Ok, I am looking for some advice. I am rebuilding my 1970 L74 QB engine and I assumed the cam would need to be replaced as the car had a significant number of miles on it. But when I measure the cam there is .292 difference between the base circle and the lobe height on the 393859 cam and the cam looks other wise to be in good shape. Based on the 1.6 rocker ratio I believe the original difference would be .295 to achieve the the original spec..472 lift. First am I correct in my assumptions and if so would it be advisable to reuse the cam for a car that will bascally be a good quality driver.

 

You can send the cam to Oregon Camshaft and he will recondition it for you. He can also do your lifters. Super reasonable pricing. Less than a new one by a lot.

 

It can be quite difficult to get an extremely accurate measurement of the lobe lift unless you're using v blocks and a dial indicator. Personally I wouldn't worry about a three thou delta if the surface still looks good. If you kept the lifters in order then just run it. A worn cam will be visually obvious, plus the base of the lifter will be destroyed.

If you want the stock cam then just run it. Flat tappet cams and lifters are such a mess now that I would rather run a known-good original set then try to get an equivalent aftermarket.

 

Thanks, thats what I was thinking as well. I am not looking to make a bunch of extra horse power, I just want a good solid runner.