Black51

Currently putting on a new (to me) head. One of the bolts inside the cam housing was infamously stuck. Nothing the ol' die grinder couldn't take care of though. The camshaft just came out today for the inevitable shavings aftermath cleanup. I was a little surprised to see the wear marks on the lobes to this extent, but maybe it's not as bad as it looks? The pics of the lobes are in order from cylinders 1-4. The part that worries me the most though is on the end where the woodruff key slot is. It's pretty mangled, I'd say. For those of you who know cams well, is this cam usable as-is, weld/machinable, or toast?

I'm also considering swapping to a 09R camshaft anyway while it's apart. So if anyone has an extra one, PM me.

One other question I have is should I decide to swap the cam out, should I replace the lifters with new ones to prevent uneven and premature wear?

931guru

All the lobes look adequate, but the keyway is trash. Get a new camshaft.

Humboldtgrin

Lart’s probably has a camshaft, or a mountain of them.

Black51

Ya the keyway I figured has written this thing off. Oh well. It's a good time to change it, and I've already contacted Lart haha.

MAGK944

If it’s just a damaged keyway Loctite has a product for that.

Tom M'Guinn

Camshafts are cheap, so no harm moving to another. That said, it's hard to say from those photos if there is anything wring with the lobes. The little edges on the corners that look worn-off are there to help the lifters rotate, so if that's the basis of your concern, it needn't be. There are marks on the face of the lobe too, but I can't tell in the picture if those are actually pits or rather just discolorations and/or something that would wipe off. I'd pass on a pitted cam since they are easy to replace, but I'm not so sure yours is. That keyway is pretty ugly. Someone tried to dig out a key with a chisel or something? I bet it would last 100 years with that Loctite (or even JB weld), but best of luck to anyone who needs to remove the key?!?

Black51

The faces of some of the lobes show signs of a tiny bit of wear and slight discoloration. If it were a performance cam, I might have considered trying out that loctite on the keyway and see what happens. But it's really not worth the time of doing it on the stock cam. I decided I would try out a 09R cam. I found one on ebay. It sounds like they are a decent upgrade for a street car at an affordable cost. If Michaelmount says it's good, it's good. Maybe some day I might consider going with a JME or webcam. But at least an 09R didn't run me $1k CAD, so I thought I'd start at the cheap end.

fast951

The 09R cam is a good cam for the $.

Black51

Are you still selling cams these days, John?

fast951

​​​Yes, but no longer a stock item, more of a custom order to match the application.