I have installed the 1500 front plate, cam, and cam retainer plate. The endfloat was acceptable and much to my satisfaction, the pulleys lined up without the need for shims. It was time to look at cam timing.
I had paint marked the old pulleys, chain, and cam boss before removal and I reinstalled them in their original positions. Then I mounted my indicators and degree wheel to find what the "old" cam timing was. I found max lift on intake #1 was at about 107 ATDC. OK... so how does that compare to what the timing should have been? Was there a reason the last owner set the cam timing potentially 5 degrees ahead?
I found conflicting bits of info for the stock 1500 cam on the web at the following two sites. I did not find a definitive spec in my manuals. Since I am using a stock Spitfire cam I did not look at the LCA figures for any of the performance cams.
Stock 1500 LCA 110 ATDC: http://auskellian.com/paul/links_files/spitfire_cam_specs.htm
Stock 1500 LCA 112 ATDC: http://www.teglerizer.com/triumphstuff/spitcamspecs.htm (Elgin data)
Also on Paul T's web link above are the 1500 intake figures... 18-58... which should equate to (58+180-18)/2 = 110... which suggests an LCA value of 110 is probably correct.
I am trying to set the cam timing without the head on the engine so the balance point method in the manuals isn't applicable. I have not seen published specs for lift at an angle. By flipping the cam pulley around I currently have the LCA set to 109 ATDC. That should be ideal if the LCA should be 110 as the chain is likely to stretch enough to pick up another degree or two. If the LCA for a stock 1500 cam is supposed to be 112, I would like to change the timing another couple of degrees. I would also like to understand why the previous owner may have set the cam 3 to 5 degrees ahead.
Does anyone know the correct LCA for a stock 1500 cam? If not, do you know checking angle/lift values for the stock cam?
Thanks,
Doug L.