Anyone have a better way to contact John at racer Brown? Been trying for the whole week and only the phone rings.

he asked that calls be made in late afternoon evenings
he ain't so big on great business tactics and all but he sure will grind you best Mopar cam you ever had!!!!!!!!!

Jim

You need to call Jim AFTER 5 PM EAST COAST TIME.

The rest of the day he is busy grinding cams, shipping cams and trying to make money.

I was trying before 8 am and lunch time. I need to correct my phone contact info. Thanks everyone.

Jim and Cam Motion in La are the only guys that side dress in between lobes--chamfer edges of everything--cams are done Nice--now grinds? That is opinion no matter who you ask
A good proven combo is a thing of beauty and Jim grinds some units that do just fine --in my OPINION
so does Bullet--so does Cam Motion--Isky etc etc
BTW anyone that has never run an Isky is missing out--they have some awesome grinds and those decades of experience seem to show up when I call them more than other places except Bullet They also "get it"

Jim runs a cam cult-- one I don't mind belonging to

I'm a big fan of Jim's grinds. I have an stx-22 solid of his that ran 10.90's with my old mildly ported 906's on a 496" from muscle motors. When my 526" dies I may put it in my spare 448" while getting the next motor built. Besides pulling like a beast, it sounded awesome!

If I had the time, I'd like to drive over the see Jim and talk about his lobe library. Seriously, the last profile list I saw from him didn't have anything newer than what the original "Racer" Brown developed in the '60s & '70s. If Jim has picked up some newer profiles from more recent decades, it would be interesting to know. But when I hear people still getting ST-21s, etc., from him in 2018, you're talking about 50-year old lobe designs with the inherent drawbacks that go along w/ cam designs from that long ago.

Some of you guys kill me. Jim's cams are out there every week going rounds and running faster than many on the site. If you talk to Jim and have the information he wants he will tweek a cam to your liking. Jim is the ONLY cam manufacture that has ever asked me for head flow at every .050 instead of max flow.

the trick for getting a good cam is knowing what you want. you have to tell them what you want otherwise you get their bologna sandwich cam. might make pretty good power but there is something better

He does have many new grinds. He has also updated some of the other lobes. Why change something that works.

The lobes he used on my grind don't have any of the old style nomenclature.

It costs a ton to produce a catalog that most won't use anyway.

Something better out there.......
On paper always --In the real world yea OK so what? 5 better 10HP better? OK but not 50HP if you are in the ball park to start with and so what-- big deal? modern lobes are lifter grinders--Mopar guys give up a giant advantage with the 904 lifter when they use it all up for the sake of cam sales BS--That big lifter is your SAFETY margin built right in by Ma mopar --modern lobes get better SPECS and I say specs not power by using every last micro millimeter of the lifter face so they have better "numbers" does not make the WIN light come on boys!
Winners know this--once in a lifetime cam buyers do not and succumb to the cam sales hype every time
Jim can grind a killer cam for any Mopar application using what he has not NEW BS Buy one and try it next time--OR just go on using Comps Extreme Energy hyd with the CRAP closing ramps that rattle like two skeletons screwing on a tin roof--or the crazy aggressive 'use all the lobe' junk peddled by others ( that compression ratio they say is minimum is the key to that success--aka more really is better) or fall for the latest thing Thumper , Voodoo etc cam grinders have been at the front of BS ads since this business was invented--
get this
Jim does not advertise--does not really answer phone much--etc etc and uses age old lobes--well boys and girls--he is BUSY grinding the best most of you have ever run
If you stand in front of a dyno as much as I have you learn what works and what is BS--Most is BS

I will always stand by my statement that you take every cam in one section of a catalog--run them in the same engine on the dyno bet there is not 40 HP between 12 of them in same section

You do not win bracket races with cam selection
Street engines do not matter if you have 560 HP or 600 HP same result--spinning the tires is all you do

Modern lobes--geez that makes me laugh when we are dealing with a block and crank designed in the 50's for 250 HP don't forget your tubular K frame--yea it has "better" steering geometry for those aiming to keep that 600 HP street engine between the ditches

Sometimes you guys totally crack me up.

What I've said before in various posts on the topic, so I'd hope you'd recognize that I'm not pulling my observations outta my a$$:



BTW, the best street/strip SFT lobes I used as far as valve train stability along w/ good HP & torque were COMP's old NASCAR-type .875"-lifter XX lobes that Dwayne Porter spec'd for me. I don't think that "max acceleration" lobe designs based on .904" lifters are necessarily the best choice for street use, either.


"madscientist" mentioned the following in one of the threads from where I pulled my own quotes:


Whatever Jim's updated lobes are remain a mystery to me. Since I've made the leap from solid flat-tappet to solid roller w/ my latest build, I have no real incentive to drive the hour or so from NoVa to Baltimore to discuss the subject w/ him. But if he's also grinding cams w/ the original Racer Brown lobes from the '60s & '70s, then those grinds are still pretty far behind the design curve (pun definitely intended).

Really Good Stuff man!

Like I said the dyno and the car at the track tell you a lot
Some grinds like the old 650 solid ( McCandless grind as it is often called) was a max effort for 904 lifter when most ran 4 speeds and RPM was the King--That is one very hard lobe to control--it takes a lot of spring and titanium retainers etc to even have a chance
I get what you are saying and Kudo's to you That you actually tested shows you are walking upright I love it
I was just pointing out that many to most just automatic jump at the most latest advertised stuff without thinking that these old Mopars have been pretty well rounded and fast since many were even born
Heck even Racer Brown was "modern" at one time
LOL so I bow to your efforts and believe what you have tested and observed Cool

Don't know why it's a mystery to find out about a new lobe. Jim has a phone.

Before I bought my cam from him I called Hughes, Cam Motion, Mike Jones, Bullet and for shits and giggles I called Comp.

I was disappointed in what Cam Motion called out as I've used hundreds of their cams and what they wanted me to run was opposite of what I thought I should use. Lift way too low, extra exhaust timing and open the LSA to make up the RPM loss because the timing was so short.

Jones was in the same boat. He wanted even more split.

Bullet dug out an old low lift UD design.

Comp and Racer Brown were the closest. The Comp was a single pattern cam with the same intake and exhaust lobe and a fairy tight LSA with enough duration to keep the shift RPM where I wanted it.

Jim had a dual pattern asymmetrical lobe for the intake and exhaust, the most lift and the fasted ramps.


Jim was the only one who actually discussed my flow numbers with me. I gave everyone the same numbers at 10, 28 and 40 inches. Comp asked about the 40 numbers. No one else asked about anything but the 28 number.

To claim a lobe is bad or outdated because it was designed years ago is silly. There are lots of new lobes out there that are junk. You also assume a bunch when you say Jim hasn't updated the lobe. Just because it has the same part number doesn't mean it hasn't been updated.

As do I, but since I don't have a reason to purchase a cam from him, I won't waste his or my time.


No, it's not "silly". Yes, there are new lobes today that are junk. Just as there are lobes out there that are outdated because better lobes are available developed with more advanced technology. "Better" can mean it doesn't make any more HP, but it keeps the valve train under control another 500 RPM higher.

Last I knew, Jim Dowell was/is NOT a "cam designer"; he's a "cam grinder" using lobes developed by others. He may be working with a cam designer consultant to have lobes made that suit his purposes, but I doubt seriously that he's doing the actual designing himself. Charles at Camcraft Cams isn't any different. He offers a wide range of lobes in both flat-tappet and roller, but he's the first to admit that his newer lobes are the product of working with a consultant to create the masters.

Any of you RB ney sayers that have those old lobe, solid FT cams laying around for a small block, I'll take it (them) off of your hands. Especially a ST-21 grind!

ST-23, ST-22, STX-17...would all be interesting to try as well.

I spoke to Jim and gave him my info. He'll call me with a profile shortly.The STX 21 has been a mainstay in may of my builds.

Nice. Great guy to deal with. My last roller cam from him was used and on the small side but with a 10.2 or less compression Edelbrock headed 408 I went 9.60’s and that engine was worn out. Some guys can’t run that with their fancy new grind cams in their big blocks. Lmao.