Engine Assembly: Installing The Camshaft

After months of preparations I finally got to the best part: actually putting the engine back together. First order of business was installing the camshaft. I dreaded this part as doing it wrong could destroy the engine during break in. I checked all the instructions many times and tried to be really careful.

The cam lobes must have lubrication immediately when the engine is first cranked so they have to be greased. I talked with an experienced engine builder and he used Schneider Extreme Pressure Cam Lube so I bought it too. It was a really thick paste that would stay on the lobes even if it will take a long time to build the engine.

I used my finger to spread the lube on the lobes.

There was just enough lube for the camshaft and the lifter bottoms that I'll grease later. Next I needed to lube the journals and bearings. For that I used Red Line Assembly Lube. It was also much thicker than normal oil so it would stay on the surface of the parts.

I placed the timing gear on the cam to use as handle and carefully started feeding it to the block. Before setting it in completely, I spread the assembly lube on the journals. The cam seemed to turn without much effort so I removed the gear and installed the thrust plate.

My rebuild book mentions that the thrust plate should have an groove that feeds oil to the distributor shaft passage but mine didn't. The passage seemed to leave directly through the front bearing so I guess it did not matter which way the plate was installed. I placed it on the block and torqued the bolts in.