RE: 2L hotrod cam quandry

["Brian Shorey" <bshorey@xxxxxxxxx>]

> It's my understanding that the Euro cams aren't designed to work very 
> well with Spica and vice versa.  You're probably right that you need 
> some sort of hotter cam to make the most of your engine mods.  I'd 
> suggest talking to Wes Ingram about a set of his high performance 
> cams that are designed specifically for Spica engines.  You'd 
> probably benefit a lot from one of his modified Spica pumps, too.
> 
> -Joe
> 
> At 12:16 PM +0000 8/21/03, alfa-digest wrote:
> >Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2003 23:37:46 EDT
> >From: NortonMarg@domain.elided
> >Subject: 2L hotrod cam quandry
> >
> >I built my Berlina with the Euro spec cams, 10:1 flat top pistons,
big 
> >valve conversion and a mild porting job. Spica, not carbs. It runs 
> >well, has good go but I am not particularly impressed. I drove an 
> >Alfetta with a Shankle 6 or 7 cam in it (none of the rest of the mods

> >I'm pretty sure) and the car went like blazes! Power started very 
> >strong at 3,000-3,500 and was way faster than my car to 4,500-5,000.
I 
> >was surprised partly because I thought my Berlina was lighter to
boot!
> >So I'm thinking I might have under-cammed the car, and I run across
an
> >"Evoluzione Due" cam for the 2L engine with 12 mm of lift. I have to 
> >check with the guy who relieved my pistons to clear the big valves to
see 
> if there is likely enough clearance for the extra lift, but I'm also
worried 
> about whether I have
> >to worry about tangling the valves at overlap. Does anyone have any
> >experience with these cams, or reliable rumors to pass along? 
> >Likewise for the Shankle
> >cams. It IS a street car, but I drive it like, well, a 
> "sports car" and strong
> >midrange makes a car fun on twisty roads.

Euro cams will work fine with Spica.  They're only half as aggressive as
a 7L cam.  Also, there are a couple of grades of 7 cams, some that are
specifically designed for injected motors.

A set of 7L cams with a big valve head makes for a very nice
combination, imo.

Wes Ingram can also build a performance pump that is 'matched' to
virtually any cam profile, including the euro cams.  I've got this setup
for my GTV, although I won't know how well it all works until I actually
get the car together...

The stock Spica pump might not be an ideal match for a euro cam.  You
might try playing with the cam timing, pump timing, and maybe the
altitude compensation inside the pump, to see if you can get any more
grunt out of your setup.  You shouldn't feel so far off from what you
experienced in the Alfetta.

HTH,

bs
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