I'm putting on a set of Trick flow heads and a Comp Cam. Figured maybe it's a good idea to degree it to see if it's right. Can this be done while the motor is still in the car?

 

Yes

 

I don't see why not.

Degreeing in the cam is always advisable. When i did mine i found that my factory timing chain had 4 deg of retard built in.

 

I've done it. It's easier on an engine stand, but not a requirement...

 

It'll be a lot easier if the car isn't moving, however.

In the vehicle will make it more tedious, but not terrible. There is less space, so setting up a marker for the wheel and finding true crank TDC could require some creativity. It's also more difficult to verify a consistent cam grind between cylinders with it stuck between fenders, but still possible.

 

I've never done it with the engine in the car, but thinking through the process, I can't see where it would not be possible. More difficult, but not impossible.

 

I’ve done it

 

Thanks for all the answers. I assume you would want the 9" disk for this operation. It'll also be heads off so hopefully that'll make things a bit easier. However, what happens if the spec is off what the cam says it's supposed to be? Do you then bump the gear a tooth or two forward or backwards form the alignment dots? Or is then when you'd send the cam back?

 

hopefully you have a timing chain sprocket set that has some other keyway positions to allow you to move the cam.

 

One tooth is about 16 degrees, so NO, that is NOT the thing to do. If it is up to 4 degrees off, a timing set with adjustable key-ways is the answer. If it's off more than that, pull it out & send it back. Schneider sent me THREE bad cams consecutively. I had to send all 3 back. Their customer service was terrible, and Jerry Cantrell is a douche, He acted like it was My fault his cams were ground wrong. I will never do business with them again. I then installed a Lunati cam and it degreed right in to where it was supposed to...

 

Wow that's brutal. I'm going with Comp. Hopefully I don't run into that problem.

 

The Comp cam I had in that engine degreed in within 1/2 degree (which is close enough). The cam that's in my thirdgen is a Comp.
I don't trust their lifters these days though...

 

Yeah adjustable timing chain set. That's what I had to buy to get my cam degreed in.

 

You can do it in the car but it's more difficult to get an accurate reading of the numbers because the wheel is small and you're not looking at it from straight ahead. It's easy to read the numbers totally wrong when you're looking at it from above. You can be way off and not even know it because your eyes are fooling you. It's kind of like aiming a gun with only a front sight. You can line the sight up from a lot of different angles but that doesn't mean you're going to hit the target.

 

I've seen pretty bad reviews on their lifters actually. What do you guys recommend? I need Hydraulic roller lifters. Mine are the original GM ones still. 35 years old

 

johnsons or gm ls7

 

Just out of curiosity...how much can it be off and not worry about it? I see a reference to a 1/2* off being close enough. Here we have a key-way timing set which offers adjustments in 4* increments I believe ( https://www.summitracing.com/parts/clo-9-3646tx9z ). Just curious about the middle ground....say it measures up 2* off. Live with it, or by a timing set like this that can adjust in 2* increments? ( https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Comp-...Set,70991.html )

 

I consider any more than 1 degree off to be poor quality. There are 9-keyway timing sets available, but why not just install a cam that is ground correctly to begin with?...

 

An inexpensive chain set should have 3 keyways to use. Straight up and 4* advance or retard timing. Depending on the cam grind, it may already have 4* of advance ground into it.

Moving cam timing around just changes where the powerband is. Advancing the cam grind moves the power band down. Retarding the cam moves the powerband up. When moving the cam grind timing around, you need to recheck piston to valve clearance. The intake valve chases the piston as it starts to open and the piston chases the exhaust valve as it closes. Too much advance or retard could make the piston to valve gaps too close depending on the piston style and cam grind.

Unless you're playing on an engine dyno to see the results due to a change, it's best to just install a camshaft straight up.

My race car had a camshaft ground straight up. I use a fixed idler timing gear set (no chain or belt) which offers around 9 different settings. I simply installed it straight up, checked piston to valve clearance and never touched it after that.

As for doing it with the engine in the car, that isn't a big issue. All you're really doing is checking to make sure the cam is ground within spec but you also do it to make sure the timing pointer is correct. If you degree a cam and move the #1 piston to exactly TDC, the timing pointer should line up. If it doesn't then you now have the opportunity to change the pointer so that when you play with the ignition timing, you'll know that 12* is exactly 12* etc.

 

The cut for the crank key is often the culprit of mis-timing. Sometimes even the key itself, if the engine was ever forced to come to a very sudden stop for some reason. (blowing up most often). Not all cases of wrong installation are the fault of the cam grind.

 

In My case, it definitely was the fault of the cam grinder (Shneider). They sent me two cams that were 6 degrees retarded and one that was 16 degrees retarded. They were supposed to be 2 degrees advanced when installed "straight up". The Lunatti cam was dead-nutz accurate. Same crank & key & timing set...

 

I have had numerous Camshafts and Timing Sets that were off (from a multitude of Brands)...
If you do enough of this work, you will come across these errors frequently.

24" Degree While and Dial-Indicator Piston Stop on all Engines !

 

Any quality cam should be within 1 degree. If it's off more than that, all of the remaining specs for that cam would be suspect. Keep in mind though that the person doing the work is also relying on the accuracy of his tools as well as that of his ability to use those tools correctly.