Cam Scam?

[1991 GT Vert]

I called a performance shop today about upgrading my camshaft. I told him i want a E303 cam installed and keep factory push rods lifters and rockers for now. He said " When we install the cam were going to need to tune the engine" I said " when I do the heads and upper and lower intake I will tune it for now I just want the cam installed" He said " Well if you don't tune the motor after you put in the cam it wont run so we need to dyno it and tune everything" I told him i never heard of that. I know after the cam is in you need to adjust the timing but i never heard a full tune needed for the car to run. He told me after buying the chip i need im looking $500-$600 for the tune and 12-13 hours of labor to install the cam which comes out to be another $1105.00. To me this sounds like a scam. What do you guys think?

[Intmdtr]

huge scam, why not install the cam yourself?

[91stang308]

so you would be looking at $1600 just to install a $150 cam??? Screw that, just do it yourself or have a buddy do it for you

[1991 GT Vert]

I would love to do it myself BUT its my daily driver and if i screw it up thats all she wrote haha. I will pay people more money to fix my mistake haha.

[silvergt]

i don't know if i'd call it an out and out scam, but it does sound like he's overdoing it with the "tuning nessecary" deal. i'd call around a little more and get some other prices. i think even a regular repair shop would do a mild cam swap for you. performance shop always charge way too much

[already7]

It sounds like they are about to screw the living hell out of you.

I can take the engine out and put a cam in it easily. It's not that hard to do and with a few simple tips you can do it too!!!!!

1. Rent a car and do the work in the evenings yourself. If you devote a few hours a day it shouldn't take more than a couple of evenings or so to have the engine out and the cam installed. The money that you will save will make the car rental look like lunch at Taco Bell.
2. Pull the engine out and strip it down. IE: Pull the intake and all the front stuff off of the engine to get to the cam. ATTENTION::: before you pull the engine out >>> roll the engine over and put it on TDC of the compression stroke on the #1 cylinder. Scribe a mark on the engine or a bracket pointing directly at where the rotor is at. YOU WILL use this as a base mark to drop the distributor back in and get it fired up without a lot of hassle. Then you can put a timing light on it and fine tune the timing.
3. Take off the rockers and pushrods and then pull the lifters out. Pull the camshaft out VERY CAREFULLY!!! It will bump a little coming out, but try to be very tender with it. You don't want to fuck the cam bearings up! TIP>>> screw a long bolt into the end of the camshaft to hold on to for better control.
4. Put a new "good" timing chain and gear set on it and line up the marks on the gears.
5. Reinstall the engine with all accessories and bolt everything back up.
6. >>>> Drop the distributor back in and try to get your mark lined back up with the mark you made from the rotor before. This will help the engine to be fairly close and start right up. It may run a little doggish until you get a timing light on it.

Once everything is back together and fired up, you will have to play with the timing a little to find the sweet spot that you engine likes. My 308 with a E cam liked 12* of timing. 8-10* and it ran like a DOG!!! 12* was perfect, and I may have squeezed 14 out of it, but that is something that you will just have to play with. Just make damn sure that it doesn't knock or "detonate" as they call it while under a load.

You can do it! So bust a move on it and get your hands dirty. We will talk you through it and help in any way we can... Later, Allen.