SBC broken cam removal tips?

So the abomination that I blew good money on turns out to have a broken cam at the heart of it's old fashioned 350 soul. Cam broke in 3 pieces. Front piece came out easy (of course it did). Middle piece seems to be little more than a bearing journal in size. Can't get it out and because of that we have begun tearing down the rest of the van. I really want us to get on track with getting this beast running. Anyone have any suggestions??

At least the motor is clean inside, no gunk build up. Though the cam damage appears to have been caused by a lifter (it cracked and broke)

JB weld something to it to pull it out with?

ronholm wrote: JB weld something to it to pull it out with?

interesting idea....

Chances are it ain't gonna fit through the cam bearings after bouncin' around. Maybe remove the bearings?

Its tough enough to line up all the journals with the cam in one piece......without pulling the engine and dropping the crank, I think you will be plucking and grasping for a very long time. If I were to try, I'd make some loops with fairly stiff wire and try to get a loop under each end of each piece, then bring it level and try to pry ahead with a screwdriver.

Then I'd give up and pull the motor and put new cam bearings in it anyway.

Magnet on a stick.

pull the motor.. at this point, it's only a few bolts holding it in and i don't think i'd want to run it without figuring out what caused the cam to break and what other collateral damage it did. that broken lifter could have easily taken out the lifter bore. there are als oa couple of oil galleries that run next to the cam- it wouldn't be too hard to break into one of those with broken cam and lifter pieces flinging around up in there..

get it on the stand and flip it over. you should be able to get at the pieces of the cam by turning the crank to different positions.

That sounds like a mess, just get another one, it's not like they are exactly hard to find.

Is the intake manifold still on?

In reply to 914Driver:

Yes, the intake is off already.
If it were in a non-van chassis, we probably would have pulled the motor already. But in a 37 yr old Rv chassis it is a bit more difficult. I guess we will finish tearing apart the house part and pull the motor that way.
Anyone have a source for a 250 dollar LSx motor? 4.8 would even be good...

Not uncommon for broken cams on small block chevrolets, but rare for them to end up in three pieces. I would buy a used running SBC and install it with new gaskets, plugs and a tune up and be done with it. Maybe rebuild the dead mill, sending it to the machine shop to have the cam and crank journals done. Build it up for a non claimer race like the Challenge ;)

John Brown wrote: Not uncommon for broken cams on small block chevrolets, but rare for them to end up in three pieces. I would buy a used running SBC and install it with new gaskets, plugs and a tune up and be done with it. Maybe rebuild the dead mill, sending it to the machine shop to have the cam and crank journals done. Build it up for a non claimer race like the Challenge ;)

Winner winner chicken dinner!

so to continue on with the engine swap idea... what was the very last year that a carbed SBC was used in ANY US application?
I have no plans on changing this thing to fuel injection right now (not in the budget) so a late model carbed intake would allow me to more easily use a later model long block without going injected.

You can use a TBI/TPI engine, just use your original intake and carb on it. You can probably use a Vortec, but I am not a fan with the intake gasket problems those have. So, you are looking at '92 as the latest model year to use.

87 - 92 passenger car used a different intake bolt setup. same pattern but the bolts in the center (IIRC) are straight up and down on the 87 and later vs 86 and older are angled. Vortec went all straight IIRC too.

cut the block in half, then take the pieces out.

digdug18 wrote: cut the block in half, then take the pieces out.

LMAO!

Last carbed small block was probably early 90s 305 camaro.

1989 was the latest carbureted Chevy V8 that I can think of. In some 307 Caprices and 454 trucks. Some 1990 Olds had carbs, too.

Technically there were "old intake" marine versions until the Mid 1990s when all intakes changed to the new design, then in 1998 the Vortec head came out for truck and almost all marine heads. I have drilled an old manifold to fit on new style heads.

Personally, find a good running Vortec engine, put a $100.00 intake on it and rock out with you c@ck out.

two coat hangers to hold the cam up and a broom stick to push out the chunks. BTDT. When i was working as a kid in a machine shop blocks that came in with broken cams went in to the "hot Tank" with the cam and bearings in place. the caustic acid would melt out the bearings and the cam parts would fallout in the wash tank.

John Brown wrote: Technically there were "old intake" marine versions until the Mid 1990s when all intakes changed to the new design, then in 1998 the Vortec head came out for truck and almost all marine heads. I have drilled an old manifold to fit on new style heads. Personally, find a good running Vortec engine, put a $100.00 intake on it and rock out with you c@ck out.

ur slippin. vortec 5.7 came out in '96.

I am.

u can get carb intakes for lt1s and ls1s or 5.3 and 6.0 for that matter

old style intake manifolds fit on the 87-95 heads with a simple elongation of the center bolt holes in the intake with a die grinder- it's a 5 minute job. the only other special part you need for an 86 and newer small block is the proper flexplate/flywheel. a vortec long block is a bolt in deal with the proper vortec carb intake, but you may or may not have a place to bolt a mechanical fuel pump and you may or may not have a lobe on the cam to operate it.. fir a motor home, this is the way i'd go. you can find complete 96-99 vortec 350's for $300-$400 and an Edelbrock Performer Vortec intake is about $150, with another $20 for gaskets.