Ford Hotrod Cam Install '06 Gt

Crazyhorse1968

New Member
Aug 26, 2012
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Is a piece of cake. If you can remove valve covers you can do it in a day. If you google it you will find step-by-step instructions several places so I won't repeat that here. I did learn a couple of things to pass along, though. You do need the special Ford tool to hold the timing chain. I spent a weekend building several different versions out of pvc, pex, rubber hose, all-thread and a piece of cutting board plastic, but none of them were secure enough. So I ordered one. You do not need a valve spring compressor, nor do you need to set the engine to TDC. Merely look at the cam lobes, turn the motor over by hand until all of them are coming up on a valve or leaving one. Then take the caps off evenly. The few lobes with pressure on them will push the cam up a small amount but that's it. Lift out, set the new one in, and install the caps slowly and evenly and you got it. Use a pair of vice grips on the shaft behind the cam phasor to turn the cam if you need to move it a bit to align the pin.
An air rachet would have been nice for the 30 valve cover bolts. I have no idea what I gained in power, but it is noticable. This is a street car, just for fun. I'm running an automatic with SCT Bama performance tune, CAI, axle-back Pypes and Ford Hotrod cams, all from American Muscle. They sent me a new tune for the cam install and it seems to be set up perfectly.
Now she runs and sounds like a Mustang should.



I also installed a strut tower brace from AM, and notice a surprising improvement in handling. She's a vert, so apparently needed that.
I think she may be faster than the 1968 cammed/tunnel-rammed/ported/polished/3:80 gear/four-speed 302 Mustang I had in the 80's. That car was brutal from 0 to 60 and would smoke the bias-plys in three gears, but this thing keeps pulling hard to 120. And the A/C works! On ramps are a blast now.
 
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Congrats - sounds awesome - I considered Ford hotrods - went with the mutha thumpr's instead on my 07' - you'll like the response - people are always like 'what the hell you got in that thing" ......