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Topic: Camshaft

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Re: Camshaft (6/16)
 3/27/16 7:50pm
tb2k82ceLifetime Member
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Lemon Grove, CA - USA

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From when I talked to the guy I'm sure it was just a stock engine that runs on the vast majority of Chevy small block.  That would include the heads.  My understanding is the Heads were also a little different.

So my question is replacing the cam with stock head is that going to help?

As far as the vacuum leak goes the shop has offered to smoke test my vacuum system for me. (by the way this would be a freebee.  I will take it down to them this coming week and get that done.  I will know where and if I have a vacuum leak in the system.  They did not have a smoke test system when I had my engine worked on it is something he purchased for checking BMW which have lots of vacuum leak cased problems also.

Again not being much of an engine guy would replacing the cam with the correct cam even with stock heads help or not?  A little help would be ok I just would not want to make it worse.
Re: Camshaft (7/16)
 3/27/16 10:18pm
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Duncanville, TX - USA

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Stock spec cam, or even one a little more aggressive, with stock heads should work fin. A lot of folks will use an RV type cam, to get a little more low end torque, without effecting emissions.

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Re: Camshaft (8/16)
 4/1/16 11:04am
tb2k82ceLifetime Member
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Lemon Grove, CA - USA

Vette(s):
1982 C3 Collectors Edition 44000 miles, sat in the sun most of its life, My wife purchased it for me for Father's Day in 2007 from her girlfriend that had it for 19 years. It is on the road again. I'm retired but it is now my daily driver.


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So the first thing I will do is get the vacuum smoke test done next week if no vacuum leaks are found work on getting a Cam shaft replaced if there are leaks get them fixed and see how it runs see if it passes smog. 
 




|UPDATED|4/1/2016 8:04:59 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|
Re: Camshaft (9/16)
 3/28/16 6:43am
Sarge81Lifetime Member
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A RV cam like Joel mentioned would be better for low end power. 
No matter what heads or more aggressive cam you put in a Cross Fire engine isn't really going to help a bunch. There are 2 things that work against you. 
One is the ECM. Non programmable one time burn "chip" in it. 
Two is the intake manifold. The ports around about 1/2 the normal size of a regular small block intake. That is why the engine drops power after 4000 rpm's. 

Too bad Turbo City in California wasn't around anymore. I remember many years ago they did a '82 Cross Fire build that was supposedly emission friendly. The car ran great and put out around 270 hp. 


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Re: Camshaft (10/16)
 3/28/16 12:35pm
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Sarge81 said...The ports around about 1/2 the normal size of a regular small block intake.


Yup...biggest issue there is on the Crossfire....half the dang intake port is covered up on the heads. The Crossfire was an interim set-up to begin with....it was never intended to be used more than the couple of years it was. Once the TPI was released, the Crossfire was a dead issue for GM. The aftermarket is the only place that supports it at all, and the market is getting smaller every day.
So...considering the limited RPM range of the intake, I think an RV style cam would be a good choice...unless you do something about the intake to get more air into the engine.


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Re: Camshaft (11/16)
 3/28/16 1:23pm
tb2k82ceLifetime Member
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Again not an engine guy is the  CS766 an RV cam? Specs are at the bottom of my first post.  
Re: Camshaft (12/16)
 3/28/16 10:40pm
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The Sealed Power CS766 cam is basically a "stock" replacement cam for 350 Chev engines in the 82-86 year model range...including the L83 Crossfire. It will work otay in your engine, assuming the rest of the engine is close to stock specs.

If you're interested, here's a really good article on Cam Specs, and what they mean. Thumbs Up


|UPDATED|3/28/2016 7:40:33 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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Re: Camshaft (13/16)
 3/30/16 2:05pm
tb2k82ceLifetime Member
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Lemon Grove, CA - USA

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1982 C3 Collectors Edition 44000 miles, sat in the sun most of its life, My wife purchased it for me for Father's Day in 2007 from her girlfriend that had it for 19 years. It is on the road again. I'm retired but it is now my daily driver.


Joined: 10/17/2007
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Thanks I will read that article.  I did a smoke test on my engine vacuum system and that is a wonderful process.  We found some vacuum leaks that need to be fixed before I do anything else. 

I have to identify a switch and I will make a new post for that and I have to order a couple of parts and replace them.  Then we will re-due the smoke test and see where we are.

Thanks again for all of your help and this is one of the reasons this is the best forum on the web.
Re: Camshaft (14/16)
 3/31/16 2:22pm
F4GaryGold Member
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tb2k82ce said: Thanks I will read that article.  I did a smoke test on my engine vacuum system and that is a wonderful process.  We found some vacuum leaks that need to be fixed before I do anything else. 

I have to identify a switch and I will make a new post for that and I have to order a couple of parts and replace them.  Then we will re-due the smoke test and see where we are.

Thanks again for all of your help and this is one of the reasons this is the best forum on the web.


What is this smoke test you speak of?


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Re: Camshaft (15/16)
 3/31/16 2:54pm
tb2k82ceLifetime Member
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Lemon Grove, CA - USA

Vette(s):
1982 C3 Collectors Edition 44000 miles, sat in the sun most of its life, My wife purchased it for me for Father's Day in 2007 from her girlfriend that had it for 19 years. It is on the road again. I'm retired but it is now my daily driver.


Joined: 10/17/2007
Posts: 2041

Smoke test is the greatest thing I have witnessed to find vacuum leaks. 

What is done is they plug this machine into the vacuum port on the intake manifold.  It pumps smoke into the engine that then goes throughout the system. Anyplace that there is a vacuum leak you see smoke even pinhole leaks are visible.

You have to block off the carb or in my case the two TBI's along with any place that normally air is sucked into the engine because a lot of smoke will come out of those area.  

I should have bypassed my check valve so it could have checked the complete vacuum system including the lights, wipers, etc.   I did not and will next time I do it.  The best part is it was free.  But even if it was not if someone is chasing down vacuum leaks or just want to make sure their system has no leaks then this would be a great test.

But I would prepare for it better.  One I would make sure I brought with me items to block of carb or TBI.  They used a rag.  I'm thinking a soft foam ball cut in half to push into the TBI's also the plugs I use to block the IAC intakes.  I would also make something to bypass the check valve so the complete system could be checked.

In my case I found:
the IAC leaked around the shafts really bad
A vacuum hose had a pin hole in it. 
Also the cruise control relay was open  (Not sure if this is suppose to be that way or not yet will have to find out.  I know that it opens up when you press on the break to disengage the cruise control)

The independent shop I have been taking my cars for over 15 years has one of these he purchased because he does a lot of BMW and Mercedes work.   He purchased this machine that does more than just smoke to help him troubleshoot them.  Those two manufactures have put vacuum systems in their cars that cause lots of trouble once the car is 6 or 7 years old.

Hope this helps explain it. 
Re: Camshaft (16/16)
 4/1/16 12:29pm
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Smoke machines were developed to aiding finding leaks in Evap systems, but their uses are varied. They work well in finding water leaks around windows and such, too.
It's basically a container with a heating element, and small air pump. We use baby oil as the solution to heat, and create the smoke. The air pump pumps the  smoke under low pressure(usually less than 10psi) into whatever system is being tested for leaks. Pumped into the intake, the smoke will find it's way to even the smallest leak, and you can visually follow the smoke to the leak. Some oils have dyes to make the smoke more visible, but the normal color is white...fairly easy to see, in most cases. They can find a leaky gas cap quickly.
Good smoke machines will also have flow meters that tell how much of a leak is there. They're super critical in finding leaks in evap systems, where the manufacturer(and the EPA) can specify that a leak in the system not be greater than 1 psi per hour, or per WEEK....think aboot that.
You can find smoke machines on ebay for around $100....but those things look, and prolly are, dangerous. A real machine will set you back over $1000...which is why not a lot of places have them. We have two here at the shop....they get used regularly.

|UPDATED|4/1/2016 9:29:47 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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