Don't know why they're less $ than other brands.

But, being a very old company, I'd expect that their machinery is long-since paid off, and that they possibly bought their own land/shop, which after time will cut costs, too.

If their lobes are older, then they might not be doing a lot of costly R&D.

Of course, anyone with a cam grinder can hire a guy like Harold Brookshire or Mike Jones, and not have to develop lobe profiles themselves.

Then again, the markup allowed by simply having a brand name can come in to play as well. Ask guys who build engines for a living where Edelbrock's cams can be had from besides Edelbrock. That's not a slam on the 'Big E'; they've spent a lot of money on magazine ink developing the market for their camshafts, and deserve to be able to profit from that.

But it doesn't change the fact that those parts are still available elsewhere for less.

Herbert's stuff could also just be junk, (I hope not, because I'm running a set of his lifters in my big block!), but I suspect that they're a great deal on a mid-grade product that will work well for a lot of street and bracket guys.

I will, however, reserve the right to revise my stance pending my first scheduled inspection of the valvetrain this winter, when I pull the heads to mill them.

-Bill