cam question

[almsv8sho]

ok i know this is been talked about alot but i am new anyway i bought my first gen 3 v8 car this weekend all original paint 49k mint anyway i had resevations about buying, the cause of the cam crap this is my 3rd sho, all my wife likes, shes had 3 and well we love them. im going to pull her apart and weld the cams since i think it is the best solution given that 2 of the sho shop pinned cams came apart and ive seen cracked gears. im a ford master tech and master ase all i have is few questions 3 welds? 1/4 to 1/2 inch spot? on each cam now do you guys pefer mig or tig and what kind of wire stainless has mentioned??

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

A lot of the information you're looking for has been well-documented over at http://www.v8sho.com

If you have access to a TIG welder, and are very experienced using it, this would be a good choice, although most of the "professional" cam welders out there use a MIG setup quite successfully.

BUT, however you choose to weld them, you'll want to have a spare, scrap camshaft to use as a test piece to make sure you get the welder set properly so as not to overheat and damage the cams, but still make proper ***********. It's customary to make 3 welds to each camshaft at the sprocket (6 on the front exhaust cam), about 3/8" long, at every 120 degrees on the cam. With the rear exhaust cam it's critcal to make sure the welds won't hit the shim bucket under the first lobe. Any mild steel wire is fine since the cams are constantly oiled anyway.

The biggest issue with welding them in the car isn't so much successfully welding the cams, but keeping the byproducts from the welding process out of the motor.

Honestly, Ford master tech or not, you might want to consider finding someone with experience welding cams to do this for you. There are lists of people on the V8SHO site with reviews of people's experiences with them.

 

[SHOerwin]

What he said...