nonhog

I got my short block back and my builder did not degree the cam.
I suppose I will do it myself. Could have left it and had them do it but I was tired of waiting.
Anyone suggest the best tools to do this. Don't need anything fancy. Price is important.

I could leave the cam straight up but I think it would be interesting to do.

TripDeuces

A dial indicator, large degree wheel (easier to read and adjust) and a piston stop of some kind. Youtube has many videos on how to do it correctly.

cutlassefi

Right now you don't know that it is or isn't straight up.

nonhog

I'm not that up on the fine details on this subject. I understand straight up is just a term when installing the cam w/o confirming excactly how its positioned.

firefrost gold

I have read that dick miller has a good set up for doing cams. Might be worth a call.

cutlassefi

To clarify, "straight up" means the following;
If the cam was ground on a 110 lobe sep and there is no advance in the cam then installing the cam on an intake centerline of 110 would be "straight up". If that same cam was ground with say 4deg advance then if it checked out to be on a 106 centerline than that would be "straight up" for that cam grind. But you still would have had to check it to know that. If you don't check it you won't know where it is, one way or the other.

However, given production tolerances on timing sets, crank indexes and the cam itself, it very seldom comes out that way.

TripDeuces

Ain't that the truth, lol

nonhog

I have time just not much extra cash. I plan on doing it right its just the 1st set up I saw was over 300 dollars.
Was busy last night so I did not get to watch any Youtube on this.
Great idea TripDeuces.
There are some good prices on universal set ups.

My hope for this thread was to get input on buying items needed to do the work.
Like..... "stay away from x brand"
"they all work, pick one"
"make one yourself out of a toaster"

TripDeuces

I think I picked up my dial indicator from Harbor Freight for about $20, degree wheel for $10-15 and I made the piston stop out of flat bar stock and a 3/8 bolt. You can do it for $50-100 depending. Don't forget you can always borrow from friends

nonhog

This looks interesting............http://www.summitracing.com/search/D.../?autoview=SKU

I have a dial indicator. The guy who did my headssaid he would do it for 50$ fair price IMO but if I spend more I get tools (bonus) and learn (bonus) plus my back is out loading a BBO short block in my truck would be bad.

Any reason that Isky set wont work for me?

TripDeuces

I'm sure it will work but I doubt you need to get that fancy or spend that kind of money for something you'll rarely use. At this point a degree wheel and piston stop is all you need.

nonhog

Hey thanks! I just found a degree wheel for $25 shipped. Most of the guys I know who have this stuff make money with it and I'd never ask to borrow from them. I think a home built stop like you said earlier would be easy.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SU...s/?prefilter=1

Good thing I'm in no hurry to build this thing.

Lee_A

I started with the CompCam "box". It had a medium/small degree wheel, piston stop, a dial indicator, and some screw-in stands and extensions for mounting the degree wheel. It worked "o.k.", but took awhile. Figuring out a way to mount the wheel AND still having a way to rotate the motor was tricky, at first.

I next bought a deck bridge, which works good for finding TDC. It also allows you to check your deck height. This made getting the degree "zeroed" much quicker for me [take the piston to .050" (or whatever) BTDC and read the degree wheel, then take the piston to the same measurement ATDC and take another measurement - split the difference, adjust the degree wheel and double-check]

Next a bought a ProForm lifterbore dial indicator. It fits in place of a lifter, and reads directly off of the cam lobe. Pretty nice! It does fine for flat-tappet and for reading off the nose of roller cams, but the "roller" attachment is NOT perfectly round, and will give BAD readings if you are trying to use it for reading opening events.

Right after that purchase, I bought a BIG degree wheel. The bigger it is, the easier it is to read, and your accuracy increases as well.

I've now got the crank sockets that have a big knurled nut, which allow you to mount and adjust the degree wheel that way. This is eaier than trying to tweak your pointer needle, and much less frustrating than trying to loosen/tighten the crank bolt (when using the crank bolt to mount the degree wheel.

LOL, if I had known how many I would eventually degree, I would have bought the good tools upfront!

Lee