Cam bearings. Please have a look

[Cartel]

I been avoiding this but I went out and had a close look at the cam bearings in my 383 I got back from the shop.
The front one was off a bit and I wasnt really pleased but I walked away for a bit and today went and looked further.

Got my 66 383 block back from the machine shop

Took a few quick pictures. I'm a bit worried anout this front cam bearing. Is it something to take it back for? $2800 you'd think it would be perfect. I was there all summer. lifter bores look untouched. not sure it thats good or not

www.forcbodiesonly.com

The oiling bearing is off a bit and its not in the center of the bore, with some sticking out.
Then I noticed some pretty deep marks in the bearing.
I wasnt expecting to take pictures with my bore scope but I did. I just wanted to inspect with it so sorry they are low res

What am I looking at here?

thanks


the first image is the port to the mains, it looks crooked to the side to me

 

[Cartel]

here's the rest of them

 

[Cartel]

I'm gonna try to get better images I just about got into a fight outside, not a great day

 

[Cartel]

 

[Cartel]

 

[Justin Plant]

being freshly installed, i would like to see them all centered in the journal. As far as the hole alignment, it may just be the design of the bearing. All the holes look to be the same distance apart. Others may have a more knowledgeable answer. I can see your concern though.

 

[413]

The oil holes being off a bit is normal and no problem. The bearing with 3 holes doesn't have the holes in the same as position the block holes so those can't be aligned. They will be off 100% of the time.

The scratches are not a problem. Did they have your camshaft and fit the cam to the bearings? Good if they did.

I don't really like the bearings not centered in the block but it won't hurt anything. Looks like they were aligning the oil holes front to back.

 

[Cartel]

The oil holes being off a bit is normal and no problem. The bearing with 3 holes doesn't have the holes in the same as position the block holes so those can't be aligned. They will be off 100% of the time.

The scratches are not a problem. Did they have your camshaft and fit the cam to the bearings? Good if they did.

I don't really like the bearings not centered in the block but it won't hurt anything. Looks like they sphere aligning the oil holes front to back.

that reminds me I didnt check the other 3 oil holes
they look ok

 

[Cartel]

Just for the record, I'm not trying to shame the shop or get picky over stupid s**t.
I want to be double, triple sure and go over everything before I go and build this so that I dont destroy $1000s of dollars in parts and my mental health over something I could have caught early. Thats why I need extra eyes and wisdom to have a look.
If something was done wrong or not up to standard practice, I want to deal with it now, not when the engine melts down and I'm in the mental hospital.
I hope you all understand this.

thank you and God Bless

 

[Big_John]

IMHO, and having done an engine or three...

The cam bearings are made from babbitt with a steel shell. Babbitt material is lead based and soft. That means it's easy to mark up.

What I see are scratches from Scotch-Brite where they scrubbed them a bit, probably getting most of the scratches made from installation. There's a couple larger scratches but nothing to worry about. As a very experienced engine machinist once told me, "Scratches are just another oil groove". Since he worked on several record holding/winning engines (drag, oval track and even a land speed record) and is just a smart guy in general, I'll take his word as gospel. He also worked on and was certified to do airplane engines.

So, it's fine... In fact, you'll scratch it up more when you install the cam. That isn't carte blanche to just jam the camshaft in, you do have to be careful, but it's just the way it is.