Engine: Champion lifter information needed

[AndrewB]

[PackardV8]

While I don't have any info on Champion lifters in a flathead Ford, I do have questions about

With the Champion lifters larger base I will not have to run as much lift/duration thus increasing the RPM range

Suggest speaking with your cam grinder, as the above statement doesn't quite agree with what I've been told by cam engineers.

What a larger lifter contact diameter allows is greater camshaft lift speed, also known as intensity. The cam lobe can be ground on a larger base circle and with steeper ramps without running off the edge of the lifter base. If the cam lobe profile is correctly matched with the lifter base diameter, the result is more area under the lift curve at the same lift and duration. The real question is where are you going to find a larger base circle flathead Ford cam?

FWIW, for the past ten years, we've been trying to find someone to make custom cams for Studebaker V8s with no success. There are custom steel billet roller cams, but they start at $1,000. Racers want them because higher valve lift increases high RPM efficiency and coupled with longer duration moves the horsepower peak higher in the RPM range. Greater intensity combined with higher lift and greater duration, broadens the torque curve as well as increasing high RPM peak power.

Good luck and please let us know how your project progresses.

jack vines

[AndrewB]

Hi PackardV8,

I come acrossed some of information from this site: http://midstateantiquestockcarclub.com/flat_heads4.html.

As far as the cam is concerned, I'm machine my own blank since I'll be running a Nordon 180 degree crank and cams for this modified firing order are not available even thought the cranks are. I'll rely on the experts at Oregon Cam Grinding to finish it off.

Andrew

[PackardV8]

Thanks for the link to the interesting read, albiet single spaced read on flathead Ford cams.

As far as grinding your own billet blank, what material do you plan to use? I don't build Champion engines, but IIRC, the cams are cast iron and thus the Champion lifters won't work on a steel billet. You might investigate Durabar cast iron, as it machines beautifully.

When designing a custom cam blank, the challenge is to get the largest base circle and lobe lift which will pass through the cam bearings. Since the flathead Ford gets all its valve lift from the cam lobe, a larger base circle is doubly important.

Again, good luck with the project and keep us informed.

jack vines