Corvair Forum

Hey there all!

I figured someone has done it, so I would ask here.

I am looking into the American-Pi 3.1L kit and the Isky 280 cam. However, I have the powerglide and do not want to swap to a manual transmission.

I was wondering if anyone has done something similar with a 140 powerglide. I know the upgraded torque converter from Clark's would be reccomended. I like to do all my own work, but I learn as I go and this is an area I could learn more about.

At a minimum, I would love to go fuel injection and Isky 280 cam with supporting modifications. 3.1L kit would be nice if possible and if it will actually be able to put down the power.

Thank you all!

If you're talking to Ray Sedman he knows as much about cams as anyone and has them made to his specs.
It takes some waiting time for the crankcase to be modified and such if going 3.1 with VW cylinders.
A PG needs pretty good low RPM to get underway and tends to run at low RPMs in general compared to a 4 speed where you can downshift to "stay up on the cam".
An engine that sneezes and bogs until it gets in the power band may not be a lot of fun to drive.
The factory took a 95 HP cam and retarded it 4 degrees to move the peak torque to a higher RPM.
I wonder about taking something like a 280 Isky and advancing it 4 degrees to move the peak torque to a lower RPM.
A 280 Isky is not a huge lumpy cam but isn't silky smooth either. If 270 is sorta like stock 891 it's only one step up in the grand scheme of things.
I'm only musing and would like to hear from folks who have done it.

It seems I read the 140 PG has maybe 4 thing different than the 110 PG with the torque convertor being one of them.

Isky 280 cam and 3.1L kit should work well with your Powerglide. Definitely upgrade to the torque converter from Clark's for better performance. Fuel injection will help you get the most out of it.

Thank you both for your comments! I am in talks with Ray, but we just started the email dialog (I am patient and fully understand it is not his full time job). My plan is to to fuel injection, 3.1L kit from Ray, and the Isky 280. I will be getting the high stall torque converter to help with the low end and then seeing about retarding how much it may need.

Oh Oh!!! Discussing cams is like talking religion, politics, AND motor oil!!!!

It comes down to what you want. As Jim B. stated the 140HP PG engine was an odd ball with the retarded crank gear. It was down to promote better low end torque and a smooth idle with the PG.

If you keep the 140HP PG shift governor (shifts at higher RPM vs other PG engines) then an Isky 280 cam really isn't going to help as it works best at higher RPM. Just about the time it will "come alive" you'll be going into high gear.

I built two 140HP engines (4 speed cars) with the Isky 260 cam (it is close to stock, but a little more lift) and I got a lot of criticism for not going with the hotter Isky 270 or Isky 280. Well ---- much to the doubters surprise my cars go very well and I was able to use stock valve springs (the 270 and 280 requires springs that will NOT bind due to higher lift and are higher tension so the valves won't float at higher RPM). I don't run my engines over 5,000 RPM and if I had the Isky 270 or 280, then I could go to 6,500 RPM, but I wanted a good tractable street engine that pulls well off the line and I am not interested in dealing with the negatives of revving an engine to over 6,000 RPM just to get some extra HP. As they say "YOU ADVERTISE HP, BUT YOU DRIVE AND FEEL TORQUE".

I do like a high revving engine for the track, I DON'T like dealing with the issues of keeping a race engine going in my street car. Just me, feel free to disagree.

I should have mentioned that Isky makes higher tension valve springs for the Corvair that will not bind due to the higher cam lift of the Isky 270 and 280 cams.