rebuilding LS6 for chevelle

[Richls5]

Originally Posted by SS427

Flat tappet cams have been an issue for many years now but I would try and find one of the few people that are grinding their own cams. There are names out there that can be trusted who are making good cams right now but don't use any of the major cam manufactures as I have had no luck with any of them. The solid lifter sound is what makes the LS6 Chevelle stand out. Quieting that cam ruins it for me. Like taking the whine out of an M22 or the sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin. Silence it and it’s just another engine.

My builder won’t even use flat tappet hes been building motors for some high end mustang people for a few years and has had to tear down and rebuild quite a few. He’s specifically not used comp in a few years on any build for that reason. I guess I need to either find an nos piece if I want to keep it authentic.

[1967 4K]

Talk to BTR , Brian Tooley Racing in Bardstown, Ky.. I put one of their camshafts in a 5.3 LS engine and so far no issues. Pretty sure they are grinding their own camshafts. Not sure if they’re into BB Chevy stuff.

[Big Block Bill]

Like Rick said: "The solid lifter sound is what makes the LS6 Chevelle stand out. Quieting that cam ruins it for me. Like taking the whine out of an M22 or the sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin. Silence it and it’s just another engine."

My last NOS LS-7 crate engine ate a NOS solid LS-6 camshaft due to excessive valve spring pressure on the new GM Aluminum heads I used on it. I then installed a Comp Cams hydraulic roller, and it never was the same, performance nor sound. Bill

[Too Many Projects]

I've had a high frequency hearing loss since infancy, so I have never, truly, heard a solid lifter camed engine. I could hear certain levels of ticking when I was younger, but that deteriorated over time and they all sound alike to me now anyway...

[L_e_e]

Get a GM NOS LS6 cam.

[Lynn]

Don't know if there are any left out there, but a close second to NOS, would be an NOS Federal Mogul cam made in the last 15 years.

Believe it or not, I bought a FM LT-1 Cam and Lifters from RockAuto in 2012. It has performed flawlessly even though I seldom drive the car. I did not use EDM lifters. I used the FM lifters that came with the cam. Use a half bottle of GM EOS with each oil change.

I have checked the lash multiple times, and have never had to adjust since initial break in.

I use a hydraulic roller on all the daily driver engines I build, but the sound of the LT-1 blows everyone away. I have another LT-1 FM camshaft that will go in my 70 Corvette LT-1 when I put it together.

If using a flat tappet cam, just don't go nuts with spring pressure.

[Lynn]

Interesting discussion from 2013. Don't know how one would verify everything stated.

Camshaft Machine Company (CMC) located in Jackson, Michigan was established in 1942 and is probably the largest designer and manufacturer of automotive camshafts in the world. CMC produces cams for GM, Ford, Chrysler, Comp Cams, Lunati, Edlebrock, Crane, Wolverine and many others.

Most (but not all) of the automotive camshafts produced today are produced at one of the Big Three cam manufacturers all located in Michigan. CMC of Jackson, MI., Engine Power Components (EPC) of Muskegon, MI., and Waver Bartel Cam Company, of Grand Haven, MI.

CMC purchased Wolverine approximately 1990/1991.

Crane Cams purchased CMC around 1995 and Wolverine was included in this purchase. During this period Crane owned both Wolverine and CMC.

Crane sold CMC to Federal Mogul about April or May of 1999. Crane did not sell Wolverine to Federal Mogul and Crane still owns Wolverine. Federal Mogul also owns the Waver Martel Cam Company.

CMC was the OEM supplier for most of the muscle car cams for GM, Ford, Chrysler and others back in the muscle car era. This included the infamous 9779067, 9779068, 9779041 etc. CMC currently supplies many cams to the OEM manufacturers and holds copyrights for many OEM grinds. If you purchase a Pontiac original muscle car grind like the 068 for an example, no matter whom you purchase it from it will be made by CMC.

Another interesting tid bit is that some time prior to 1990 when Crane and Wolverine were competitors Crane developed their own version of the Pontiac 9779068 (and maybe others) but advertised it as a computer enhanced version and not an exact duplicate. The reason that Crane did not produce an exact duplicate is because CMC still holds copyrights to this cam and many others.

Wolverine does not have their own cam grinding shop. CMC supplies most of the grinds to Wolverine. Crane also grinds some of Wolverine cams.

Even though Crane has their own cam grinding shop CMC still grinds some of the cams sold under the Crane name. Crane currently has the contract for the Summit brand cams. Crane also grinds some cams sold under the Wolverine name. Those Summit cams could be produced by CMC or Crane, hence the rumored Wolverine Summit connection.

It has been rumored that Crane makes all Wolverine Cams and this is not true. Most of the cams sold under the Wolverine name are produced by CMC. It is true that a small percentage of cams sold under the Wolverine name are produced at the Crane manufacturing facility. To complicate things further it seems that certain grinds could be purchased under the Crane or Wolverine name that are the exact same grind, and CMC or Crane depending on the grind could have produced the cam.

It’s interesting that most people have not heard of CMC, EPC, or Waver Bartel even though they have been around for a very long time, longer than a lot of us have.

Not much will change now that Federal Mogul owns CMC. They will still produce the same cams and will pretty much supply them to the same customers sold under various nameplates. Federal Mogul recently acquired the TRW automotive products division also. The infamous TRW forged pistons that are so popular with we Pontiac folks are still produced at the same factory as when they were owned by TRW. Federal mogul also now owns seal Power. Federal Mogul also purchased the Clevite Bearing company. This gave Federal Mogul an almost airtight grip on the automotive bearing industry. This created an unfair marketing advantage and the Federal trade Commission (FTC) required Federal Mogul to sell Clevite, which they have done.

So the next time you buy your new Comp Cams, Lunati, Ultradyne, Iskenderian, Engle, or other cam there is a good chance it was actually made in Michigan at one of the top three cam makers. What the cam companies do is have their proprietary grinds (design, lob profile etc.) and have them ground by one of the big three. Very few cams are actually ground by a name brand cam company, Crane is one exception but they don’t grind all of theirs either.

[BCreekDave]

Originally Posted by Lynn

Interesting discussion from 2013. Don't know how one would verify everything stated.

Camshaft Machine Company (CMC) located in Jackson, Michigan was established in 1942 and is probably the largest designer and manufacturer of automotive camshafts in the world. CMC produces cams for GM, Ford, Chrysler, Comp Cams, Lunati, Edlebrock, Crane, Wolverine and many others.

Most (but not all) of the automotive camshafts produced today are produced at one of the Big Three cam manufacturers all located in Michigan. CMC of Jackson, MI., Engine Power Components (EPC) of Muskegon, MI., and Waver Bartel Cam Company, of Grand Haven, MI.

CMC purchased Wolverine approximately 1990/1991.

Crane Cams purchased CMC around 1995 and Wolverine was included in this purchase. During this period Crane owned both Wolverine and CMC.

Crane sold CMC to Federal Mogul about April or May of 1999. Crane did not sell Wolverine to Federal Mogul and Crane still owns Wolverine. Federal Mogul also owns the Waver Martel Cam Company.

CMC was the OEM supplier for most of the muscle car cams for GM, Ford, Chrysler and others back in the muscle car era. This included the infamous 9779067, 9779068, 9779041 etc. CMC currently supplies many cams to the OEM manufacturers and holds copyrights for many OEM grinds. If you purchase a Pontiac original muscle car grind like the 068 for an example, no matter whom you purchase it from it will be made by CMC.

Another interesting tid bit is that some time prior to 1990 when Crane and Wolverine were competitors Crane developed their own version of the Pontiac 9779068 (and maybe others) but advertised it as a computer enhanced version and not an exact duplicate. The reason that Crane did not produce an exact duplicate is because CMC still holds copyrights to this cam and many others.

Wolverine does not have their own cam grinding shop. CMC supplies most of the grinds to Wolverine. Crane also grinds some of Wolverine cams.

Even though Crane has their own cam grinding shop CMC still grinds some of the cams sold under the Crane name. Crane currently has the contract for the Summit brand cams. Crane also grinds some cams sold under the Wolverine name. Those Summit cams could be produced by CMC or Crane, hence the rumored Wolverine Summit connection.

It has been rumored that Crane makes all Wolverine Cams and this is not true. Most of the cams sold under the Wolverine name are produced by CMC. It is true that a small percentage of cams sold under the Wolverine name are produced at the Crane manufacturing facility. To complicate things further it seems that certain grinds could be purchased under the Crane or Wolverine name that are the exact same grind, and CMC or Crane depending on the grind could have produced the cam.

It’s interesting that most people have not heard of CMC, EPC, or Waver Bartel even though they have been around for a very long time, longer than a lot of us have.

Not much will change now that Federal Mogul owns CMC. They will still produce the same cams and will pretty much supply them to the same customers sold under various nameplates. Federal Mogul recently acquired the TRW automotive products division also. The infamous TRW forged pistons that are so popular with we Pontiac folks are still produced at the same factory as when they were owned by TRW. Federal mogul also now owns seal Power. Federal Mogul also purchased the Clevite Bearing company. This gave Federal Mogul an almost airtight grip on the automotive bearing industry. This created an unfair marketing advantage and the Federal trade Commission (FTC) required Federal Mogul to sell Clevite, which they have done.

So the next time you buy your new Comp Cams, Lunati, Ultradyne, Iskenderian, Engle, or other cam there is a good chance it was actually made in Michigan at one of the top three cam makers. What the cam companies do is have their proprietary grinds (design, lob profile etc.) and have them ground by one of the big three. Very few cams are actually ground by a name brand cam company, Crane is one exception but they don’t grind all of theirs either.

Is Crane still in business? Seems like I heard Comp bought them out. I know their restoration blueprint cam business is gone. i bought a LT-1 cam https://www.summitracing.com/parts/crn-110951/overview
in 2016 and it has the CMC logo and "Proferall" cast into it. Said it was Made in the USA. Hopefully it is the good stuff.

[dustinm]

How many miles are on the original cam/lifters? I would most likely reuse what you have.

If you had to send out the current lifters for a recrown/polish.

[1971ls6]

Look at a Crower solid roller,they use a large lash that sounds like the old school solids.

The cost is not that much more, and dam near 100* you will not have to remove it on the same weekend you fire it up.