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-   -   What the hell is this? (http://www.moparchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43644)

dusterguy 12-24-2001 03:24 AM

What the hell is this?
 
I was reading the local car trader, and there is usually alot of old cars in there, and i just check it out for something to do. Well, I came across alot of chevies, and there "built up" engines. There seemed to be alot of 3/4 cams in these engines. My question is, what the hell is a 3/4 cam?

rb77413 12-24-2001 05:15 AM

I guess it is a 6 cylinder cam. Like sticking a v6 cam in a v8 3/4 of a v8 :D Honestly I've always wondered that my self.

Christopher 12-24-2001 06:30 AM

It's a old term used to describe a "3/4 race cam".The engine's cam has specs that are almost the same as a race cam.So I tell people I guess the engine only has 3/4 of a race cam in it and that 2 of the cylinders are not working??

sanborn 12-24-2001 09:58 AM

Those terms were used in the 50s to describe common aftermarket camshafts used primarily in Ford Flathead/Chevrolet 6 cylinder engines. Common terms were:
Sportsman Grind-Usually a cam with slightly more lift and duration than stock, no noticeable change in idle, oftentimes a sportsman cam didn't require a change in lifters. Stock lifters in Flatheads were non adjustable, they required grinding to change clearance. A time consuming process.

3/4 Race-Generally considered a cam that was pretty radical but still driveable on the street. Noticeably lopey idle. Required change in lifters and springs. About all the cam an engine could handle and still cruise the drive in restaurants.

Full Race-Camshaft was so radical it could only be used for racing purposes only.

There were other terms used(export cam, etc.) but those were the most prevalent. It didn't take much of a cam to put it in the Full Race category. Cars back in the 50s weighed 3200-4300 lbs. powered by engines of 220-255 cubic inches producing all of 100-150HP.

The guy writing the ad must be a geezer like me. Hope the brief history lesson helped.

Billydelrio 12-24-2001 11:41 AM

15/16 race cam!
 
Just a thought.
I would guess that a circle track racer now uses cam terms like "3/4 flat" and "3/4 banked" to describe what tracks the cam is used at. I have seen cams described in that manner in recent times.

Billy

waynebo 12-24-2001 12:02 PM

3/4 banked and 3/4 flat are refering to the track size and shape i.e flat or banked. waynebo

dusterguy 12-25-2001 05:46 PM

Thanks, that makes sense now. Maybe it was an old-timer writing the ad (just joking around with you)

thanks

jelsr 12-25-2001 06:06 PM

Sanborn-Glad to see someone besides me goes back that far. Personally I didn't care for the adj. tappets for the flathead, not much room there. Grinding the stems was just about as fast and there were no adjusters to come loose.

sanborn 12-26-2001 01:10 AM

Jelsr, Yes I go back that far but really I've never left. Just today may son and I rolled a 40 Ford PU in my shop to finish. We started on it 15 years ago, never finished it, stock cars got in the way when he was 16 and we never had time to get back to it. Engine is a .060" over 50 Ford, Fenton heads, 3- 97s on Fenton intake, Isky cam, aluminum flywheel and a genuine Holt all steel quickchange. I want to build it with parts that were only available in the 50s or 60s. Probably can't do it but I want to try.

Mopar_Mudder 12-27-2001 03:17 PM

Generally from when I run into people that use thoose terms it means they no nothing what so ever about building motors. And have no idea what is in the motor. It did use to mean something yes, now it is a sign of ignorance and stay clear.

They are the same people that like to say "It has a CAM in it", well all motors have cams in them dim wit, they mean it has and aftermarket cam, but they have no clue as to what.

6pakman 12-27-2001 09:39 PM

thats excellent mopar mudder!! you hit the nail right on the head!!! (LOL) good choice of words.

richrmixture 12-28-2001 01:30 AM

sanborn--My 57 Dodge 2-door post came out at about 3600 pounds and its 325 Hemi was 315 horses (not to mention the D-500 354 chrysler motors in some of them). If I am not too far off, isnt that about the same as an E-body with a 383?

dusterguy 12-28-2001 02:16 AM

wicked mudder there Mopar_Mudder, I wish I had me one of them.

DartGT66 12-28-2001 02:29 AM

Dusterguy, was just reading the specs of your car and it should be an easy 12 second car. The carb is a bit on the small side and you'll ned a converter with about 3000-3500 stall if it's an automatic. 35 degrees total spark advance and it should be right there. My '73 4D was propably a bit heavier and it run 13.2's with 3.23 gears and 205/75/14 tires

MOPARMANJAMES 12-28-2001 02:35 AM

3/4 cam
 
Yea, it's been a while since I heard that one.
Hey Dusterguy,
I was looking at your sig and I realized that 3/4 cam rymes with Trans Am. Haw,Haw,Haw. Hey you could make a song:

I got a TransAm with a 3/4cam and I went on the lamb from
Uncle Sam but the TransAm broke so I took the Tram and had some ham, oh black betty bamb a lamb......

nevermind:D

dusterguy 12-28-2001 08:38 PM

nice song there MOPARMANJAMES, got a good beat.

I know its a pontiac, but I'll garantee there isn't a 3/4 cam in my trans am

dusterguy 12-28-2001 08:48 PM

DartGT66, that's what i have been told. As I said in my sig, I tuned it myself, so that's why it's slow. haha. I have to wait till the spring for a little cash flow so I can get a converter, larger carb. I just kind of threw this car together with a few parts I had laying around. I don't know whether to leave the colom shift, or get a ratchet shifter though. oh well, i'll cross that river when i get to it. Thanks anyways.

jelsr 12-28-2001 10:29 PM

Sanborn,
Don't know if you're familiar with them or not but Speedway Motors out of Lincoln Nebraska has a fair selection of flathead parts and accessories. The catalogue is free. Actually they have 2, one for race goodies and one for nostalgia goodies. Had a '52 Crown Vic with alum heads, 3 pot man, 3/4 cam,
3sp w/od, and 3rd member from an automatic car. That thing had a top end that would curl your hair. I was in high school then and didn't have a brain in my head. 120+ on 500x16 bias plys??? You've got to be kidding! Lived to tell about it though, and that is important, they tell me.

djswwg 12-28-2001 10:33 PM

richrmixture; if you ever get a chance to line up beside a 383 Cuda at the strip, let us know the outcome. My money's on the e-body. Moparmanjames-that was fricken hilarious!:D :D :D

jelsr 12-28-2001 10:58 PM

Richrmixture,
Sanborn was referring to the early fifties, the flathead ford was 239CID, the Chev 6 was 235CID, and the Dodge was a 241CID ('53 to '55). Before that the Dodge was a flathead 6. In '55 Chev came put with the 265 V8, Ford with the OHV 272/292, Pontiac and Olds had some nasty combos also. It was a time of change in the last half of the fifties, and as per usual Mopar was in the thick of it.

MOPARMANJAMES 12-28-2001 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dusterguy
nice song there MOPARMANJAMES, got a good beat.

I know its a pontiac, but I'll garantee there isn't a 3/4 cam in my trans am

Sorry bout that, I had a couple and couldn't help myself.
As for a converter, either buy a top quality used one or get it brand new, a converter is no place to cut corners.
I would suggest Dynamic or Turbo Action or any reputable brand.;)

dusterguy 12-29-2001 01:07 AM

I want this car to remain very streetable. Isn't 3000-3500 a little big? Won't that affect the street-ability of the car?

sanborn 12-29-2001 01:15 AM

In the early 50s there were practically no high performance cars from the factory. Oh there was a Ford police engine(two 2 barrel carbs, high compression heads-7.5 to 1) and Hudson had two carbs from the factory. That was about it!. Then about 56 came the two four barrel, three two barrel craze from the factory. In 57 every single car had some kind of high performance option. Several had fuel injection and a few even had superchargers.

These high performance engines weren't just in the sporty models either. You might run into some banker driving a four door Pontiac sedan, black wall tires, and he might have a 347" TriPower V8 under the hood. And the old fart would street race you too! Mother Mopar had its share too! All the brands had as options two Carter WCFB 4 barrel carbs.

Then in our part of the country there were the moonshiners. These dudes were bad and they drove bad cars too! 40 Ford coupes with Cadillac, Oldsmobile and even big Chrysler Hemis. They would get their parts from Honest Charley's Speed Shop in Chattanooga(which was also the center of stock car racing around here).

Yeah, it was a different era, drive in restaurants with car hops, drive in movies and carry your date to the drag races on Friday nights. By the way, the name "car hop" came from the fact that the girls would wait at the parking lot entrance, when you pulled up they would hop on your fender and ride the car to where you parked, get off and take your order. Honest! I know of only one place remaining that does that, the Varsity in Atlanta.

Hope this didn't bore you young guys, Jelsr and I are just reminishing.

thegrump 12-29-2001 02:04 AM

Hey guys you forgot one. If you got a cam with .750" lift theres your 3/4 cam.

The grump!!!

jelsr 12-29-2001 10:34 PM

Bought a few things from Honest Charlie back then. Give me an E-mail Sanborn and I'll hook you up with my cousin. He does restorods and has sources for some of the flathead places. He does really good work, built a highboy that won the national at Denver a few years back.
Jim

sanborn 12-30-2001 01:34 PM

Jelsr, my e-mail is sanborn@cafes.net. I am in trouble now, my son went up into the attic yesterday and started dragging out some old(really old) blowers. Wants me to build a blower flathead. Oh well, it still will make a great parts chaser for the race team! Pray for me, he probably wants a 50% overdrive too! He probably wants it to pick up the left front wheel too! Go to our web site to see how he likes to drive- www.rapidformsnow.com/jcsmotorsports

cuda66273 12-31-2001 12:40 PM

I believe that Papa Isky actually coined that phrase, way back when...

I love the new ones:
Its a 350/350 with a 3.50 rear (How Original)

It's a built 350 (hard to start unless their built)

It's a Camaro (one of only 36,000,000 made)

It's got the big heads on it (great way to lower the compression)

It's got a factory 12 Bolt rear (why not try a Posi?)

And of course...
Wow! that's a Hemi in that Cuda (yup, 318 Hemi, that's what she is alright)

Geeze that 318 wooped my BBC by almost 2 seconds (Ya, I use 273 rods and a 340 crank thats the secret)

No wonder you beat my 454 Shovele (slam the hood down..."Must be.... (idiot)")

"I run special blinker fluid", then walk away.

If I hear 350/350/350 one more time I'm gonna puke
:mad:


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