Camshaft blues

[wdills]

I finished stripping my engine today. One tooth on the camshaft gear that drives the distributor has about 1/4 of the tooth broke off. The distributor gear looks good and shows no sign of damage. This gear appears to be cast as part of the camshaft so I assume my camshaft is now junk.

I have a parts car with a 259 in it. Will the 259 camshaft work in my 289?

[N8N]

I believe they're the same, but check your parts book.

nate

[Bud]

The stock cams are all the same from the 232 on through the 289 so they are interchangeable. The big difference is in the different R series cams. Bud

[PackardV8]

One tooth on the camshaft gear that drives the distributor has about 1/4 of the tooth broke off.

Since you've got it apart, definitely replace it. It could break the rest of that tooth at any time. Of course, being a Studebaker, it could also run another lifetime like that. BTDT - I installed an R1 cam with a chipped tooth in a '62 GT about thirty years ago and when last reported, it was still running.

jack vines

BTW Bud, - The stock cams are all the same from the 232 on through the 289 so they are interchangeable." IIRC, the early 232" cams were steel and ran 1" diameter chilled iron lifters - definitely not interchangeable.

jv.

[whacker]

The cams are interchangeable. As PackardV8 says, the early ones are pretty bad, but they would still fit and work.

[N8N]

the cam gear is replaceable but I was interpreting the OP to mean that the gear at the other end, which physically drives the distributor, had a chipped tooth - and that one is not removeable.

nate

[wdills]

Nate,
You are correct. The chipped tooth is on the gear that drives the distributor.

Anybody got a good camshaft you want to sell? It may be easier to just buy one than to strip another engine.

[PackardV8]

The cams are interchangeable. As PackardV8 says, the early ones are pretty bad, but they would still fit and work.

Again, IIRC, the early 232" cams were steel. Later cams are iron. If an early steel cam is put against the later hardenable iron lifters, it will eat through them in short order. The early and late are the same physical size, thus it will fit in the 289" hole, but won't live long or prosper in there.

jack vines

[Bud]

I still have a steel replacement cam that I received in exchange for a cam that I sent in for a regrind. I ran it in the 289 in my 64 Champ truck for years with no abnormal wear to the lifters. I rebuilt the engine and replaced the cam again with an ISKY E4 regrind. I saved the used steel cam for future service if I need it as it is still good. Maybe I was lucky when I used chilled iron lifters on a steel cam as I didn't know anything about lifter failure. I also used Chevron Delo 400 oil in the engine and changed it regularly during the time the steel cam was in the engine. Bud

[PackardV8]

I still have a steel replacement cam that I ran in the 289 in my 64 Champ truck for years with no abnormal wear to the lifters.

Yes, Bud, your exception is noted.

No, Studebaker engineers couldn't make steel cams work back in the day. For the first couple of years of the V8 and steel cams, they had continual problems with abnormal cam and lifter wear. They replaced hundreds of thousands of steel cams and lifters under warranty. Finally, unable to find a way to make the steel cams live, they had to completely change from steel cams and chilled iron lifters to cast iron cams and hardenable iron lifters.

Maybe

[bsrosell]

Jack, very interesting! How do you tell the difference? (which one is in my engine?)