Thats a tough one. I have never heard of any U20 blanks being released to the public. You might see if Elgin or Isky might have something. A friend has a copy of the full nissan roadster parts book. I don't remember even seeing a part # for such a creature, however we tried looking up a "C" cam and couldnt' find that either.

Will

spyder · Post by **spyder** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 2:53 am

Isky don't have 'em. I asked... but they did a super job on mine!

RC240z · Post by **RC240z** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 3:34 pm

Blanks are going to be almost impossible to find. Stan would be the one person I could think of that might have a couple, and well I would doubt that he would sell them.

As for a C cam. There is a part number, they do exist, I run one in my race car. It is really a better street cam, but for now it works really well.

We have a cam from Electramotive that has an interesting lobe profile. I am going to take a look at it and at an isky cam next time i freshen my racemotor.

albert gast · Post by **albert gast** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 9:15 pm

thanks for the info guys . did not think that a blank would be easy to find . maybe a cam grinder would be the best chance and they would want to sell me the finished cam , that would be alright to .
dema elgin has been a great help to us , but he can only go so far with a stock cam . his grind does make good torque and power . talking to the man that has racer brown's equpment and he is looking also . welded cams are not a good bet neither . maybe i can find one of brown' cams somewhere , his top two grinds are what we are looking for .
also am looking for the old style two piece rocker arms . dont have to be a complete set ,any amount would help . not asking for much , am i .
thanks again . regards ; al gast

spyder · Post by **spyder** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:22 am

Something else to keep in mind on a regrind. They take material off the bottom of the cam. In my case, to make the followers wipe in the middle I had to change the keepers and lash pads to the ones used on the Z heads. There aren't different thickness pads for the u20.

P.S. I use the Isky Z-196 grind. 306 duration and .530 valve lift with 110 lobe separation. What are you trying to get?

SLOroadster · Post by **SLOroadster** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:37 am

I've got an interesting Isky cam its a Z-380 .532 Z-369 .516.6 dual profile. Instead of running Z rocker buttons, I have some sort of Toyota ones. I need to email Isky and see what the full specs for my cam are. The head was built around this cam, and it seems to be pretty healthy.

Will

RC240z · Post by **RC240z** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 1:16 pm

That is a lot of lift for a CAM in a U20 Motor and with >.500 lift you can bind the Valve springs and hit the side of the block with your valves unless you increase the "eyebrow" on the edge of the block.

Everyone talks about getting more lift, but in this case the duration is going to be more benificial...

SLO that is an interesting cam profile. I am familiar with the Z-196, I will have to talk to my motor builder regarding your cam suggestion.

R

albert gast · Post by **albert gast** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:07 pm

as you read this post keep in mind we are building a full prep race only , national motor . it is limited to carb choke and valve size only .
the best grind that can be gotten so far is .570 lift , 108 degrees lobe seperation , at that you end up with 1" . 100 base circle .
the block has to be notched almost to the top ring . using 240z springs , retainers , and lash pads . plus machined and sized chevy stainless valves . so far the best dyno run has been 185 #torque , and horsepower a little north of 220 .
to go the next step will require a lot more work. with that , plus the proper setup we should be able to keep up with the z's and rx-7 .
al gast

SLOroadster · Post by **SLOroadster** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:08 pm

Its possible to run lots of lift, however you must be VERY careful timing the cam. I have 0.090" clearance P-V. I'm also bored way out so I have the needed clearance for the valves to cylinder bore. I don't know the duration of this cam. I was told when I picked up the head, but I cant remember for sure. I think its something like 330, 320 but dont quote me on it. The guy who built the head for me knows his stuff, Nissan had him do the engine on the #46 BRE 510.

Will

Tad240 · Post by **Tad240** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:58 pm

Al,

What are the top 2 Racer Brown grinds that you are looking for? I have a couple - I might consider letting one go if it is what you need. We can discuss that off the site. Both are race cams with big lift.

Also, I do not have a card for either. Do you have information about the various brown grinds. I'd love to see that information as well since you seem to have some access to some of their equipment.