Cam King FT cam break in machine

This popped up in a different post , but I thought it might merit stand alone consideration.
Cam research has come up with a brilliant idea for breaking in flat tappet cams and lifters.
I just got off the phone with them and at this time , they only do Ford ( their bread and butter ) and Chevrolet cams.
He said he simply hasn't gotten a lot of requests from the MoPar crowd.
It would be a relatively simple matter of machining a block that the lifters ride in with MoPar lobe spacing to allow them to do our cams as well.
I have an idea about what fixtures can cost , so it would require an outlay in the 1000.00 neighborhood to have a pair of them done ( one for each bank ) , and more if you bushed them.
I did not get the impression that he was opposed to doing them , but hadn't seen the demand that would justify the expense.
But they charge 60.00 to break in your cam , and box the numbered lifters to return to you.
1/2 hour run in with gradually increasing spring pressure.
For 60.00 , it is a bargain compared the way it should be done i.e. switching springs.
Not having a run stand or wanting to pay dyno time while I changed them out , it will be an in the drive way and over the fender job for me.
That prospect alone makes it look like a bargain.
Probably in the 40.00 range to ship both ways from here , but if you are buying new , I would consider shipping the parts directly to them and saving some of that money.
Cam King

I will check into this . Thanks

Some percentage of break-in problems are tappet bore misalignment. If your block has eaten a lobe before, this may not solve your problem.

I could actually see where that might exacerbate your break in problems. Almost like breaking a cam in and switching blocks and the lifter geometry is off compared to the first block.

There is a video out there about someone having an issue with cam lobes going flat. Lost 2 cams in a row on breakin. Found the lifters to be at fault. So he bought a few boxes of lifters and started checking. He found that he could slide a piece of paper under the edge of the good lifter with the lifter standing on its face on a flat surface. Slid the paper under the lifters face complete circumference. The bad lifters he could not get a piece of paper under. I think everyone should check their lifters this way. Search FB. It’s out there.

I know Total Seal says to run a new engine as little as possible under no load.

This pretty well requires a process like this one, or breaking the cam and the engine on a dyno.

I posted this over 10 years but it got shot down like the posts above saying that just because it's broke in on a machine doesn't mean it's gonna work in your block. I say it's well worth the money either way I really don't think it would be that difficult to build a rig like the one they use. My new flat cam is a nitrided Howard's cam with EDM lifters broke in with Gibbs break in oil and so far so good
If someone had a rig like the Cam King I would gladly pay twice what they charge just for the time savings alone

Gus

It’s not some “Black Magic” learning how to properly break in a solid lifter cam and honestly not that hard. Biggest issue I see is guys can’t get their car started and running fast enough, sometimes because of something stupid like an uncharged battery. Don’t fall into the Trick synthetic oil traps but do use a good oil loaded with zinc. Watch your spring pressure and if in doubt remove the inner spring. Consider EDM lifters as it’s cheap insurance.

I remember nearly 18 years ago a moparts member posting his new lifters did not have the crown on their face. Around the year 2000 a rash of lobe failures of new cams came about. It was the consensus modern engine oils have much less zinc and sulfer which was is true but other members pointed out the decline in quality of flat tappetts since they were no longer OEM. Its a shame something so inexpensive reliable and effective now requires optional $$ hardening or pre break in. Many have took the $1400 plunge and went roller conversion although it sounds like Hyd Roller lifters are not trouble free. For decades wed buy an $89 Summit/Michigan/Sealed Power brand cam and lifter kit and enjoy it trouble free for YEARS.

Attention to detail.

Build the engine carefully, checking everything, build it clean.

I find it humorous that some people promote the theory that the lifter bores are misaligned from the factory.
Yes, some misalignment is there but around the axis of the cam centerline. The bores were manufactured in gang, perpendicularity issues not too likely.
And then consider this, if misaligned wouldn’t they have eaten cams back then when new?

What consistently pops up as a failure mode is what PBR alluded to, improper start up and break in.

50 years and every failed cam I have heard of always points to improper break in.

As for lifter crown there used to be two types of lifter used at Ma Mopar. Conventional taper and low taper.
Low taper was ground on I think a 21” radius, they were used on 6 packs and I think Hemi, everything else used conventional taper.
You could see it if you looked for it.

Presumably the guy who runs this will be able to say whether his customers have ever reported an issue to have the broken-in cam/lifters in a different block to his rig.
And/or what other conditions he'd consider necessary for success even with the broken-in cam (e.g. lifter bore alignment or clearance within some tolerance etc). Wouldn't hurt to ask what he has learned, I imagine in principle that should be relevant to Mopars as well as Fords.