Cam Break-in Blues EVERYTHING tried to go wrong

It doesn't matter how many times you have broken in a camshaft it is still a nerve racking experience. My buddy Joe Davis "owner of Project Sleeper Chevelle" asked me to help him break in his cam for his 1972 Chevy Camaro Z/28.
This engine is just a mild overhaul on the stock 350 small block chevy. It has 041X heads which were some of the best SBC stock castings and we stuffed in a New old stock Comp Cams 268H cam with an aluminum factory intake manifold.
Did we beat the Cam or did it beat us?
#automobile #camshaft #chevy #compcam

[@olallaeddy]

Working alone last year with my first 390 build I had carb flooding problems and dist install problems. Took me two days cranking, trying then rebuilding carbs finely got it to run good, idle to break in flat tappet cam n lifters. Runs awesome. Im 69 yrs old and wanted to learn how to build my first long block. Over the years I have picked up several 390s n C6 tranis. Then got old. LOL Never too late I guess. My 72 camper special getting some love

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

You are NEVER too Old! This stuff keeps us young Thanks for watching Andy

[@MVPisME383]

I went through that my first engine build had the fuel pump lines backwards carb problems, I'm lucky the cam lived really, I think me not putting the recommended springs on saved me

[@threefiftyone4726]

Good job, Something I always do is try and have a full exhaust fitted instead of straight out the headers so I can hear the engine better, makes it easier to hear any issues early.

[@glennmanchester5696]

I was definitely going to say that

[@DanEBoyd]

LOVE them early Second Gen F Bodies!

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

It's going to be a cool ride that is for sure . I like them too Andy

[@chrishensley6745]

Real Life stuff right hear....no matter how long you been doing it!! I remember guys years ago firing up fresh engines and no nothing about breaking in the cam!! just start/rev the crap out of it and cut it off......Parts and time and oil has all changed...EVERYTHING is a hassle no matter what brand your messing with....Like you said...Firing up fresh engine/open hedders is always fun.

[@jimbailey7997]

Never had a cam issue when using Rhodes lifters . Have been using them for over 40 years.

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

I have never used them.. Andy

[@stuartbuckley6113]

I refuse to build a flat tappet engine anymore. Roller or none!

[@mikeheggem9488]

I was putting together a bblk. Chevy and just for the hell of it i lubed up the cam lobes with Isky Rev-lube , set up the valve train and hand rotated the engine a few revolutions. Intake was not installed so I could get a good veiw of the lobes and lifters thru the oil drain back openings. Most all the lube was wiped off on the first revolution! Only thing left was a very fine film. Left everything the way it was, installed intake , lnstalled engine in my 68 GMC did 25 min. Break in and never looked back. Runs great, have used Rev-lube for many years.

[@dondotterer24]

I set the initial timing between 10 and 12. Witch ever starts the best with a total between 34 and 37 with those heads. And you are the best at tuning the vaccum advance. Thanks for the video.

[@mrwagonalterations5517]

Glad it worked out ! Built the Chevelle big block engine three years ago with a Comp Cams set, no problems. Built the square body big block last year, same Comp Cams set up, same procedures and oils, wiped out the cam and five lifters as well as the crank shaft 😢 Threw in a Lunati cam from an engine I built 25 years ago after that mess. 😅

[@dondotterer24]

Can't beat the old squirrel cage furnace fan!

[@jeffdavis5704]

Glad to see if finally went you guys way, always something coming outta the woodworks.

[@donaldhalls2189]

Nice sounding rig be excellent when it's finished, thanks for sharing, all the best to you and your loved ones

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

Thanks, I can't wait to see what Joe does with the car.. Andy

[@jamest.5001]

What like to do is leave the adjustment loose. Then run it about a hour or two all together. In about 15-20 minutes at a time until normal temp is reached, then let it cool until it's just warm . About 15 minutes (+/-) then run it again, maybe run 5minutes off for 20, about 6 times if it's a new engine , everything is tight. let it run at 1500-2000 rpm and it cool repeating , after it had ran for a hour or so. Then run for a long nonstop run. 30-45+ minutes and a moly based additive is a good idea.

[@darrininverarity4297]

Don’t soak lifters in oil,just put break in lube on the lifter flats,rocker tips and push rod tips,hydraulically locked lifters will wipe out your cam,just set the push rod in the plunger till they depress about a sixteenth of an inch (sbc) and make sure the oil pump has been primed and start the engine

[@hollowell427]

on my 357 sbc build i chickened out had a 305 magnum flat tappet and sent it back. Got a summit ls firing order retro fit roller for it. 252° x 258° @ .050 .550 lift. With a nice forged bottom end and Brodix Dragon slayer heads.

[@shotsrodder]

Great tips 👍 you need to check everything before trying to start a fresh engine 🤔 fully charged battery is a must unless you’re running a mag 😂😂mistakes were made 😂😂

[@johnelliott7375]

Everything is fun that you have on the tri+power block Andy! Great everything!

[@brokentoolgarage]

Nice! You are right, it is always exciting for cam break-in and first fires! I am getting my Mopar 360 508 Purple cam tuned in.

[@ThePaulv12]

For mechanical fuel pumps, priming the carb is a better way to go. Just get a small funnel some vacuum hose and plug the vac hose into the carb vent tube and fill the bowls directly via the funnel. That way accelerator pump and all the idle circuits are full of fuel. It's got to be better than pouring raw fuel down the throttle bores. Also, there is something you can do to help during cam break in. If you paint a stripe on the pushrods with say liquid paper and you wind the engine over on the starter with no plugs in, every pushrod should rotate. If any of them don't then you're in for trouble. Ideally you'd do that first and then also cut the top off some valve covers so you can watch pushrods rotate during the cam break in process.

[@ThomasELeClair]

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,As a carb guy,,,,,,years ago , I cut off a vacuum can from a junk distributor and it is my bowl vent funnel [ pourin gas into the engine is desperation ] ,,also static time the engine , with the rotor correctly set to fire at your choice of initial degrees,,,,,,,,Pump the acc. to see the pump work and set the fast idle cam near 2000 rpm,,,,,makin sure you have a good choke system,,,,,,,well built hot rods have bump starters and kill switches under the hood,,,,,,The heat gun of today is great,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,a one man operation........

[@DanEBoyd]

That Split Bumper Baldwin SS Camaro shown @21:56 is BEAUTIFUL!!!

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

That is what he is going to turn this into! Andy

[@dondotterer24]

Yep Gerald Brand checks the hardness of everything now. He even found expensive push rods not up to spec.

[@doomman700]

I miss calling Crane for good camshafts. The venerable 278/290 econopower line. My favorite small block camshaft back in the day.

[@johnelliott7375]

The ear and eyes 👀 of a great master builder is breaking in the cam and components D.V. & Andy @ UMG; there!🙏🤞💪🚨👀💪🤞🙏

[@jimkillen1065]

I always enjoy watching your videos..i far from a expert but i believe i can recognize talented people. I watched a fellow that builds different types of engines . He drilled the oil galley amd threaded it to accept holley bleed jets . Seems like he recommended. 012 to .020 hole in the jet . That jet lines up with each lifter . The results is a constant spray of oil . That seemed like a good idea to me ..i might try it sometime if i ever build another enjoy.. As always enjoy watching your videos

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

Thanks for watching, that is an interesting idea Andy

[@gordonborsboom7460]

Brian Salter racing. They had Brian on a DV chat video as a guest

[@bcbloc02]

Funny how in diesel world the Cummins 6.7 went roller in 2019 and they started having cam failure. Enough so there are 2 companies at least making aftermarket kits to go back to the more reliable flat tappets. 😂 Quality parts with good practices and I don’t think there is a problem either way.

[@LeftForDeadGarage]

The flat tappet gamble… I just can’t risk it anymore. I’ve never had any problems but that’s the problem, iam afraid it’s coming lol.

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

I never run them anymore but Joe had less than $1000 in the whole motor.. so we gave it a shot and got lucky Andy

[@shotsrodder]

Great tips 👍 you need to check everything before trying to start a fresh engine 🤔 fully charged battery is a must unless you’re running a mag 😂😂

[@ThomasELeClair]

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,yes sir eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...........................................................................

[@flinch622]

Voltage dropped to zero... no "R" terminal on starter?

[@johnelliott7375]

With UMG & D.V. Enterprises in your corner that car will be at the top of its game when you are all done with the car 🚨🚗!!!!!💪🚨💪🤞🙏

[@GaryWhipple-q6w]

Cam break in used to be no big deal.guess I'm just getting old 😮

[@Blu_Grit_Garage]

Those Bias Remington XT-120's bring back memories. I got 4,500 miles on my first set. I may have been a little harsh on that first engine break-in.

[@GrandPitoVic]

Yes sir!!! I still get butterflies. I'm building that Ls3 and it's my first Ls engine. I hope she's good to go. But you never know. Anything can go wrong lol. Fingers crossed!!!

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

It will be fine, at least you don't have to worry about a flat tappet cam! Congratulations on getting over 500 subs that is awesome Andy

[@GrandPitoVic]

@UnityMotorSportsGarage OH man thank you very much!!! I really appreciate it!!! Yea the engine will be ok. But untill she's running lol. You know how that goes lol

[@johnelliott7375]

Thanks again for your invitation to come back!🙏🤞💪😊

[@johnelliott7375]

With ANDY ON THE JOB, I GUARANTEE THAT ONE WILL GET DONE RIGHT! If there is a issue with something he will figure it out and that's a good fact

[@deanstevenson6527]

🥝✔️ Ive had plenty of fine weekends in my neighbors 041 headed LT-1 engined 63 Chev. We downgraded the stock Z/28 cam with less peak duration than stock and more intensity. The heads make these engines great. CC268 profile is a great cam.

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

They run pretty good! Andy

[@MsKatjie]

Nice work men. Good job.

[@LoganPEade]

How many of you who have broken in dozens, hell hundreds of cams, will sit here and watch this. Can't hear a word they say but we'll watch the whole thing! 😂

[@shotsrodder]

Baldwin motion cars were the coolest 😎👍

[@dondotterer24]

Going to be a cool car!

[@johnelliott7375]

I hear ya all's 327 going!💪😊

[@raybernard7058]

I own an Automotive Electrical Business. My jumper cables weigh fifteen pounds. 1/0 cable. Starts a car with no battery by just hooking to cables. BUT. When cables are that big, they transfer a LOT of energy. DON’T hook them up backwards.

[@johnelliott7375]

Wish l had those Remington tires on my car!🙏💪🤞😊

[@tedjones-ho2zk]

Is there a test stand they would drive the moter for 20 or more minutes with out the need to try and fire the engine? You guys know what your doing and even you had issues trying to get that engine running,. Not to mention the issues with flat tappet lifers the are happening these days.

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

We just used the car as the test stand... You see how that worked out! Lol Thanks for watching Andy

[@danielwilson6665]

Ted that device is called a Spintron. It’s used to spin a newly rebuilt engine at the selected rpm’s for break-in without the engine actually running. But I agree with Andy on this one. I always use my car for engine testing 🏁

[@timevans9710]

Can not see a garden hose anywhere #1 tool for cam break ins.

[@shootermcgavin2819]

Successful for that day BUT that doesn't mean that cam will survive the next 100 miles of driving. Best do an oil change right after break in. Use Driven, Valvoline, Lucas or Mobile 1 engine oil with a high ZDDP content.

[@joseph-v5c4c]

We always clean the cam very good and I but 3 coats of spray graphite on the cam and lifters before a good assembly lube. I also spray all my Bearings too.

[@brucekultgen132]

😮

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

Yeah I know... Andy

[@mikeburnett7028]

Can I ask why you installed a flat tappet cam in the first place?

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

Cheap budget build, this motor probably only has 1,000 dollars in it

[@josephdavis6198]

@@UnityMotorSportsGarage Less

[@johnelliott7375]

Struggle bus doesn't exist for the UMG or The D.V & Andy show!

[@nickbruni8041]

✔️👊🏼⛽️

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

Thanks for watching Andy

[@No1414body]

Quick question did you use the "oil extreme" that david is always talking about

[@edwardblaine8426]

I just built a 306 and cam break in had me a nervous wreck

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

Trust me I get it! Stomach tied in knots.. Andy

[@flinch622]

I wonder... back in the day, plants did a ten minute run in. Are we causing problems by doubling the time just because... some magazine said so? Here's some vintage footage [converted from 16mm]: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJyqhKmVZrd_Z9k Around 18m 52s is Ford's run-in footage. Doesn't cover fluids or cam prep unfortunately - I'm assuming a coat of moly was on lobes at first fire up. At some point in the past, I thought GM had a run in time of 5-6 minutes? Maybe I remember wrong, but that footage eludes me.

[@danielkoch6815]

The struggle bus is such a short bus...how come so many of us fit on it?

[@GrandPitoVic]

You don't need a thousand horsepower in the street to have fun. I've had so much fun out of cars that barely made 300.

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

Exactly, not everything has to be a race car... Andy

[@chrisliberty1773]

I mean, good on ya but in this day n age...justgo roller from the getgo, sure it's more $ but what if a flat tappet fails and all the crap (literally as far as contamination entails)...to me, id never trust a flat tappet anything/stock/modded or not....ymmv.

[@tonytate2964]

Would you really know right away or 500 miles to see

[@lasskinn474]

it's a bad omen to be too confident about having found the problem

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

We weren't going to let it kick our butts.. but you are right one problem after another Thanks for watching Andy

[@davidreed6070]

It needs 3 or 4 degrees.

[@laurenceschnieber5370]

Haven't seen you in awhile how was the car show I went from watching KZbin Yo being. Im videos more fun with Turbo John and JJ Da Boss. At Coastal Plains Dragway The locals put JJ On the trailer T Is that the Camaro.that got a rocker. That eas pretty bent Looks good now Nice to see s cam live

[@The0utmode]

Did you use full synthetic engine oil? Everyone still believes in the convention motor oil for break in myth. But I can tell you how that is wrong. A majority of the wear an engine will experience it's life happens when you first start it. The metal being scraped off the cylinder walls from the piston rings going up and down contaminates the oil with metal shavings. Conventional oil is at least 2x the wear than full synthetic so why in the world would any body ever use anything but full synthetic? I run full synthetic in flat tappet cam SBC's no problem. I recommend the Pennzoil high millage full synthetic made from natural gas. In fact Ima start my recent 305 build for my c-10 pretty soon and the engine has never been ran I have an an isky 262 super cam with comp dlc lifters and im using full synthetic engine oil I plan on recording it and posting to end this conventional motor for cam break in myth!

[@Thirdgen83]

You're not gonna flatten the cam just by cranking the starter a few times.

[@josephdavis6198]

No it wont , but you will start to wipe off the assembly lube.

[@Cobra427Veight]

Roller cam !

[@elainestamper3873]

You started with all really old parts, wasn’t any problems with cams going bad in the past! Only new junk parts made in China crated the cam problem making the parts out of cheap low grade dog do do materials

[@billfioretti3013]

How do you spell relief, Andy? "V-R-O-O-M!" That takes care of the butterflies (and mosquitoes too!)

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

Exactly Bill! Andy

[@leehrh263]

Dude I'm sure you make enough utube money to buy a battery and cables

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

Not as much as you would think.. 🤔 We got it fixed up though! Thanks for watching Andy