choosing a cam

[julie4morris]

I have a 1275 A+ out of a marina that I plan to put in my Traveller. I have a Maniflow exhaust system for it and a HIF44, but have yet to sort out an inlet manifold.

I am looking for a cam for it that has good pulling power around the 1500-4500 may be 5000 range so I’m thinking.
Could anyone give me some more advice/suggestions on what to do and a cam to fit the bill?

[bmcecosse]

Speak to A C Dodd - his cams come very highly recommended for torque. Especially his 'RS' cam for what you want.

[IslipMinor]

I have no experience of AC Dodd's cams, but he seems to go for very/extremely high lift and moderate valve opening times. The duration on the ACD-RS is 248° for both inlet and exhaust, but the lobe lift of 0.303" is as much and more than some of the very well known 276° 'Rally' cams!

Would be very interesting to see some actual dyno numbers for the cam, but I would agree that the spec suggests that the torque should be really good.

[bmcecosse]

I'm sure he will be more than happy to oblige. He puts up some remarkable graphs on his facebook page.

[philthehill]

The standard Marina/Ital 'A' Plus camshaft is a very good all round camshaft and is more than suitable for your requirements.
With a cam lift inlet/exhaust of 0.250" and an exhaust period of 252 degrees and an inlet period of 230 degrees it will give good torque over the rev range requirements you quote above.
Unless the cam is seriously worn - personally I would stick with the Marina / Ital cam.
What I would do though is replace the cam followers.
If the old cam followers are re-used they do need to go back to the same lobe as they came from as the cam follower and cam lobe have worn together. Fitting them back into another hole will lead to rapid wear of the cam follower and cam lobe.
A new cam should always be fitted with new cam followers.

[julie4morris]

I had a Google search of 'A C Dodd' and found his face book page, does he have a web site or do I just speak to him directly?

I have also looked at the cams on A-Series Spares site and wondered if they are any good or if anyone has had experience with them as the price seems to be pretty good.

http://shop.aseriesspares.co.uk/product ... es-engine/

The other option I have looked in to is a Kent Cam. I had a good read through what Vizard had to say and after speaking to a guy from Kent Cams, 266 Megadyne seemed to be a pretty good option.

[bmcecosse]

Ask AC D on Facebook - he is the expert and seriously his RS cam seems to be hard to beat for excellent torque.

[les]

I'm certainly pleased to hear a good report on the Ital camshaft, will save me a few bob!

[philthehill]

The AEG577, AEG323 & AEG538 Marina /Ital camshaft is a very good all round camshaft and was fitted to the Midget Mk 3, the Sprite Mk 4 1300cc and 12H engines Marina 1.3. and if I read the Vizard cam chart right Cooper S and Midget Mk 2.
I always steer clear of cams with re-ground profiles. Unless you have the facilities/equipment and knowledge to set the cam to the manufactures specification using a vernier adjustable cam sprocket it is best to get a new camshaft as the reground profile may not always align with the keyway in the camshaft sprocket.
As regards suppliers I always purchase my cams from Kent Cams who now only supply cams ground from new forged blanks.

Vizard comments regarding the Kent Megadyne 266 - 'Smooth idle, pulls from 1200rpm, towing ok. Good traffic cam. Small increase in low end, big increase in mid and top end'.

See also Mini Spares:-

http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?ty=pb&pid=37077

The only down side is the price £191.51 inc VAT - but you gets what you pay for.
As an aside it is a lot of money for a slight increase in valve opening compared to the Marina / Ital camshaft.
Phil

[bmcecosse]

That 1275 camshaft is the same timing and lift as the standard 1098 camshaft - except they advanced it slightly by (I think) 3 degrees. And they soon upgraded the Cooper S camshaft (AEG 148) to the slightly better AEG 510 - only early models had the standard cam. But it's up to you - no harm talking with AC D - but I have no idea what his cam will cost - just that it gets good reports!

[philthehill]

Shows how versatile that old Minor camshaft timing is and can be. Going from 1098cc to 1275cc and still useable!
An added benefit over the 948cc/1098cc camshaft is that the cam lobes were increased in width from 3/8" on the 948cc and 1098cc camshafts to 1/2" on the 1275cc camshafts for better reliability.

[julie4morris]

Well I have been doing a bit more research on cam's the last week and today my Maniflow exhaust system arrived I went a bit mad last night and pulled the head off the remove the cam, then realise the oil pan needs to come off to the gain access to the guides (all a learning curve). [frame][/frame]

I remove the followers and keep them in order so don’t panic!!! Cleaned up the cam for inspection and from what I can see it’s in good shape, but I’m having trouble trying to identify it.[frame][/frame]

Only markings I can fine are on the end of the shaft and read 'D381' from what I can make out or 'D287'. It’s also spider drive.
[frame][/frame]

I have become pretty dead set on the MD266 after reading up about others 1275 builds on here. The other thing that kept cropping up is the BDL needle i will need for the HIF44 and it got me thinking if any one knows the best rolling road/A-series tuning veteran around the Norfolk Suffolk area is?

[bmcecosse]

It may not be a standard cam - wouldn't expect to see any markings on the end of a standard cam. Can't see properly - but the cam followers (not 'guides' ) look marked - budget for a new set - which you will need anyway if you change the cam.

[philthehill]

I have just examined a standard Marina/Ital camshaft with spider drive and it does not have any markings/numbers on the front end.
A quick search of the web does not throw up anything as regards the number, camshafts and 'A' Series engine.

[philthehill]

One way of determining if it is a standard cam or not is to measure the height of the cam lobe. That is from the back of the lobe to the tip of the lobe.
When a camshaft is reground for extra lift from an existing camshaft metal is ground off the back of the lobe.
The main reason I do not like re-ground camshafts is that regrinding especially the back of the lobe can increase the angle of attack (sic) as the cam lobe hits & starts to lift the cam follower which can lead to rapid wear of the valve train including the cam itself.
If you have to use a reground camshaft it is advisable to get that camshaft tuftrided which will reinstate lobe hardness and so increase camshaft and cam follower life.
If you post the measurements on here I will compare those with the very good condition Marina/Ital camshaft I have on the shelf.
Here are some details of Kent Cams for consideration:
http://www.miniparts.cl/Archivos%20PDF/ ... e%2022.pdf

[bmcecosse]

It doesn't appear to be reground - the back of the lobes still seem to be nice and 'thick'. But I agree - some measurements would be handy!

[julie4morris]

Well I took a few in both Mm and inches.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[julie4morris]

[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[bmcecosse]

Better pictures - hmmm maybe it has been reground... Really need two measures - one across the peak to base, and the other at right angle to that. Subtract one from t'other to get the cam lift.

[philthehill]

I have just finished measuring the standard Marina/Ital camshaft and the distance from the back of the lobe to the tip of the lobe and both inlet and exhaust range from 34.24mm - 34.26mm.
Across the widest part of the lode measured:
Inlet 27.72mm - 27.73mm.
Exhaust 27.60mm - 27.64mm

So lift on inlet is 6.52mm.
lift on exhaust is 6.64mm.

To measure accurately - the Marina/Ital camshaft was supported in oiled 'V' blocks placed under the end journals . A digital calliper was used with free movement of the calliper jaws. An elastic band was placed around the upper jaws of the calliper to ensure that the same pressure was applied by the lower jaws of the calliper to each cam lobe and that the calliper jaws followed the lobe profile exactly.
The calliper after zeroing was placed hands free on an oiled lobe with the outer end of the calliper supported and the camshaft then turned to register either the max or min dimensions. The jaws of the calliper are wide enough to ensure that the calliper is kept at 90 degrees to the cam lobe.
The camshaft was turned in the same direction for each lobe with the calliper jaws free to move in or out to give a reading on the digital readout.

Phil