Engine: 170 OHV Cams

[Colin Meskell]

Does anyone know what the difference between the 1549471 cam and 1561991 cam is? According to the the parts manual, the former is used on all 170 OHV engines from 61 until mid 64, and then the later is used on the 64 past engine SN312. I checked all the related parts, and both cams use the same bearings, lifters, pushrods, cam gear, oil gear, etc. Why the change, and what are the differences?

A friend has a used cam, but doesn't know which cam it is and if it will work in my 63. I don't have mine all the way out yet to pull dimensions.

Thanks,
Colin

[Warren Webb]

Without getting a blueprint copy from the museum there isn't any way of telling what the difference was. I'm not familiar with a service bulletin on this but perhaps the valve timing was changed slightly to perhaps lessen the load on the cylinder head. Only a guess. As you said all the other related parts are the same so there wouldn't be any danger of the cam being different from what you have.

[Dwain G.]

If you look up 1561991 in a 1965 price 'Book F', it says use 1549471. This leads me to believe this might have been a planned improvement that never materialized.
Have your friend look for the camshaft part number stamped in the cam between the lobes for number 2 cylinder.

[Colin Meskell]

Thanks Dwain, that's what I was thinking. I'll just compare them when I get mine pulled.