Kent Cams - Regrinds vs. New Blanks

[Benny]

I bought a Kent 266 MD cam approximately 10 years ago, and it has been sitting on the shelf ever since. I'm now considering using it, and I've been told by a number of good sources that I should consider depositing it in the trash bin. Kent apparently switched to new blanks some time around the 2007 point, according to MiniSpares, which likely makes mine a regrind.

The criticism I keep hearing against the reground cams is that they weren't properly re-hardened after being ground, and they tend to wear out very quickly, often taking the lifters with them. What has been the experience of this board with these older Kents? Should I put out the extra money, and save myself some potential grief?

Are the cams currently coming from Kent a good product?

[Spider]

Not wishing to be negative, but truthful from my own experience, I found Kent Cams crap. Very inaccurate in their Profiles, on each individual camshaft, between lobes they aren't too bad, but no where near their advertised specs. One Camshaft in particular was supposed to have a longer Exhaust Duration than the Inlet, when checked it was the other way around. It's was a real dog of an engine. I had a Camshaft re-ground locally to the same advertised specs as the Kent one and WOW, what a difference!

Sorry, I can't comment on the re-ground cams and any subsequent re-hardening.

[foxy52]

Not wishing to be negative, but truthful from my own experience, I found Kent Cams crap. Very inaccurate in their Profiles, on each individual camshaft, between lobes they aren't too bad, but no where near their advertised specs. One Camshaft in particular was supposed to have a longer Exhaust Duration than the Inlet, when checked it was the other way around. It's was a real dog of an engine. I had a Camshaft re-ground locally to the same advertised specs as the Kent one and WOW, what a difference!

Sorry, I can't comment on the re-ground cams and any subsequent re-hardening.

...agree with the above wholeheartedly...get a billet cam by piper.. no compromise..no problems...more money but !!!!!......foxy52

[Benny]

Thanks guys. If I end up getting a new cam, I'll likely go with an APT....they are just up the road from me, their cams are ground in-house, and they do mostly billet core cams. Even their regrinds are properly hardened...I think they are the only supplier in the US that re-hardens their regrinds.

[carbon]

Benny,

I have been using a Kent MD266 in one of my cars for almost 25 years now. Does not do a lot of mileage now but was doing about 15,000 per year. I had to do some work on the crank about 15 years back, at this point the cam and followers did not show any pitting or other adverse wear.

As the MD266 is a relatively mild cam with about 0.25 inch lift at the cam lobe it is not going to give the cam followers such a hard time as a 286 or even more radical grind with 0.3 inch or more of cam lift and correspondingly heavier valve springs.

One point in favour of reprofiled cams - the gear on the cam for the dizzy drive is very unlikely to give you any bother. I have heard that this is not always the case with cams ground from new blanks, but like everything you probably get what you pay for.

PS. If you do decide that your MD266 is fit for the trash can, then please throw it in my direction. I find the MD266 works really well in a 1275 motor running close to 'S' spec. You can get them to work even better with a little more valve lift, but that's one for another thread.