cam for ford 2.8l

[small ranger]

Any one put a cam in their little motor? I have to rebuild the top end of the motor and am going to put a cam in it, Im just not sure which one. If you have camed your motor I'd like you thoughts on it, along with the specs of the cam, your motor, and truck. Comp cam says they have 3 cams, stockish, mild, and more extreme. I'm between the mild and more extreme. My truck currently has the duraspark, 390 cfm Holley, offy intake, long tube headers, doubler, 5.13 gears and 38' tires (looking to go 36"). Thoughts and input would be great!



dave

 

[Edgefevah]

V-12

 

[JoshT]

I have/had (it's totaled now but still have it) a 2.8L built about the same as yours, biggest difference is that it was a 2wd truck with much smaller tires. I had the middle of the three comp cams. meant to get the extreme since mine was a street go fast truck, but either I ordered the wrong one or they sent the wrong one and it sat on a shelf for a year before I realized it. It ran good with the cam, but never got the carburetor adjusted properly before totaling the truck. Less than 5K on the motor after complete rebuild, so never saw its potential. Definitely ran better with the cam, but can't say how much of that was due to the cam and how much was due to the rebuild.

What do you use your truck for mostly?

With the doubler I'm assuming it's more trail than mud pits. I'm thinking, and I could be wrong about this, that for a trail truck with a doubler you are usually at lower RPMs and using gearing to overcome most obstacles. If I'm right, you want to make your power at lower RPM levels. You'll want to stay away from the extreme cam, they specify an RPM range of 1200-5200 for an otherwise stock motor. It's going to start making power at 1200 RPM, but most of it's power will be closer to that 5200 number with the other mods possibly higher. The mild cam is pretty much a stock replacement cam, and I doubt that you want that. I would go with the mid range cam, which will give a low to mid range power boost. The extra low end torque will be beneficial on the trail, while still helping you on the road.

If it's more of a mud truck (or I'm completely wrong about trail riding) you will be in the higher RMP ranges a lot more. In them you want to make power up high and keep them tires spinning. For that I'd look at the extreme cam. For this type of use Isky also offers a couple cams that are designed for RPM ranges starting at about 2000 RPM. Considering that cruising RPMs on most factory vehicles is around 2K they seem to be more of a racing cam, than one meant for the street. If I had known about these I'd probably have used an Isky for my 2.8 street truck.

If you decide to go with a Comp cam, spend the little extra for the SK kit. It includes cam, lifters, and a metal timing gear set. You need to replace lifters when installing a new camshaft, and the gears to replace the composite gear that came stock. The composite gear may never be an issue, but it is over 20 years old now. Better safe than sorry, especially when you are putting more strain on the motor.

V-12

WTF?

 

[small ranger]

Thanks for the input josht. Since it is a trail truck power off idle is important so the middle cam from comp cam is the way I'll go. I was already looking at the sk kit so thanks for recon firming that's the kit I want. I was also thinking about new valve springs for the heads as well.

 

[--weezl--]

as far as the new springs go, just get your old ones tested, if they test in spec, they are fine, but they may be old and worn out and soft... if they are, replace them...

just a thought, but josh, if you've got a ranger with the cam that small ranger is looking for, and your truck is written off... why not sell him your cam that only has 1 oil change on it, make a couple bucks yourself, and save him a few at the same time!

 

[JoshT]

If this were a high rpm build, new springs would be a must. It's not so you may be fine with stock springs. Take weezl's advice on that one.

Sorry man, but I plan to put that engine to use once I get done with my current project. Had I not stumbled on a V8 explorer for cheep the engine would be going into my 86 ranger build. I'm either going to find an old (70s) mercury capri or something like a sunbeam alpine to it in. Also toyed with the idea if adapting it to a VW bus transaxle and building a buggy with it.od

 

[--weezl--]

well that answers that question now doesn't it!? lol

 

[JoshT]

Yeah, but it really wouldn't have saved him much anyway. The cam kit for this thing isn't expensive at all. Might have saved him 25-30 bucks buck, but that's not much when you're doing a full on top end rebuild. Besides, with the exception of the cam and the block itself, It's the same engine my dad built when I was a little kid. He knows how strong it is for what it is and had expressed interest in doing something with it if I don't. He's mentioned many time in the past about wanting a 60-63 Falcon. Says he had a couple when he was my age and got his fill of stuffing the over powered V8 in there, he just wants a nice cruiser. This 2.8L has twice the power of the stock I6 and would make a perfect cruiser motor without being overpowered. In fact that might end up being exactly what I use it for, find a good Falcon rolling chassis, build it and give it to him.

More I think about it if I can find a body that's exactly what I'll do with it. I've often wished I could find one for him because of the way he gets when he sees them. You know how you can tell when someone has real fond memories of something and regrets loosing it, you can see it in their eyes and hear it in their voice. IIRC he wrecked two of them before moving on to bigger, faster, and more powerful toys. Every time he sees one sitting in a barn or against the fence in a junk yard he wants to go see if he can bring it home, but then talks him self out of it saying he doesn't the time, money, place or energy to start a project like that. In all that time I never gave much though to how I would set it up for him. The plans I kept envisioning included a badass expensive V8, but I expect that this V6 would be a little more in line with what he's thinking. If it needs a little more power there's still a big book of tricks that I haven't really touched yet. Stuff that can turn this truck motor into a screamer, but it's stuff that's more suited to a car than a truck like the OP has.