Quote Originally Posted by Big Tracks
I could use a little advice from Pat or Richard or Dave or any other of the knowledgeable engine guys who make their presence known on this forum.

I have a degree wheel hanging on a nail in my little shop that I have owned for probably thirty years. I have never tried to use it, even when we were running our modified roadster.

With the server down and the temperature outside at a brisk fifteen degrees, and with nothing else to do, I decided to try to degree in the mid-range cam in my yet unstarted '76 Cadillac (500ci) engine. After tinkering for a while I have decided to ask for help before I mess around and do something dumb or expensive, or both.

Can somebody advise me on this procedure?

Thanks -

Jim
I am not trying to say don't degree your cam.
Before I even think about trying to "degree" a cam I make sure that the customer has a good timing chain set.
The $25 set you at the local Auto Zon- won't work well.
If you are serious about doing this you need a set that has the larger .250 roller along with good steel gears top and bottom.
Say you decide to degree the cam as soon as you start the engine it won't be correct due to timing chain stretch.
Comp. has some of their cams ground with 4* advance in them to compensate for timing chain stretch.
If we do a dyno pull even after using a good $100 set the cam timing will still be off a little after several hard pulls.
If it where a SBC or a BBC what we do is "degree" the cam at first and then after several hard pulls we will either advance or retard the timing to make the most hp.
When you are playing with cam timing always make sure you have enough piston to valve clearance.