- Home »
- Catalog »
- Camshafts & Cam Kits »
- Flat Tappet Cams »
- COMP Cams Book Grinds- Flat Tappet Cams and Cam Kits
COMP Cams Book Grinds- Flat Tappet Cams and Cam Kits
Pontiac V8 COMP Cams Book Grinds- Flat Tappet Cams and Cam Kits
Cam, Kit or Master Kit — COMP Cams Book Grinds- Flat Tappet Cams and Cam Kits for Pontiac V8s
Every COMP Cams Xtreme Energy hydraulic flat tappet grind Butler stocks for the Pontiac V8 is offered four ways: cam alone, COMP cam and lifter kit, Butler-spec cam and lifter kit, or a complete master kit. Which one you need depends on what is already right in the top end and what is coming apart anyway.
The grinds themselves run from the XE256H to the XE294H. What changes between the four ways to buy is the lifter, the timing set, and whether the valve springs and retainers are matched to your cylinder head type or left for you to sort out.
Browse COMP Cams Book Grinds- Flat Tappet Cams and Cam Kits Products
Popular Brands:
More About COMP Cams Book Grinds- Flat Tappet Cams and Cam Kits
1. The Four Ways to Buy the Same Grind
Each XE profile appears several times in this category under different part numbers. They are not different cams, they are different amounts of hardware around the same cam.
| Cam only | the camshaft by itself. Correct only when new lifters and matched springs are already on the bench, because a flat tappet cam must never be broken in on used lifters. |
| COMP cam and lifter kit | COMP's own cam and lifter set for the grind. |
| Butler-spec cam and lifter kit | the same grind with a Butler-spec version of the 852 lifter, the Hy-Lift Johnson part made in the USA. |
| Butler master kit | the cam and lifter set plus a Pontiac Pro Billet timing set, valve springs matched to your head type, retainers, locks and valve stem seals for cast iron heads with a machined guide boss or Edelbrock guides. |
Butler's own description of why the master kits exist is the honest version: they are designed and tested kits built with the parts Butler thinks are best for the application, each with the correct cam, lifter and spring combination, so you can do a top-end upgrade without guessing whether it will work.
2. The Spring and Retainer Package Changes With the Grind
This is the detail that makes a master kit worth buying, and it is easy to miss when you shop by cam part number alone.
| Smaller grinds, cast iron D-port heads | a 1.384" dual spring, 125 lbs on the seat at 1.600", 240 lbs open at 1.100", coil bind at 1.000", with seven-degree chromoly retainers. |
| Larger grinds, cast iron D-port heads | a 1.405" outer diameter dual spring, 113 lbs at 1.600", 284 lbs at 1.100" and 304 lbs at 1.050", coil bind at .950", with ten-degree chromoly retainers instead of the seven-degree. |
| Cast iron Super Duty, Ram Air IV and Edelbrock heads | a 1.430" dual spring, 120 lbs at 1.780", 280 lbs at 1.250", coil bind at 1.150", across the range. |
Tell Butler which heads are going on when you order. The spring is chosen for the installed height of your casting, not for the cam alone, and a spring that is correct on a D-port head can be badly wrong under an Edelbrock.
3. The Timing Set in the Master Kits
| What it is | a Pontiac Pro Billet timing set with billet gears, a nine-keyway crank sprocket and a seamed chain. |
| The nine keyways | they let you advance or retard the cam from where it was ground without a bushed sprocket or an offset key. Useful when the combination wants the powerband moved rather than the cam changed. |
| The fine print | Butler notes these may need to be honed to fit. Check the fit on your block rather than assuming it drops on. |
4. Break-In, Because It Is Still a Flat Tappet
All flat tappet cams require break-in oil and the use of oil additives, and they require a more extensive break-in process. No kit changes that.
| Oil | break-in oil or a ZDDP additive for the first run, and a zinc-bearing oil afterward. |
| Springs during break-in | use the correct pressure for break-in. Too much seat pressure on a fresh lobe and lifter is the fastest way to wipe one. |
| Lifters | new cam, new lifters. Every time. |
| The run | twenty minutes at varied rpm above idle, with timing and cooling sorted before it fires. |
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.