Cam break in via electric motor?

[cv67]

Debating taking an L82 and doing a period appearing build.
Decided on a solid flat tappet cam

If one took an electric motor , managed to put together some kind of driveshaft/coupler deal why not do it that way (break in) before going to the hassle of dropping it in? Graingers has tons of choices.

HP rating?
Variable speed or?
Was thinking a 1/2 hp may do the job? 1hp?


Thanks.

[BobbyB]

I think you will be way better off building an engine break in stand.

My understanding is that the engine needs to run at 2000 rpm so that the crank slings plenty of oil up on the cam. I don't see any reasonable way to do that with an electric motor, but maybe I am missing something.

[gmrocket]

Back in the late 70's my first part time job while in high school was at an automotive machine shop..they had exactly what your talking about.

An engine run in stand that would spin the crank and make oil pressure, the guy who built the engine would watch to make sure oil was feeding the rockers and check oil pressure. He would check all the cylinders with a compression gauge.

That's it. I don't remember what else was checked. They actually advertised the rebuilt engine as "run in"..I guess that's true in a way

[Blakeslee]

Spintron?

[cjperformance]

Why not simply fit lighter springs and/or break in rockers?
If you are that worried dont glue the intake down, remove it after break in, pull the lifters and inspect the cam visually.

[FC-Pilot]

One thing I have been mindful of is once the valvetrain and engine are all assembled I mark all the pushrods and turn the engine over by hand and make sure all the lifters are rotating. That is a great start to making sure you are on the right track. The break in stand is great too for the next steps.

Paul

[engineguyBill]

There is really no advantage to breaking in the engine while cold, such as this electric motor subject. The engine needs to obtain normal operating temperature in order for all components to break-in properly.

[cjperformance]

Can anyone explain why you can break in a cam and tappets just fine on an old 1200 rpm max engine? And yes flat lifters.

Spring force, V lobe intensity, V lobe size and so on.
I have broken in a ton of stock or near stock FT cams at idle in 6cyl and v8 engines, well not even paying any attention to cam break in, just getting it running nice, check for leaks, coolant circulation etc then drive it. In most cases 15/20 mins idle and a few little revs checking it before the test drive. With a lazy lobe and not much spring they are fine.
A lot of the much older engines also have huge lobes and lifters and very light springs in relation to the averageSBC/SBF.
The ammount of lube available at a given rpm also accounts for a lot, some engines really have a fairly shielded cam/lifter interface, some are quite open and throw off oil reaches the cam/liftera better.
There are many many factors. The 2000/2500 for 20 mins is a loose average safety net for the average joe.

[blwilliams]

Debating taking an L82 and doing a period appearing build.
Decided on a solid flat tappet cam

If one took an electric motor , managed to put together some kind of driveshaft/coupler deal why not do it that way (break in) before going to the hassle of dropping it in? Graingers has tons of choices.

HP rating?
Variable speed or?
Was thinking a 1/2 hp may do the job? 1hp?


Thanks.

So are you wanting to use the block with cam lifters and heads installed with some way to lube the cam and lifters as you spin it with your electric motor?
Years ago there was a cam company that offered cam and lifters pre broke in.
If I recall they had a fixture that held the lifters to the cam as it spun in an oil bath.

[cjperformance]

Debating taking an L82 and doing a period appearing build.
Decided on a solid flat tappet cam

If one took an electric motor , managed to put together some kind of driveshaft/coupler deal why not do it that way (break in) before going to the hassle of dropping it in? Graingers has tons of choices.

HP rating?
Variable speed or?
Was thinking a 1/2 hp may do the job? 1hp?


Thanks.

So are you wanting to use the block with cam lifters and heads installed with some way to lube the cam and lifters as you spin it with your electric motor?
Years ago there was a cam company that offered cam and lifters pre broke in.
If I recall they had a fixture that held the lifters to the cam as it spun in an oil bath.

Thats all good and well if their lifter bore alignment is identical to your block! Not very likely

[Truckedup]

I seriously doubt a 5 HP electric motor can spin a complete engine...Maybe a 7-1/2 HP will, but if it stalls and you have a typical 200 amp residential service,the in rush overcurrent may blow the utliitly company line fuse...

[Warp Speed]

We used machine fixtures to break in cams back in the old flat tappet stelite overlay days. It was actually featured briefly in an old Quakerstate commercial. It only had to spin the cam in a precision fixture.
Matter of fact, I was in the warehouse last week, and they are still there wrapped in plastic. Lol

At the "camshaft test" portion

[cv67]

Years ago there was a cam company that offered cam and lifters pre broke in.

Ah, I remember that ,just not who?
Suppose a break in stand is the way to go just dont want to bother with buying headers, ex and annoying neighbors.
If a power pole blew that would probably be something that would happen to me

[gmrocket]

We used machine fixtures to break in cams back in the old flat tappet stelite overlay days. It was actually featured briefly in an old Quakerstate commercial. It only had to spin the cam in a precision fixture.
Matter of fact, I was in the warehouse last week, and they are still there wrapped in plastic. Lol

At the "camshaft test" portion

Well there ya go....

Nice mullet too

I think the break in fixture I'm talking about for flat tappets is sitting in the back corner of a shop nearby,, I'll try to get a pic. Infact, a guy that works there has the exact same Jeff Gordon haircut to this day...

[Vintagewrench]

Don't break in cams but have run in the babbitt main bearings I pour and machine in either the line boring machine or on the largest engine lathe in the shop for years.