2.3L ford engune gurus, please help!!!

[Dirtman29]

Raced 4 nites so far and the car is flat out SLOW and I cannot for the life of me figure out why...
Bottom end is stock crank/rod .030 over KB pistons with windage tray, just put all new bearings in it.
Head is ovalport milled .100 with a NEW .479 lift hyd roller cam, NEW lunati hi perf. lifters, & OEM roller followers from a low mileage super clean 8 plug '93 2.3L. I have checked cam alignment with TCD like i have for 8 seasons now & its right on. Timing at 36 its right on also.
Motorcraft 2100 carb, 350 cfm 57 jets, brass float, mixture screws 2 turns out, AP765 plugs, look new still.
Schoenfeld header (had 42" pipe on it, went to just a turndown (even with trans X member and car was better).
Using synthetic blend 15W40 oil, OEM oil pump ,55# oil psi at idle.

Only issue i see is low compression, all 4 only pump 120#. engine does NOT smoke & has very little blowby from VC breather.

It has absolutely NO low end power,& idles fine but on track it like I'm at half throttle. Ive used ALL these parts in the past EXCEPT cam & lifters and have NEVER had this issue.

i greatly appreciate ANY and ALL the feedback you guys can give me.

[84Dave]

I would suggest your problem may be the camshaft & its max lift/duration/LCA. Have you flowed the head on a bench & determined the max valve lift where the intake flow no longer increases? My Rule-of-Thumb for cam net lift versus head flow? Example: If the intake head flow goes 'flat' @ .450" valve lift, I've always used a cam with .100" greater net lift. That is, .450" + .100" = .550" lift on the cam. Why? Max lift on the cam would occur at the LCA. Lets assume that max lift/LCA was 108-degrees ATDC. We know the max piston speed probably occurs in the area of 70-80-degrees ATDC. That's where you'd like the head air flow to top out @ its .450" lift. Bottom line? If the max cam/valve lift occurs @ 108-degrees ATDC, the cam/valve lift @ .450" is going to happen near/within 70-80 degrees ATDC, max piston speed, where the head flow tops out? -Dave-

[Dirtman29]

Cam is a clevite performance 229-2047 hyd roller, cam card says .479 lift, 292 duration 108 lobe center on intake 11x (can't read last digit on exh.) seems a bone stock cam would be better than this one. I suspect the cam grind may be the issue. Last season I ran a comp hyd cam 70-131-6 and the car was real quick, unfortunately a broken lifter killed that cam and all 8 followers.
Thanks for the response Dave, but you'll have to put it in dummy terms for me. But no Ive never had any head on the flow bench.

[drtlvr]

I would try retiming the cam. If its advanced too much it'll dump cylinder pressure

[Dirtman29]

I just reset the cam yet again last nite, sounds great in garage but is a turtle under load. I tried advancing it this past sat & it was way worse. Turned it back down for feature & it ran a little better.

This past sat, the car lost all electrical power during feature, turns out I had a loose wire on the toggle switch, could this POSSIBLY have been an electrical issue all along?

[let-r-eat]

Put your flat plate on with the crank at TDC #1. Double check your TDC #1 and make sure it's right. I use a cut off piece of aluminum framing square that is 2" wide and extends out over the edge of the valve cover rail. You should have 3 1/8 inches on the drivers side and 3 3/8 on the passenger side. The flat plat leaning toward the drivers side.

120 pound isn't enough.

[Dirtman29]

Thanks l-r-e, I have always set mine up the same way (rechecking #1 TDC often), but with the bar on the cam lobes perfectly level. I also level the head with another small level on the front cam tower. With the pass side higher, that would be retarding the cam a bit? I tried advancing it last week & car ran like total garbage. I got nothing to lose so I'll try your suggestion on the lobes. Racing sat & sun, will update here with results...

[Dirtman29]

UPDATE: I ran last sat with cam set at 2 deg adv & car was better but still lacking in power. SO I took out the .030 over block & went with my old reliable .060 over, had the head cut another .030 (.130 total milled) reassembled it all this week & actually LOST 10#, all 4 now pump 110# hot. Bigger bore block, smaller CC head & my compression dropped...? This same block/head combo with a comp 70-131-6 cam pumped 180 last yr. & was bad fast. (Broken lifter wiped out everything the last race of 2014)

This may sound stupid but is it possible my schoenfeld header is too big for my current setup? Not creating enough back pressure? I have a stock ranger header I know my car ran fine with it for a few nites last season (2" turndown even with trans crossmember). Any help greatly appreciated, Im OUT of ideas.

[Browndog]

You are going to a lot of work and time to try make this cam work for you. Putting that head on a different engine wasn't going to solve anything. Maybe the cam is not what you think it is. Why not try another cam? Have you checked the lift, duration, separation etc and compared it to the cam card? Start back at the beginning. Good luck!

[1195]

Cam is a clevite performance 229-2047 hyd roller, cam card says .479 lift, 292 duration 108 lobe center on intake 11x (can't read last digit on exh.) seems a bone stock cam would be better than this one. I suspect the cam grind may be the issue. Last season I ran a comp hyd cam 70-131-6 and the car was real quick, unfortunately a broken lifter killed that cam and all 8 followers.
Thanks for the response Dave, but you'll have to put it in dummy terms for me. But no Ive never had any head on the flow bench.

Dirtman
229-2047 is a slider cam. If you are running it with roller followers it will change the Vale timing.
I have run this same cam with sliders. It isn't the strongest but does run good. It is a street performance grind

[Dirtman29]

1195, glad i found someone that knows of this cam (but I do appreciate everyone else's help). Should I just use regular hyd followers (is that what you mean by sliders)? I am still using the roller followers as it was advertised as a hyd "roller" cam when I bought it. I assumed I had to use the roller followers and thought a different setup might handle higher RPMs...

[1195]

Dirtman 29
Yes use the regular followers. 229-2047 is not a roller cam. I would run it 3 degrees retarded.
max hp will be between 5500 and 6000 it will run on up above 7000

[1195]

Dirtman29
The cam card should also have the spec's @.050. This is the best way to compare it to other cams.
229-2046
Duration 230 @ .050
IVO 6*BTC IVC 44*ABC
EVO 50*BBC EVC 0*TDC
Valve Lift at .000 lash .479

[Dirtman29]

I put my old hardened followers in & comp jumped from 110 up to 160-165 on all 4 cylinders.
I have the cam card but some numbers are smeared making it hard to read.
Thanks 1195 for all the info, I have it set right at zero now but will turn it back 3 deg & see how it runs this weekend.

[Old Rob]

Back pressure is the last thing you want. Your'e header is a problem, not for the reason you're thinking.
First you need to get an accuratte info on the cam. That bar is only good on cams that are ground straight up. Best way is right on the engine using dial indicator and LARGE degree wheel on the crank shaft. Go to the 2.3L section at www.powerbyace.com you'll find the tools you need to get any cam right.