Pop up pistons 3/4 racing cam in a 66 camaro ???

[orbitearl]

I was at the convenience store in the Camaro and the guy asked "Is that a v-8?" I said "no, a 6" and he comences to tell me "no thats a v-8 car". then he tell me his dad is a mechanic and has a 66 camaro with pop up pistons and 3/4 racing cam/whatever that is!!! I didnt know you could put three quarters of a cam in! His dad bought it new in 66! He knows Camaros, it was the first one that came out! Rare car huh? Told him Id really like to see it!!! still waiting!

[SSE 4 2SS]

Originally Posted by earl catron

I was at the convenience store in the Camaro and the guy asked "Is that a v-8?" I said "no, a 6" and he comences to tell me "no thats a v-8 car". then he tell me his dad is a mechanic and has a 66 camaro with pop up pistons and 3/4 racing cam/whatever that is!!! I didnt know you could put three quarters of a cam in! His dad bought it new in 66! He knows Camaros, it was the first one that came out! Rare car huh? Told him Id really like to see it!!! still waiting!

Those cam references are really old school... No one uses them in reference to modern cam shafts... but here is an excerpt from an online article...

What's a 3/4 Race Cam?

In the early 1950's the most popular original camshaft designers were the legendary Ed Winfield, the father of hotrodding, and Cliff Collins of Harman-Collins. If you look a Huntington's 1951 book you will find the specs for their cams listed. We've also listed some of their cams on our Flathead Performance Cams page. There were lots of cam grinders that copied Winfield and Harman-Collins cams, but these two were the designers and innovators in the early days. It was popular to refer to cams as a 1/2 Race or Semi grind and a Full Race grind. Later, there was a call for an intermediate grind between these two. To fill this demand, Ed Winfield took the intake lobe from his full race cam and the exhaust lobe from his semi cam and called it a 3/4 Race cam (see Flathead Performance Cams). It was literally half way between a full race and 1/2 race cam. Since that time, 3/4 Race has become a generic term for a high performance street cam, i.e. something less than a race cam.



As far as there being a 66 Camaro... I think not...



The first-generation Chevrolet Camaro appeared on September 26, 1966, for the 1967 model year

[Draven1327]

he remembers like it was yesterday

[SC2150]

Yes, us old farts remeber this from the 60's.....there were no specific cam profiles at the time and a "pop up" piston was a domed piston to raise CR. LOL!

[Rocky1974]

Originally Posted by earl catron

Then he tell me his dad is a mechanic and has a 66 camaro with pop up pistons and 3/4 racing cam/whatever that is!!! I didnt know you could put three quarters of a cam in! His dad bought it new in 66! He knows Camaros, it was the first one that came out! Rare car huh? Told him Id really like to see it!!! still waiting!

It may have been made in '66 and he could have bought it in '66, but it should have been titled as a '67. Never heard of a 3/4 race Cam! It amazes me how little the younger generation knows about cars! Just kidding, that's even a little before my time. That's how cams were marketed in the 50's. Some old school people still refer to them that way.

[Coyotekiller]

You should hear the old farts around here talking about cars. My dad keeps telling me I should buy a 3/4 race cam for my car lol. He's not really in the know on cars though, just enjoys talking about them. I, however, know a bit more about them. He just doesn't care to learn and I don't bother to correct him anymore

[Lee123]

That was pretty common terminology back in the 60's and the kid's dad no doubt told him his Camaro has a 3/4 race cam. Now everyone seems to refer to the stage of a cam. I've had 2 or 3 younger guys ask me what stage cam I have. I had no idea what to tell them since Comp Cmas doesn't label them as stage 2 or stage 3. There were no real specs for what made up a '3/4 race" anymore than there seem to be for "stage 2."

[tadams72]

Don't forget those old Camaros needed a "close ratio rock crusher" and "slapper bars" to really get them down the track... Funny how some things change over the years. While I appreciate the fact the next generation is keeping the hot rodding spirit alive, it is a little disheartening when your conversations at the track start off with "Where did you have your work done?"

[IROCanSS]

It was probably a 67 but he got it in 66. Christ, that was 45 years ago, cut the guy some slack.

[Dooley]

3/4 race cam is old school.

[JMS]

Hey, I resemble that remark!!! I keep forgetting that i am a old fart.

[Fiftydriver]

Sure they made 3/4 race cams, they went into the 4.3L v-6, ya know the one thats identical to the Gen 1 V-8 but with two of the cylinders left off, there you have it, 3/4 of a race cam!!!

There are alot of experts out there, to many infact

[mikeinmobile]

The 64's had a 1/4 cam, the 65's a 1/2, the 66 a 3/4 and Chevy finally made a whole cam in 67 and released the car to the general public. Pop up books were huge in the 60's and Chevy took it a step further by having pistons that would "pop up" when you opened the hood!

[mbg]

Originally Posted by mikeinmobile

The 64's had a 1/4 cam, the 65's a 1/2, the 66 a 3/4 and Chevy finally made a whole cam in 67 and released the car to the general public. Pop up books were huge in the 60's and Chevy took it a step further by having pistons that would "pop up" when you opened the hood!

Dude that's funny as hell. Made me think, yeah I had a 64 Camaro but the damn thing would only fire on two cylinders.

[Wizard1183]

Did he have a mullet? lol

[hightower]

Yeah I got me one of them 1955 mustangs. Them is REALLLLLLL nice ya hear????

[mikeinmobile]

Originally Posted by hightower

Yeah I got me one of them 1955 mustangs. Them is REALLLLLLL nice ya hear????

Technically they were 55 1/2's.

[mikeinmobile]

Originally Posted by mbg

Dude that's funny as hell. Made me think, yeah I had a 64 Camaro but the damn thing would only fire on two cylinders.

LOL. It took me 1/2sec (or should I say 1/4 sec) to get it but that's good.