05/21/2026
Here's a post from the WTFO files :) I stabbed a custom ground Comp Cam, degreed, checked end play and buttoned up the front of the FE. Same as I do every single time, Groundhog Day with all the FEs that pass through here. Mocked up a head with mockup gaskets, clayed, checked valve clearance, right as rain....
Before I go on, I am sharing to make sure you know if you have issues, it's readily measured by a tape measure but I have never ran into this before, I need to say I am extremely happy with COMP Cams and I will continue to source custom cams from them, as well as Bullet, as this is the first weird one ever, and have been using them LONG before I opened the shop. They have been excellent and will certainly stand behind this one.
Flash forward, installed the fresh Cometics and started measuring for pushrod length and couldn't get #2 exhaust lifter to drop. This isn't uncommon for a BBM as the cam bearing is very close to the lifter and FP1's cam bearings are wide, but I always check that when installing cam bearings before we assemble the bottom end. However, good technique when something is wrong is always blame yourself first :)
Well, the cam bearing was right, the cam core was either wrong, mis-machined, or whatever, but the answer is that the darn cam is about .070 longer overall than it should be.
The dimensions for the front lobe and depth from the cam retainer plate to the back of the gear is right, so the cam locates properly, but as you travel farther, everything else creeps toward the back of the block, #2 cam journal just sticks out enough to interfere with the lifter dropping (although all the journals are wide enough to seat properly)
By the time you get to the rear cam plug (which is NOT in yet) I could see the cam stuck out a little more than usual, but it would have likely been OK, but I didn't interpret it could be a bad core at the time so I pressed on.
In the pics, you can see the length of the odd, long Comp, versus another new one, they are sitting upright on a stainless-steel pad, then compared to an old unusable Bullet. The second custom cam is the same as the Bullet I had laying around, and you can see the core color of the funky cam and look is very different between the standard I get all the time (standard is the nice silver, the more brown one is the problem child)
I'll talk to them today, and just FYI, they are a good company, if we get to Comp bashing in the comments, I'll delete the post. Please don't, we don't know what happened yet, Comp's available lobes, quality, options and responsiveness is fantastic. This is to keep in your back pocket because most all cam grinders source the same cores. More to follow
