We started putting the new engine together and all seemed to be going well until we put the cam sprockets on. Pop crack the sprocket has the end of a nice $1000 pair of cams stuck to the back of it :oops:.

 

Turns out they are 8mm shorter than the stock ones and we did not know that you could not put stock sprockets on them :cursing:.

 

I mean I would never have guessed that in like a million yers :angry:.

 

So I am going to need to order up some new cams then fit them and buy some adjustable sprockets as well. Thing is no fecker knows how to get it running with this on it. I am just hoping Kyle can give me some help so I dont go on to destroy the new cams fitting them and have a fighting chance at getting the car running.

 

On the plus side got a lot of the rest of the engine fitted up, the tubs were a right challenge to fit because of the size. If anyone else has the same tubs you will know what I mean when I say absolutely everything touches :devil2:.

 

Despite the little cam set back I am really enjoying myself, building this car certainly beats flying a desk :drool:.

you didn't kyle build the whole top end for you?

:ohmy:

Yes he did, I was just sticking the sprockets on and it broke the cam shaft because they were to short for the stock ones.. right fecker no way on earth I would have known that and to the naked eye they are identical.

Oh no!

As forest gump says "shit happens" but I did feel faint at the time LOL

if you have the cam shaft specs you can use a timing disc on the crank using a dti to find tdc through the sparkplug hole. then using the dti you can move the crank back/forward to where each cam opens btdc or atdc (from the cam specs). you use the dti on the cam bucket and it should start to open at the specified angle on the crank disc.

 

Reading this will have either helped or made things worse, i hope its the former.

 

there must be some dave walker/ david vizzard type pumlications online. ill have a look

Thanks I know it is going to be a nightmare to get the new cams in, any help appreciated. I had to take the other one out as well so I am really stuck.

I need to find someone who can do that and put the cam belt on with the new sprockets as well. But clearly they need to be mobile to come here. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

if you have the cam shaft specs you can use a timing disc on the crank using a dti to find tdc through the sparkplug hole. then using the dti you can move the crank back/forward to where each cam opens btdc or atdc (from the cam specs). you use the dti on the cam bucket and it should start to open at the specified angle on the crank disc.

 

Reading this will have either helped or made things worse, i hope its the former.

 

there must be some dave walker/ david vizzard type pumlications online. ill have a look

Martins got hydraulic lifters still,so would need a solid lifter or dummy to do that,but what your saying is correct bud.

this is taken from an alfa v6 forum but the principle is the same and describes the two methods

 

Lift at Top Dead Centre - i.e. measuring the lift in 'mm' when no.1 piston is at TDC and matching this to the specs. This makes perfect sense to me on an inline engine as you can set both cams at the same time. On a V engine though you have the other bank and 2 more cams to worry about as well. Now assuming the manufacturers could give you lift specs for another cylinder as well I can see this being the best way to get the timing set but I've never seen these published, only cyl 1 inlet and exhaust lift, so is this method even possible on a V engine?

 

Full Lift Position - i.e. using a degree wheel on the crank and checking that the cams hit full lift at the specified points before or after TDC. This would seem to be quite a long winded method though with 4 cams to check and would be made more difficult by the lack of vernier pulleys. I say this as you would surely have to tension the belt first and then break the taper on the individual cams, whilst the belt is still under tension, to allow you to make small adjustments on each cam. As long as the tapers release easily this sounds fine, but they can be stubborn buggers so whilst under tension this sounds tricky? If not under tension I can't see how you keep everything in time as you move from 1 cam to the next...

Its all news to me, I assumed you stuck the sprockets on put the timing belt on a bobs your uncle. Does all this need doing because I have to replace the cams or would it have needed doing anyhows?. If so breaking the cam might have saved the engine as I would have just lined all the dots up!.

 

Sorry for being a numpty, never done this before

only needed with vernier pulleys mate. if you have different cams its best to fit vernier pulleys to get the best from them

do you need these to fit older pulleys?

 

http://www.z1motorsports.com/product_info.php?products_id=932

Jimmer reccomended I try someone in Essex who might be able to do the setup, they reccomended someone else who can set all the timing up and put the new cams in etc. His Name is Jim and his number is 07815 887974 (just for future reference in case you ever get these).