Club Cobra - Cam Shaft Help!

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I thought that I would ask for some help in giving me some suggestions on a Cam problem that I have discovered. I bought a Comp Cam kit that had the springs, retainers, lifters, pushrods(stock length) as well as the Comp 270 solid lifter cam for my 427 FE. I inspected the cam and noticed that two of the lobes were rounded as well as 9 others having excessive wear for an engine that has only 400 miles on it. I have the correct spring pressure set on the heads and was running Dove roller rocker set up. I install the cam with the Cam lube that came with the kit as well. I ran the engine at 2500RPMS for 25 minutes for the breakend. I had to do it in stages due the side pipes getting to hot on my Cobra and taking a chance of burning the paint. I has happened before. So my break in period was for a total of 25 minutes but at 10 minutes at a time. Any ideas as to why my cam was wearing at a fast rate as well as two lobes being rounded. There was metal in the oil due to the scaring of the cylinder wall. The bearings did not look bad but you could tell that there was something in the oil. I tried to give you as much info as I could so that you might give me some suggestions. Thanks for anyone's input.
Dan Hardiman

Dan,

Did you break it in with both the inner and outer springs in place??
Steve D***ey

Happened to me too but only after 30 min on the test stand. I am curious to see the responce.

Happened to me also--Ran in first cam [Comp Cam 282S] with all springs in place -- two lobes ground off 30 minutes on test stand -- Installed Same cam again [ plus all bearings & oil pump] with only outer springs --ran in same way it now has 4000 miles on it no problems--- Reputable local race shop told me I didn't need to remove the inners but after failure I talked to Comp and was told you can get away with on most small blocks but NOT on an FE.. Steve McD

What makes an FE so different that you need to only run the outer spring on break-in? Pressure is pressure. I don't believe it unless somebody can explain.

The springs that this Com Cam required is part number 972 It is a single spring set up with dampener. The specs require a 1.80" installed height that gives 125lbs pressure at seat. Thanks for the replys so far.

Dan

Lifter bores maybe oversized, bellmouthed, or bored at the wrong angle. This was the most common error in blocks when I worked for Chevrolet V-8 engine division. You can fix this (if it is the problem) by boring the lifter bores oversize and sleeving them with bronze bushings. It cost me $400.

Jeff, I'm with you, reed ground my cam and I broke it in with both springs at
3000RPM for an hour (325lbs open).
Used the garden hose on the radiator to maintain around 200 degrees, no problems and runs like a BOOH.

One piece of advice given to me some years back, that I did not follow until some years later is, the importance of washing the block and cross drilled crank
THREE TIMES. I use a 3000psi pressure washer and WD-40 each time, also, lay the block on it's back when installing the cam.

Had to go look at my specs. 375 lbs. open pressure, broke-in with both inner and outer springs with no problems.

Correction... 130-150 seat
330-350 open