Hello Cobra Cammer. I have recently completed my Cammer build but it is mainly original 65 iron with the shim type valve adjustment. The Ford manual on the Cammer is a very poor piece of engine manual and you should be wary of it.
I believe the Ford engineers believed that the people using the manual would be advanced motor tuners/engineers and would have their own favourite methods of construction.
Particularly the setting up of the camshafts. Ford assembled these engines using the three timer marks and an engineered template - the template was never offered for sale and I have never seen one. Take heed of what Barry R is saying - the marks on the timing chains are only a starting point - there are many steps from there to get these cams set-up properly. Do NOT use the Ford manual for setting up these cams.
Don't be too concerned about playing with retarding or advancing the cams either - just set the cams straight up at zero degrees - advancing/retarding the cams about 2 degrees is the norm but you cannot be too sure what your cam grinder has built into the cam - a lot of SOHC cams have had the advance - up to 4 degrees already built in.
This method is one of many kicking around the web and may work with your set-up - it may not too. Thanks to retired Ford Engineer Bill for this one.
Bolt your cams into their respective heads, along with the intake rockers ONLY
for cylinders 1,4,5 and 6. The rockers for 1 and 6 should be slid out of the way of the cam lobes. Cylinders 4 and 5 are fixed in position on this engine and the rockers cannot be slid out of the way. Spin the cams until they are on the base circle for cylinders 4 and 5, adjust the valve lash to zero.
Look at the cam card and figure out where the intake valve is supposed to start opening for number 4. EG. If the duration of the cam is 300 and intake centreline is 110, the valve should start to open (with zero lash) at 40 degrees BTDC of cylinder 4. For the #4 cylinder, this would be 220 degrees on a degreed harmonic balancer. Move the crank to this position.(Degree wheel handy here).
Rotate the right side cam clockwise until it encounters resistance from valve springs and stop. Cam is timed approximately correct.
Install the timing gears and chains in this position, on both cams. Put the four outside bolts in the right cam sprocket, but NOT the left, leave the cam free to spin - install the centre-bolt loosely to hold sprocket in place but able to spin on camshaft.
Now tighten the timing chain using the block mounted tensioning bolt - until the chain clears the tensioning arm - must not be loose - do not over-tighten as the
stub-cam front is not supported until the front cover is on.
Now rotate the engine back 90 degrees from that position. You have now gone from intake opening #4 to intake opening of #5. Now rotate the left cam clockwise until it is resisted by the valve springs and stop. Install the 4 outside bolts. This cam is now timed approximately.
Now back off the adjusters on 4 and 5 rockers all the way, so you are opening the valves as little as possible when turning the engine, then use the intake centreline method to check the timing of each cam. Use #1 and #6 as they use the same timing marks on the degree wheel (360 degrees apart).
A good reference for intake centreline timing method is found here
Hot Rods, Classic Cars & Street Rods - Hot Rod Magazine.
If however your cams are not ground to what your cam card suggests then this will not work for you - if that happens you will have to map the profiles of the cams yourself - I know this because my cams were not remotely like the mild street grind they purported to be from the card. My cams had the 4 degree adv/ret built into the cams.
This is a great engine to work on - built simple and strong - having said that - some of the castings are fragile and being alloy cannot be forced or over torqued - go very patiently and you will be fine.
You will probably find that you are missing any number of small parts that are essential to this engine - eBay is your friend.
I have rebuilt many,many engines and am very familiar with Euro and Japanese OHC's as well as the old school types. There are just so many things that a newby will miss when constructing this engine that I have to support what others have said about getting it built by someone. Getting someone with
Ford SOHC experience let alone FE is not so easy either.
Oh also when you have the cams timed rotate the engine to TDC on #1 and scribe you cams where the front retainer has the 0 degree mark - do both cams set at #1 TDC - much easier to fit the cams the next time.
I did have a lot of fun sourcing and building this engine so you probably will too.
Going into my 63 1/2 Galaxie 2 dr fastback 4spd (H&M suspension mods).
Wayne
Cammer Timing
Threaded Mode
