I had a motor built from scratch save for the fact that the crank timing gear was left on the crank without being moved. Now my question is when it is time for me to install my cam, should I degree it or will I be safe having Richard custom grind me a mechanical roller cam lining up the dots?

-David

 

if its a custom ground cam to your own specs, how much advance is going to be grounded into the cam & yes you can get the most power if you degree it, but with all the custom cams out there, theres really no need.

 

If you are using an adjustable timing set then you can advance or retard the cam to your liking. If you are using a stock (better yet LS2) timing set, you will not be able to degree the cam due to the keyway in the crank(maybe offset keys if you really need it). Richard can adivse if it will be better to grind some advance into the cam.

 

Yea, I am going to be using the LS2 timing chain, I was just making sure that there won't be a problem with me simply lining the dots and sliding her on it. Seems like there shouldn't be an issue

 

It will still be a good idea to check where the cam is "Degree wise" when you put it in. the stock crank gears have a allowable tolerance for how far off the key can be. could be 5*. If you check it then you can be assured your cam is where you and the cam grinder wanted it. if the motor is in the truck it is a pain in the ***. but not knowing will always leave a little doubt, "am I getting all the power I can'..

 

You never really know what the #'s are untill you check it. I check duration and lift as well as ICL so I know what I just put in the motor. If you know a shop w/ a cam doctor they can check it before you put it in. Cams don't always match the cam card or the spec they were ordered to and I've seen this first hand.

 

I always have my cams degreed (speaking from experience on reg. small and big block Chevy's) and have never seen a Comp Cam that was out. Crower, Crane, etc., always seem to need a little to get them to come out exact. ???