3/4 race cam...what the heck?
01-23-2007, 03:07 PM
#21
Yeah, it's definately an old school term, but nothing to get your panties all wadded-up over. As VetteFella mentions, lots has changed. The expression, AFAIK, was simply a way of emphasizing the performance potential of the cam. Far from accurate for sure, it reflected the limited choice of cams in those days. Full (race) was basically an all out race cam, and 3/4 was generally a (barely) streetable cam. So today we tend to spurt out cam specs so that the more knowlegeable types get a measure for what you have. But what terms do people really use today?? How about the term "BIG CAM?" Come on guys, admit you've used that description more often than not. Perhaps you can explain "big cam" to me? ;-) Maybe that 3/4 and full cam thing wasn't so bad afterall?
Cheers,
Andy1
Cheers,
Andy1
01-23-2007, 04:46 PM
#22
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Originally Posted by Andy1
Yeah, it's definately an old school term, but nothing to get your panties all wadded-up over. As VetteFella mentions, lots has changed. The expression, AFAIK, was simply a way of emphasizing the performance potential of the cam. Far from accurate for sure, it reflected the limited choice of cams in those days. Full (race) was basically an all out race cam, and 3/4 was generally a (barely) streetable cam. So today we tend to spurt out cam specs so that the more knowlegeable types get a measure for what you have. But what terms do people really use today?? How about the term "BIG CAM?" Come on guys, admit you've used that description more often than not. Perhaps you can explain "big cam" to me? ;-) Maybe that 3/4 and full cam thing wasn't so bad afterall?
Cheers,
Andy1
Cheers,
Andy1
Good point.
01-23-2007, 05:08 PM
#23
Originally Posted by Andy1
Yeah, it's definately an old school term, but nothing to get your panties all wadded-up over. As VetteFella mentions, lots has changed. The expression, AFAIK, was simply a way of emphasizing the performance potential of the cam. Far from accurate for sure, it reflected the limited choice of cams in those days. Full (race) was basically an all out race cam, and 3/4 was generally a (barely) streetable cam. So today we tend to spurt out cam specs so that the more knowlegeable types get a measure for what you have. But what terms do people really use today?? How about the term "BIG CAM?" Come on guys, admit you've used that description more often than not. Perhaps you can explain "big cam" to me? ;-) Maybe that 3/4 and full cam thing wasn't so bad afterall?
Cheers,
Andy1
Cheers,
Andy1
01-23-2007, 05:10 PM
#24
I was jokingly told that I was installing a "Three-Quarter race cam" when I put my TSP 233/239 cam in.
The guy meant that it was gonna be hard to street. Very old school term.
The guy meant that it was gonna be hard to street. Very old school term.
01-23-2007, 05:22 PM
#25
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My uncle told me it sounds like i have a 3/4 cam in my car...I was like "What the hell is a 3/4 cam!?! LOL". I cant say i have heard that before... My cam is a TSP 233/239...I will say it does sound pretty mean.
01-23-2007, 06:00 PM
#27
i have the same problem here too. in N/E TN i have a mix of car guys that can blow you away with knowledge and others that blow you away with their ignorance. i just tell them i have a lumpy cam. and if they wanna know specs, i lay it on them. if they tell me a story of their uncles '66 Camaro, i just smile and nod.
i like firing up the my '65 Lemans around the ignorants most though. i love that dumbfounded, slack jaw look as it settles into an idle remnisant of the intro to "hot for teacher" (van halen). or when i fire up the '97 bird with its little cackle through the LM's. well, i am off to the garage to read my cam card while listening to them idle.
i like firing up the my '65 Lemans around the ignorants most though. i love that dumbfounded, slack jaw look as it settles into an idle remnisant of the intro to "hot for teacher" (van halen). or when i fire up the '97 bird with its little cackle through the LM's. well, i am off to the garage to read my cam card while listening to them idle.
01-23-2007, 06:20 PM
#28
Originally Posted by NemeSS
the worst guy ive came across, was back when ls1's were fairly new and i had a 383 lt1,
i used to work at a dealership as a tech, and this dude that was just hired,
started commenting on my car to other ppl, how he would wipe out my
junk with his mustang, i never said anything, and the one day he just called me out and asked if i wanted to race, i agreed and asked what he had lined up,
thats when started letting off on what he had,
his block was bored to the max, he had a 3/4 race cam, and he had modified
a roots blower on his mustang to operate with a switch like the car from the movie mad max,
i kid u not. i was like....... oookay then
the last nail in the coffin was when he made the comment that his bro had just bought a WS6 with the superchager option, that was only available for that yr and and not available on the new cameros. i had heard enuff BS
and to top it off he was dead serious.
i used to work at a dealership as a tech, and this dude that was just hired,
started commenting on my car to other ppl, how he would wipe out my
junk with his mustang, i never said anything, and the one day he just called me out and asked if i wanted to race, i agreed and asked what he had lined up,
thats when started letting off on what he had,
his block was bored to the max, he had a 3/4 race cam, and he had modified
a roots blower on his mustang to operate with a switch like the car from the movie mad max,
i kid u not. i was like....... oookay thenthe last nail in the coffin was when he made the comment that his bro had just bought a WS6 with the superchager option, that was only available for that yr and and not available on the new cameros. i had heard enuff BS
and to top it off he was dead serious.
01-23-2007, 07:18 PM
#30
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Damn you guys are hard on us older folks....lol yup 3/4 was hard to drive on the street.......race cam track only.....camel hump heads on a set of older small block heads if you look at the very front you'll see one or two little humps on the very front of the head ( camel hump)
01-23-2007, 08:53 PM
#32
Originally Posted by Marc 85Z28
Like the LSK or XER, the 3/4 race cams were based off a certain lobe specification/design, and the came in all different sizes. They are still made
01-23-2007, 09:07 PM
#33
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Originally Posted by Marc 85Z28
Like the LSK or XER, the 3/4 race cams were based off a certain lobe specification/design, and the came in all different sizes. They are still made
Pwned!And the small block "double hump" heads were some of the best castings you could get back then! I had some on my first car when I was 16....17 years ago, which came off a '67 Z28. Great heads.....
Ignorance sometimes makes US look stupid to the old folks.....even when we think we are the wise ones.
Just think in 30 years when we say to our kids: "What kind of cam ya got XER, XE, or LSK?".... and they roll the eyes and say cars don't have cams anymore dad.
01-23-2007, 09:23 PM
#34
Wow! I haven't heard 3/4 cam since the mid '80's. But if you really want to freak out the youngsters, pull up in a '66 GMC pickup with a 305 V6. Nobody ever believes it until they look under the hood and read the engine options in the owner's manual.
01-23-2007, 10:02 PM
#35
Originally Posted by gametech
Wow! I haven't heard 3/4 cam since the mid '80's. But if you really want to freak out the youngsters, pull up in a '66 GMC pickup with a 305 V6. Nobody ever believes it until they look under the hood and read the engine options in the owner's manual.
01-23-2007, 10:08 PM
#36
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I used to hear 3/4 cam all the time in high school and that wasnt to long ago. it was mostly the 5.0 mustang guys and last semester some dude told me he installed 3/4 cam in his 5.0 and im there like hell yeah man 3/4 cams rule but i really didnt know what the hell he was talkin about and im sure he didnt either.
01-23-2007, 10:25 PM
#37
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O.K. fellas, allow me to clear up a few things for all of you un-ed-je-me-cated types. A 3/4 race cam is a cam whose lobes will cause the valves to be open for 3/4 of the cam lobe rotation. Yes, you guessed it-a FULL race cam has the valves open for all 360 degrees of the cam rotation! I had a FULL race cam in my 1977 olds, and it allowed me to remove the valves completely. Now, I just run the fuel line right into the intake port on the head and it is AWESOME! No Valves = Open ports = BIG POWER.
Seriously, though guys. The term "3/4 race" and "full race" cam is an old-school term that comes from the old days when flathead fords were king. Cam grinders did not have CNC machines and million-dollar production facilities, so they would only grind a few camshaft options. This would usually be the stock cam, a "3/4" race cam, and a "full race" cam. The 3/4 race cam was usually a fairly aggressive cam profile that had hydraulic lifters and was streetable-much like the cams that we install in our rides. The full race cam was very aggressive and was almost always a roller cam. For whatever reason, the term stuck with rednecks and lives on in this modern camshaft era.
Check out my sig for my cam specs....
Seriously, though guys. The term "3/4 race" and "full race" cam is an old-school term that comes from the old days when flathead fords were king. Cam grinders did not have CNC machines and million-dollar production facilities, so they would only grind a few camshaft options. This would usually be the stock cam, a "3/4" race cam, and a "full race" cam. The 3/4 race cam was usually a fairly aggressive cam profile that had hydraulic lifters and was streetable-much like the cams that we install in our rides. The full race cam was very aggressive and was almost always a roller cam. For whatever reason, the term stuck with rednecks and lives on in this modern camshaft era.
Check out my sig for my cam specs....
Last edited by JohnnyC; 01-23-2007 at 10:31 PM.
01-23-2007, 10:35 PM
#39
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Originally Posted by JohnnyC
For whatever reason, the term stuck with rednecks and lives on in this modern camshaft era.
Just like the Chevy 350 is still stuck in Rednecks minds and they get confused when you explain to them that the gen3 motors are 346 and dont work with some fastburn heads.
01-23-2007, 10:40 PM
#40
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Originally Posted by gametech
That's funny. I don't remember roller cams in flathead fords. I also don't remember 3/4 cams being "VERY streetable". Then again, I am sort of forgetful?
