I want to make a cam degree kit that is low cost compared to summit or what xenocron offer. I remember reading someone's thread where they degree'd their cams by bolting down a right angle ruler and drilling holes for the dial indicators. i wished I bookmarked it because now I cannot find it.

Anyone know where this guy's build thread is hiding?

Anyone else have a good effective diy cam degree kit they made?

In my possession, I have a dial indicator from my dial bore gauge, i could get another indicator but i imagine you only need one as well as the proper extension.

Im thinking for a diy kit that could be used for multiple applications (not just a specific series honda) you would need

degree wheel
dial indicatior
extension
one of those magnet things for the dial indicator (or figure out how to use right angle ruler method)
and a piston stopper (the spark plug insert)

What do ya think???

 

If you use the dial correctly on the piston you can find absolute TDC as well. No need for a piston stop.

Not sure what you are trying to get at with this thread though. Sounds like you have a "kit" already.

One thing I have though:
I made a steel plate that i mount on my cam rails using that factory bolts (removed after obviously) so that I can use a magnetic base to hold the dial indicator steady.

If I had the deep pockets I would love a xenocron kit. The triple indicator fixture is awesome.

 

Any chance you have pics of your diy kit???

I guess thats what i am asking haha. Approval and just examples of what others have done. The piston stopper is a few dollars, but you are right.

 

There is a threaded hole at the front and rear of the head that you can bolt a 90deg bent piece of steel and use this to mount the magnetic base to. You can't see much in this photo, but you may get the idea.

 

Had to dig through some pictures but this is the only one i have that you can see the plate in use

 

DIY degree wheel: I have CAD software at work. Used it to draw up a degree wheel, then printed it out and glued it to some stiff cardboard. it was great to use, i just made marks for TDC BDC and valve events on the wheel itself.

[DIY] Pointer: welding wire or wire hanger.

cheap dial indicator: Harbor Freight has an indicator set with a vise grip style mount and flexible "arm" for about $20. works for both setting TDC and checking valve lift. indicator extension would probably be needed for B-series and H-series.

that's all i needed to degree my cam.

 

hey thanks for the pics and tips.

my next question is even though the crank pulley is somewhat loosely attached to the degree wheel with washers it was still able to work effectively?

http://www.accutach.com/Documents/Co...WheelMount.pdf

This page at the end of its article suggests it would not work. Just wondering your thoughts and trying to keep problems to a minimum as cam degreeing is still somewhat a confusing topic, probably because you just have to do it to fully grasp it.

 

Just gonna go with a harbor freight dial indicator and base holder as you suggested (Im there all the time, but never noticed they carried it). Waiting on my degree wheel and bottom end kit from amazon. other than that im ready to go and finally finish this build, in time.

 

The summit wheel comes with appropriate spacers to fit the b-crank, I have never tried with a pulley in place.

 

Any chance u would be willing to put up a pic??? My degree wheel should be here on friday and im stopping by HF for the dial indicator with base.

 

I found a PDF file online, emailed FedEx/Kinkos and 10 min later I had a 10" degree wheel made out of card stock. Also had them laminate the wheel to make it thicker. Works great.

 

What a great idea!!! I ended up getting a comp cams wheel for about 16 off amazon. Bought the indicator n magnetic base at harbor freight for 25 or so with a 20% coupon off an item. And bought dial indicator extensions from amazon as well a while ago.

Since we are on the topic of saving money, sometime ago on ebay i saw rod bolt stretch gauges selling just the rod bolt stretch holder for the indicator. Ive been looking everywhere and cant find them anymore. Anyone seen them anywhere recently?

 

Good luck lol. I've looked for quite a while and have yet to find them! I have plenty of highly accurate dial indicators, I just need the $10 aluminum jig to hold it!!

 

If I'm blue printing an engine combo and want to do all my claying/measuring/clearancing/ect ill use the dial indicator to find true TDC and set my degree wheel to 0*. Then I plop the head on and bolt it down with an already crushed gasket, degree my cam, check my 'clicking clearance' and blow it all back apart to clean for final assembly.

If i'm just installing cams ill use the TDC mark on the oil pump. My moroso degree wheel cam with the spacer collar things to adapt it to the crank snout. I made a bracket out of some metal and bolt it to an unused hole in the head to mount the magnetic base.

 

Thanks for the input. And better yet thanks for the thread you have somewhere else!!! Can u put a link up for it here?

 

http://www.d-series.org/forums/showc...rated-fun.html

enjoy.

There's also the .050 method I use and some other info