Last summer I found myself in a bind for a camshaft, the car would not stay in time. The only thing I could get my hands on quickly was a Melling Performance MTP-1. It's in my all stock 69 convertible with a 350, 2 barrel, automatic.
Is this a decent cam? Something I can work with? If I keep the 350 I would like to upgrade to a four barrel, unless maybe a tri-power would fit. That would be more for looks than perfomance. The car is coming home from the paint shop soon and I will be pulling the motor to detail everything, hence the question on the cam. Thanks for the input.
I'm not a number dude, so I don't have a clue. But my mechanical reasoning makes me ask what would the camshaft have to do with the engine staying in time? As far as the cam and its role, the engine is in time or it isn't.
Explain what problem you have had with keeping the car in time.
The cam is close to the "067" cam. That's the one just below the 350 HO (M/T) and 400 Ram Air cam, and is similar to the 350 HO cam used in automatics. It should be a nice street cam in a 350.
It's almost the same as the Summit K2800. It might be the same cam, since Summit buys and second labels all their stuff from other well-known manufacturers.
Timing seemed the best way to describe the problem at the time. If I could get it running, it would spit and sputter, backfire and die. The old cam had some extremely worn lobes. With the new cam and lifters installed it runs great.
Yes, that cam is a very good choice for your combination. Will make good power and have decent fuel economy.
Did you actually have to adjust the timing? Sounds like it was a cam problem, with the spitting and so forth caused by some flat exhaust lobes. If the combusted mixture can't get out of the engine because the exhaust lobe hasn't opened the valve long enough, when the intake valve opens you'll have exhaust backflowing into the intake, with the resulting symptoms that you describe.
You can do a quick check with the distributor in, but you should likely have a look at the distributor gears. When you have it out, set the end play as mentioned. You likely took care of the problem with the cam change, but it never hurts to check your distributor.
Before the cam change I had to constantly move the distibutor to get the car to crank and run but it would run very poorly then sputter and die. How do I check with the distibutor in and how do I set the end play, or is that something I should take to someone that specializes in distributors? So, if I upgrage to a factory 4 barrel intake and carb I should be ok with this cam?
I have a nice tri-power just sitting around. Would that fit on the 350?
Did you replace the timing chain and gears when you installed the cam? You can check chain slop by removing the distributor cap, turning your engine to #1 TDC, and put a breaker bar on the balancer bolt. Rotate the engine clockwise until you see the rotor just begin to move, and measure the distance off the TDC mark. Do the same thing counterclockwise. The rotor should begin to move almost immediately, after no more than a couple of degrees of rotation. If there is excessive movement, either your timing chain and gears are worn out or your distributor has excessive endplay.
You can get distributor shim kits to adjust the endplay, but a replacement rebuilt distributor might be more economical than resolving bad bushings and a worn shaft.
The factory 4 bbl intake and carb should be fine, if the carb is set up for a 350.
Vikki 1969 Goldenrod Yellow / black 400 convertible numbers matching
The chain and gears that were in the motor seemed fine, but since it was open and since I already had a new double roller chain and gears, they were replaced. As soon as the car comes home I will check the distributor endplay. Thanks Everyone.
Pull the cap and lift gently on the rotor (the shaft will rotate a little as it moves up and down). That's your endplay. If you have more than about 1/16" inch of up and down movement, you should add shims between the gear and the distributor housing. I shoot for about .015 to .020" endplay after shimming.
