The Ape Man
04-05-06, 09:57 PM
After hearing (on this board) that the '72 and maybe a few other year 472 or 500 engines had a camshaft that is different from other years, I've decided to try to find out for sure. Every aftermarket source except 1 performance oriented vendor shows the '68-'77 engines replacement camshaft as being the same exact part number. I have been told that this is incorrect and that the exact GM camshaft number shown in Motors manuals may indeed be incorrect. To be 100% honest, I thought this was another bench racer story at first. Thinking a little about my mis-spent youth, I recall tearing down my 1971 472 searching for the reason why it didn't run nearly as well as my 1972 472 which I had a couple of years earlier. My first Cadillac was a '72 CDV. Second was a '71. The '71 seemed to be a dog compared to the '72. Checking distributor curves and carbonator jetting yielded no reason. I finally pulled out the 472 and dropped in a recent (at the time) 425 which became available at a local junkyard at a get rid of the evidence now price. That 425 moved the car almost as well as the 472 so this added to my search for an answer.
'71 was the year that GM reduced engine compression. I'm thinking that Generous Motors may have decided to do something about the performance drop experienced by owners of the new lower compression 1971 472.
These cams held up much better than other brands of the day. The light valve spring pressures combined with billet machining made for a cam that lasted a LONG time. So anyone who might be replacing a usable cam out of a 1972 472 or 500 who is interested in recovering a few bux please send me a private message. I might be interested in a wiped out cam for research purposes also.
'71 was the year that GM reduced engine compression. I'm thinking that Generous Motors may have decided to do something about the performance drop experienced by owners of the new lower compression 1971 472.
These cams held up much better than other brands of the day. The light valve spring pressures combined with billet machining made for a cam that lasted a LONG time. So anyone who might be replacing a usable cam out of a 1972 472 or 500 who is interested in recovering a few bux please send me a private message. I might be interested in a wiped out cam for research purposes also.