Hi gang, been awhile since I posted.

I am working on my brothers van (again) and have a question about the camshaft centerline.

The motor is a 225 out of a 76 Volare (forged crank) rebuilt using a factory 76 camshaft. When I put the motor back together I used one of the old MP double roller timing sets. Ever since the motor was built it has had poor gas mileage and poor power. Vacuum is down around ten inches and timing has to be pretty retarded to avoid pinging under load.

All of this leads me to believe the camshaft is installed a few degrees off from the correct setting. So, what is the correct camshaft centerline degree for a 76 stock cam, and would I get some low RPM power by advanceing or retarding the cam in any direction? I have never degreed a cam before so speak slowly.

Thanks.

Okay, I think I figured itout. Duration = 244, intake opens at 16 BTDC. 244/2 = 122. 122 - 16 = 106. Centerline on a stock cam = 106 degrees ATDC.

It looks like the cam gear was misdrilled on the timing set since the cam is coming to TDC at 102 degrees.

I also took this opportunity to check if the vibration dampener timing mark had slipped and it had- the timing mark was retarded by 8 degrees.

I also dug around and found that advancing the cam timing is good for low RPM torque and performance, and that is what I am looking for since this slant is in a van.

So if the cam is centerlined at 102 degrees, isn't this already four degrees advanced? Should I get the cam gear drilled out and use one of the MP advance bushings?

Thanks for any suggestions. There is a good seal on the timing chain cover and I don't want to break it if I don't have to.