Camshaft choices

Anybody using the DWR-1 or the Paeco cams, of the elgin regrind?

bdcvg said:

Anybody using the DWR-1 or the Paeco cams, of the elgin regrind?

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DWR-1 and Elgin are quality parts. Don't even get me started on Paeco, I would take any parts from them if given to me. The real question is what kind of motor do you want to build. The stock BJ8 cam grind is a great profile, I raced with it for a season or two and would suggest using it for a hot street car. With additional modifications, light flywheel, match ported head, free-flowing exhaust and headers, you can make some big improvements over the stock performance of the 6-cylinder.

I can not tell a difference between the stock and next step up, having used both. Our club takes drives in the foothills around here and the torque of the Healey engine means you can drive and accelerate up the hills in 4th gear. I think you will get more performance improvement via work on the head.

Jerry

I have come to the conclusion that the best set up for a fast road car that is still very driveable is to use the DWR8 fast road cam with twin 2 inch SUs. It gives great torque from 1000 right through to 5500. It's a simple set up and relatively inexpensive although you do have to pocket the block.

Jerry said:

I can not tell a difference between the stock and next step up, having used both. Our club takes drives in the foothills around here and the torque of the Healey engine means you can drive and accelerate up the hills in 4th gear. I think you will get more performance improvement via work on the head.

Jerry

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I agree with Jerry in that a well set up stock BJ8 camshaft probably is the best compromise and with the engine tuned properly on a rolling road, which makes a big difference because these cars were set up for very different fuel to what we have now and the needles are miles out.

Where I disagree is with cylinder head mods, you can do a tremendous amount of work on the head and detect little or no difference at all, but change a camshaft and tick over becomes lumpy and you have to use more revs for the extra power it will give. If you don't fee a difference with a sportier cam it's because it needs to go on a rolling road to be set correctly. Anything else is guesswork and time wasted IMO.

An awful lot of people modify Healeys to Rally spec or whatever and the specialists ask vast sums of money for replicas, but I think they're inappropriate for modern road conditions where a good standard engine and perhaps a 3.5 to 1 diff assembly is the best compromise.

Any modern car, say an MX5 is far better cornering, much faster, torquier, better handling and it rides better, but it isn't a Healey and never will be any more than a Healey is going to compare with something modern. They're nice old cars and that's it. And is there a better looking car on the planet?

Well I am looking at a stock rebuild plus balancing and probably oversize pistons. I figured if there was a good alternative cam out there now is the time to do it. I do plan to use the 3.545 gear with the O.D. its a '65 MKIII that will see a mix or 60% hi-way and 40% back roads, the hi-way speeds around here are 75-80 which should be around 3000 rpm with the 3.545. Sounds like the way to go is get the cam re-ground to original specs.

Low revving and torquey engines respond well to higher axle ratios, I have one on my Bentley, but sporting camshafts need lower ratios because power is higher up the rev range, or you're for ever changing gear.

My TR3A has a TR6 3.5 to 1 and a Kent Cams fast road camshaft and it has spoiled tickover and pushed the power higher up the rev range, so I wish I hadn't fitted it. Standard would be better for the road.

Alternatively, if there's someone whose car is fitted with the BJ8+ cam Dennis Welch sells near you who'd let you try his......

Well after teardown one lobe of My stock cam is not good so I will be using the DWR-1 with the oil passage down the center and an upgraded oil pump to compensate for the pressure loss.

dougie said:

DWR-1 and Elgin are quality parts. Don't even get me started on Paeco, I would take any parts from them if given to me. The real question is what kind of motor do you want to build. The stock BJ8 cam grind is a great profile, I raced with it for a season or two and would suggest using it for a hot street car. With additional modifications, light flywheel, match ported head, free-flowing exhaust and headers, you can make some big improvements over the stock performance of the 6-cylinder.

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Elgin did my BJ8 cam(regrind) and lifters. Very happy with it and he(Dema) was the only one of three cam grinders that answered all of my questions(I sent 3 regrinders the same questions). He also resurfaced my lifters correctly and tempered them and hardened them(not sure of the technology terms)and resurfaced them with them with the correct surface crown.

I've got a Paeco cam and i'm interested in what Dougie has to say about them? I had my head redone by them and i believe they overclearanced my valve guides and i get oil blowing out the exhaust, that being said i don't have much time on the cam to be able to tell what its gonna do...

After too much time on the web considering My options, I've decide an Elgin regrind is the way to go. They offer a grind close to the DWR-1 adding a little duration 268 Deg up from 252 stock. Any body want to weigh in on that? I am still not against the stock grind #'s and that may be best with the change to a 3.55 rear gear.

The DWR1 grind will be fine with the 3.55 diff.