Piper 270 Camshaft Question
Discussion
My 350i has done 82000 miles and I suspect could do with a new camshaft. The go-to seems to be the Piper 270 from what I have read on the web. I am really just looking to replace and not do any other tuning. Obviously, followers and possibly pushrods will be part of this but I don't want to do anything else.
Is this camshaft just a fit and forget item, and does it make much noticeable difference over a stock Rover V8 camshaft, or does it require more work to set it up properly?
Is this camshaft just a fit and forget item, and does it make much noticeable difference over a stock Rover V8 camshaft, or does it require more work to set it up properly?
Why would you put a performance/"fast road" camshaft in what must be a very worn engine given the mileage. Surely you would replace everything and rebuild the engine completely?
Why do you think the cam is worn, but not the rest? That doesn't make any sense.
Surely it's just a waste of money to put a performance cam costing 4 times as much as a standard cam in a worn engine?
Why do you think the cam is worn, but not the rest? That doesn't make any sense.
Surely it's just a waste of money to put a performance cam costing 4 times as much as a standard cam in a worn engine?
I did, and the advice is to also replace the timing chain and the tappets, but you don't mention those. It also mentioned removing the rocker cover and depending on the colour what condition the engine might be in. You didn't mention that either.
As I said, why spend 4 times what you need to on a "performance" cam, without examining the rest of the engine and changing other parts that will need to be changed.
I think you are the one who needs to do some more reading!
As I said, why spend 4 times what you need to on a "performance" cam, without examining the rest of the engine and changing other parts that will need to be changed.
I think you are the one who needs to do some more reading!
Logic suggests cam area is the most likely parts to wear early given the splash type oiling it gets which is going to be marginal at the best of times.
Most Tvr have good oil regularly changed and in truth rarely thrashed that hard for any length of time and only pulling a light weight body with few passengers so in fact most of the engines internals are hardly stressed at all.
80,000 miles doesn’t have to mean it needs a complete rebuild.
If oil pressure is good and true there’s no reason why a cam kit won’t indeed re pep it up.
I’d go for new chains and wheels though as putting a new chain on old sprockets is false economy.
You could check main bearing surfaces and even change those in situ on some Tvr if the wear is marginal on the shells.
Your good to go for many more miles if all else is equal.
I’m not sure what Lucy is thinking to be honest.
Clearly o/p needs to be sure his engines not full of sludge which if he’s on here he’s probably fairly sure it’s not
Most Tvr have good oil regularly changed and in truth rarely thrashed that hard for any length of time and only pulling a light weight body with few passengers so in fact most of the engines internals are hardly stressed at all.
80,000 miles doesn’t have to mean it needs a complete rebuild.
If oil pressure is good and true there’s no reason why a cam kit won’t indeed re pep it up.
I’d go for new chains and wheels though as putting a new chain on old sprockets is false economy.
You could check main bearing surfaces and even change those in situ on some Tvr if the wear is marginal on the shells.
Your good to go for many more miles if all else is equal.
I’m not sure what Lucy is thinking to be honest.
Clearly o/p needs to be sure his engines not full of sludge which if he’s on here he’s probably fairly sure it’s not
I was/am thinking of looking at mine in the winter layoff, it is a little tappety on one bank.
I think a while back I was looking at a 3.9 cam from what i have read it gives an extra pep (not a lot) without losing driveability.
The big end and mains I did with the engine in the car (never again), but it is doable even in a cramped garage.
The oil pressure has improved so a little fettle around the engine without going mad is a personal choice, it keeps them going until they completely expire.
I think a while back I was looking at a 3.9 cam from what i have read it gives an extra pep (not a lot) without losing driveability.
The big end and mains I did with the engine in the car (never again), but it is doable even in a cramped garage.
The oil pressure has improved so a little fettle around the engine without going mad is a personal choice, it keeps them going until they completely expire.
Edited by BlueWedgy on Thursday 15th June 19:27
Suggest you just ignore Lucy Ps comments. "She" is just a nasty negative troll that knows nothing about Wedges. My take is a decent Rover V8 can easily do 150k mileage without issue but the camshaft can wear prematurely. On my previous 390Se the cam was so worn there was no noticeable lobe on no1 exhaust. The engine itself had great oil pressure and never used a drop of oil. I fitted a V8 Development's Stealth cam, plus chain and tappets. Full kit cost £550. No mods needed. It was a brilliant cam, not too lumpy at low revs but just loved revving over 6000 at the drop of a hat, with smooth progressive power delivery.
Edited by KKson on Thursday 15th June 21:28
(Forgive me OP, this is a message for Classic Chim.)
Alun, I've been trying to contact you by pm email but it's not working.
My son Max & I will be at Abingdon this Saturday, he's running at 13:30 (GTR), 14:30 (R8 V10) & 15:30 (720S). It would be good to catch up with you, but even better if you were his tutor at least once.
We will track you down one way or another.
Best,
Rik.
Alun, I've been trying to contact you by pm email but it's not working.
My son Max & I will be at Abingdon this Saturday, he's running at 13:30 (GTR), 14:30 (R8 V10) & 15:30 (720S). It would be good to catch up with you, but even better if you were his tutor at least once.
We will track you down one way or another.
Best,
Rik.
Interesting thread here re camshafts which confirms no pocketed pistons are necessary for Stealth. https://www.v8forum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11...
My 350i has been in the family for 20 odd years and well looked after, but after 80k odd miles I got a tappety noise and did some investigations. First of all I replaced the big end and main bearing shells in situ - fiddley but doable. Some were down into the copper so that seemed to make the bottom end quieter and help with oil pressure.
I removed the rocker shafts to inspect the cam and followers. A couple of the followers in the middle of the nearside were unduly worn yet the cam lobes looked good. I found that the rocker shaft pillars were not the same length and this is where shims can be put underneath to even them up. I got a mate to mill the pillars all to the same height and effectively reduce their height marginally to bring the hydraulic tappets more into their working range. I replaced the two unduly worn followers which I know many people say you shouldn't do as they should be replaced as sets, but those followers were wrong and the rest look fine. This reduced the tappety noise and about 6k later the engine sounds good and goes like stink.
I also replaced the rockers due to an issue I had with my 420seac. On that I found one of the steel feet had fallen off the rocker and two others were breaking up which had given that a bad tappety noise. That was due to valve bounce and a sticking throttle cable.
I removed the rocker shafts to inspect the cam and followers. A couple of the followers in the middle of the nearside were unduly worn yet the cam lobes looked good. I found that the rocker shaft pillars were not the same length and this is where shims can be put underneath to even them up. I got a mate to mill the pillars all to the same height and effectively reduce their height marginally to bring the hydraulic tappets more into their working range. I replaced the two unduly worn followers which I know many people say you shouldn't do as they should be replaced as sets, but those followers were wrong and the rest look fine. This reduced the tappety noise and about 6k later the engine sounds good and goes like stink.
I also replaced the rockers due to an issue I had with my 420seac. On that I found one of the steel feet had fallen off the rocker and two others were breaking up which had given that a bad tappety noise. That was due to valve bounce and a sticking throttle cable.
TwinKam said:
(Forgive me OP, this is a message for Classic Chim.)
Alun, I've been trying to contact you by pm email but it's not working.
My son Max & I will be at Abingdon this Saturday, he's running at 13:30 (GTR), 14:30 (R8 V10) & 15:30 (720S). It would be good to catch up with you, but even better if you were his tutor at least once.
We will track you down one way or another.
Best,
Rik.
Hi Rik. Ive only just seen this and yes it was really great to see you. Alun, I've been trying to contact you by pm email but it's not working.
My son Max & I will be at Abingdon this Saturday, he's running at 13:30 (GTR), 14:30 (R8 V10) & 15:30 (720S). It would be good to catch up with you, but even better if you were his tutor at least once.
We will track you down one way or another.
Best,
Rik.
In answer to your question I was sparing Upto 10 drivers on the day so giving them their breaks so indeed if I’d got your email I could have arranged to take your son out in at least one of those cars.
Next time mate
Classic Chim said:
TwinKam said:
(Forgive me OP, this is a message for Classic Chim.)
Alun, I've been trying to contact you by pm email but it's not working.
My son Max & I will be at Abingdon this Saturday, he's running at 13:30 (GTR), 14:30 (R8 V10) & 15:30 (720S). It would be good to catch up with you, but even better if you were his tutor at least once.
We will track you down one way or another.
Best,
Rik.
Hi Rik. Ive only just seen this and yes it was really great to see you. Alun, I've been trying to contact you by pm email but it's not working.
My son Max & I will be at Abingdon this Saturday, he's running at 13:30 (GTR), 14:30 (R8 V10) & 15:30 (720S). It would be good to catch up with you, but even better if you were his tutor at least once.
We will track you down one way or another.
Best,
Rik.
In answer to your question I was sparing Upto 10 drivers on the day so giving them their breaks so indeed if I’d got your email I could have arranged to take your son out in at least one of those cars.
Next time mate
Max had a great day
and we were still laughing about saddo Batman & sweaty Catwoman 'til way past Chieveley... 
Reply from Piper, re. Piper 270i in a Rover SD1 Vitesse engine:
"Thank you for your email. Correct yes this is a drop in profile so you should not need to make any changes or modifications to install it.
However we always recommend a dry build and check for free rotation, every engine casting varies so some minor machine work may be necessary in the event the lobes are close to the casting.
Additionally we always recommend to replace warn components such as followers or springs, but new components are not a necessity as long as there are no obvious signs of failure.
Assuming that is all that is being changed you should not need to shim."
"Thank you for your email. Correct yes this is a drop in profile so you should not need to make any changes or modifications to install it.
However we always recommend a dry build and check for free rotation, every engine casting varies so some minor machine work may be necessary in the event the lobes are close to the casting.
Additionally we always recommend to replace warn components such as followers or springs, but new components are not a necessity as long as there are no obvious signs of failure.
Assuming that is all that is being changed you should not need to shim."
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