Cam woes - need ideas!!

[Aquahaulic]

I have a 89Baja 210 sport w/502 mag, The cam went flat and the guys at Jegs Perf.cat. suggested a CompCams Extreme Marine cam w/.564in .566ex lift and 278 deg.duration. I lost a ton of power and speed with this thing(4300rpm wot@ 50(+/-)mph) I was running 69mph@5100rpm with the orig.cam Can anyone recommend a cam to get me back to the hp I was befor?? or where I can get the oem replacement for the 502. Thanks

[blowngas]

could be that the comp cam is more cam than your set up can handle--the boat can't get up to the range where the new cam operates its best---worst case scenerio!!!--did the new cam go flat right away?---hydralics and flat tappets can and will go away if not broke in correctly--(heard of them going bad in less than 15 minutes---seems to be a lot of cams crapping out lately---wonder if the blanks from the foundrys ain't up to par?--alternative is find out original specs and to your favorite chevy dealer--good luck

[Aquahaulic]

The new cam broke in fine .I don't think it as big as the orig. but the Merc.manual I have gives all the eng. specs except lift and duration. Thats why I called Jegs.

[superdave013]

Call George @ Clay Smith Cams. 714 523-0530
He is is the man when it comes to cam selection. And a Clay Smith cam looks like it was made by a jewler.

[Maverick]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Aquahaulic:
[B] I have a 89Baja 210 sport w/502 mag,
Aqua:
I could have written almost the same story. My first ( cam replacement in the 502) was promised to be an ultradyne - turned out to be a crane cam ( car cam)- when I pulled it back out, which shitty specs.
I went back in myself and did a winter project via Crane cams. They are helpful, but you get different advice everyday.
Your lift is huge compared to stock! If you didn't relieve the heads/guides to accomodate that lift you have bound the push rods or damaged you valve springs. From my history, I don't trust "builders" and their spec.s. If you are running your stock springs, I can almost guarantee a problem there.
Also, your duration is large if measured @ .050. and probably short if "as advertised" -(measured @ .ooo lash.
Write me if you want - I can give you my specs - current 502 cam is a roller from crane. I am reasonably happy. But if I was going to start over, I'd call the builder in the Hot boat ads who claims to have a cam upgrade for the 502 EFI that produces 502 to 517 HP.
Frankly, I think Merc's published specs are soft so that every cam guy out there isn't copying their stuff. Who knows......
Good Luck!