Vavoooooooom!

[tudor@tvo.org (Michael Helms)]

Hi everybody,

It finally warmed up to -10 degrees C today, so I figured it was
finally time to put my new cam in my car.  In case you don't recall
my previous ramblings, it's a Crane 290/448 CompuCam Special.  The
spec sheet claims that its RPM range is 3000 - 7000 RPM.

Anyways, after an afternoon with my feeler gauge and socket set, I
finally got the thing in.  The only hitch was in getting the sprocket
bolt off my old cam.  I had to take it up to a garage up the road and
have them take an airgun to it (which is strange, since it only gets
torqued to 33 foot-pounds).  Anyways, I got it all in place, and
turned the key ...

... needless to say, the combination of -10 degree air and a
veritable racing cam didn't make for a terribly pleasant cold idle. 
It burbled and churned like a Formula 1 race engine on the brink of
death.  I nudged it out of my driveway, and took it down the road to
warm the engine up.

Once I got to the 401 (major Ontario highway for those of you
non-Ontario folk), the oil was warmed up suitably and I could finally
put the pedal to the mat.  I was initially surprised how little low
end I had ... so I dropped it to third (which brought my revs up to
about 3200), and stomped it.  I'm still curious to know which one of
you slipped the turbocharger onto my car when i wasn't looking ...
cause it picked up and went like a BAT OUT OF HELL.  4th gear was no
less violent, and 5th gear felt to me like 3rd gear used to with the
stock J-grind cam.

Once I got home, I turned my idle up to about 1300 and everything
seems fairly pleasant.  The low end power really is gone - you
definitely have to rev it higher when you are starting off.  With my
pizza-cutter 175/70 R13 snow tires, it's tough to get a good start
without spinning ... I"m sure my Eagle NCT's will take this abuse a
lot better.

So my initial comment on this cam is two thumbs up.  The Crane
catalogue said that my idle would be "moderate", and my emissions are
probably blown to hell.  I kept my original cam and all the old shims
so I could throw that back in when my car has to go in for an exhaust
sniffing ... but in the meantime, I'm going to have fun fun fun.

The car is going on the dyno on Sunday, so I'll let everyone know how
it fares.  Between the SuperSprint header with the catless exhaust
and the cam, I'm hoping for 115 horsepower at the crank (which would
be about 100 hp at the wheels, right?).

Cheers,
-- Michael Helms

'81 Scirocco - the fixer-upper
'86 Scirocco - the daily driver

Web Site:  http://www.continuum.org/helms

"If you don't believe your country should come before yourself, you
can better serve your country by living somewhere else."  - Dr.
Stompin' Tom Connors


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