'77 Cams in '78 heads

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kerryb

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I got a pair of '77 cams that look OK to use. They are a little worn but a hot rodder friend said they look serviceable.
The question is can I put those in '78 heads that I would put on my '83 engine.
I would try to use the '77/'78 ignition system.

How would be a good way to determine which year heads are. A local guy says he can sell me some heads but isn't positive what year they are. He thinks they are '78.

Thanks, Kerry
 
You could put them in 1100 heads too. 75-77 cams will give you the biggest boost but the 78-79 cams are still nice.
 
the 77 cams will fit in 1100 heads also....if you want to use 1000 ignition system ...its not the heads you need its the ignition housing covers that bolt to the 78 heads usually these are not with the heads ...if you went for the best and bought c5 ignition you already have everything you need ..put 77 cams in 1100 heads and buy c5 it comes with housing and all that fits the 1100 or 1000 heads
 
So if I'm not ready to spring for a $500 ignition system...get the 77 points parts and bolt 'em on the '83 heads?

Thanks Joe, then what do I do about exhaust? I'm keeping the 4 carbs 'cause I just rebuilt them with Randakks parts and they work fine. Will a set of Sporty mufflers reduce the back pressure a proper amount for a performance gain? I've been reading about hooch but I'm not done yet.
 
Most likely mufflers will not change performance at all. Just the 1000 ignition cup is nice to keep your pants from getting twisted on the cam. Stock 1100 ignition is fine if it's functional.
 
point plate and points are quit expensive too now days .....but the 77 cams are great idea to put in bike ...the 1100 i had with 77 cams ran great with stock carbs and was rather fast ....not like hooch but wayt faster than stock 1100 ....i did use the 1100 ignition as it was ...and just covered the cam stem with ignition housing from 1000 heads ....but id rather have the 1000 ignition set up any day over 1100 set up just to much money at the time ...and the whole bike was just a stepping stone to the hooch project with 1200 motor .....500$ for ignition that covers everything except plugs is not a bad price ...especially when it 10 times better than anything else one can do ...cheap really
 
Please excuse a brief sidebar.
I have seen this camshaft subject hinted at before but never explained.
I assume the use of 77 camshafts in other applications enhances performance???
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=163437#p163437:17r6z182 said:
slabghost » 56 minutes ago[/url]":17r6z182]
Higher lift and longer duration than subsequent cams. Essentially competition cams.

Thanks for the confirmation.
 
Terry, FYI, 75 to 77 year cams all have the same profiles. So all of those years should help upper rpm performance, however some 75 cams were slightly shorter on one end, for the fuel pump I think. I can't remember who posted this, I think it was Aussiegold??
 
[url=https://forum.classicgoldwings.com/viewtopic.php?p=163487#p163487:28senl5f said:
ekvh » 7 minutes ago[/url]":28senl5f]
Terry, FYI, 75 to 77 year cams all have the same profiles. So all of those years should help upper rpm performance, however some 75 cams were slightly shorter on one end, for the fuel pump I think. I can't remember who posted this, I think it was Aussiegold??

This jives with what I noticed. My 77 1000 really comes alive at higher rpm's. My 82 1100 has much more of a linear powerband and the 1000 feels quicker.
 
well with a decent non cv carb system the early cams have huge punch down low ...in my opinion honda got the cam right on first try ....the carbs is what not up to par with cams and just cant provide good gas charge down low in rpm
 
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