Engine Anderson N41 cam questions

You may be ok with 1.7's and that cam even though 1.6's are recommended. Only way to be sure is to put clay on top of the cylinders, torque the heads down (you can do this without putting a gasket on and then subtract the torqued thickness of the head gasket.. or you can use the old head gasket for this test. Put a very light spring on one intake and exhaust valve so the lifter doesn't collapse when you turn it over, go through one cycle for the cylinder and pull the head back off, slice the clay in half with a razor blade and then measure the thinnest part of the clay. The general consensus is .080" clearance for the intake and .100" for the exhaust.

Someone may already be running 1.7's with this cam. Also depends if you plan to run it at 0 degrees or retarded/advanced, as this will change the timing for the valves, thus possibly affecting Piston to Valve (PTV) clearance. Possibility of either exchanging the rockers or selling/trading them and getting yourself some 1.6's are there so do your due dilligence before you just bolt it all together and fire it up. I would be VERY surprised if you have an issue as the N41 is only .512 intake/exhaust with 1.6's. Cam specs are AFM N-41 - 222*/232* - 278*/286* - .512"/.512" - .320"/.320" - 110* - 106*/114*.

Good luck!

If you measure the clearance and find its too close, you can order Cometic head gaskets in custom thicknesses to get more clearance. A thicker head gasket can also be used to make up differences for head milling.

If the base lift on the N41 is .320 then the math is like such. .320 x 1.6 = .512

Do the same equation with a 1.7 ratio. .320 x 1.7 = .544

The Ford X cam is .542 lift with 1.6 and alot of people run the X.

I bet you can make the N41 with 1.7 work, if you want that much lift that is.

.....another thing to be careful with is the valve spring retainer to valve guide clearance. Check that too. Bottom line is to check with the cam manufacturer and see what concerns they may have about the matter.

You have aftermarket springs with those heads?

John Dirks Jr said:

If you measure the clearance and find its too close, you can order Cometic head gaskets in custom thicknesses to get more clearance. A thicker head gasket can also be used to make up differences for head milling.

If the base lift on the N41 is .320 then the math is like such. .320 x 1.6 = .512

Do the same equation with a 1.7 ratio. .320 x 1.7 = .544

The Ford X cam is .542 lift with 1.6 and alot of people run the X.

I bet you can make the N41 with 1.7 work, if you want that much lift that is.

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You think this cam would work with 185s then with this math?

The math is just how much the valve head will move through the full stroke of the cam lobe given a rocker ratio. Whether it works with a particular head is a function of the head volume, piston type (dished, flat top, domed,...), and valve springs. A valve total lift of .544 is not huge but still needs to be checked.

Hoonlo said:

You think this cam would work with 185s then with this math?

Click to expand...

A lot of people run the x with 185s? I might not understand what your saying here, sorry for the noob like questions.
I know the 185s have bigger valves than the 165s.. The other thing I was wondering about was the afr renegade heads. Whats the difference in
power? they have larger exhaust side chambers which I think would be better for a coming turbo? I dont think they have any emissions stuff but Im deleting
anyway...Thoughts?

Interesting...I have a old set of motorsport 1.72's that I was using on stock heads. In the process of installing essentially this kit https://www.andersonfordmotorsport....irated-top-end-kit-for-1987-1993-5-0-mustang/

Heads are already on so I am not going to take them back off but interested to see what you come up with in case I decide to install the 1.72's later down the road.