Camshafts

[Bits]

Hi All,
The camshafts fitted to my engine are photo'd below.
I have a post Dec 69 S4 S/E.

It looks to have one groove and MC23929 stamped on it.

The one groove seems period but C026E0351 should be for the above car?

[oldelanman]

The numbers on the shafts are I believe just casting numbers and are the same on all versions.
The single groove indicates your camshafts are "C" type which were used on S/E Weber engines and standard Stromberg engines ..... that's what my standard S4 Stromberg has. I think your S/E Stromberg engine should have the "D" type camshafts with 2 grooves. Has the engine been changed perhaps ?

[1owner69Elan]

What is the prefix on your engine number? If nothing has been modified that should indicate the stock camshafts for your model. As per Wilkins.

For example, my Federal S4 SE has a "G" and was delivered with C (single groove) cams. But, if you have a domestic (UK) SE with an "L" then you should have D cams (according to Wilkins), as per the previous post.

[Bits]

Without removing the cam I can not determine if there is one or two rings.

[1owner69Elan]

It appears that you have a single groove cam (C type). See the picture below:

If you had the double groove (D type) I believe you could still see that with the sprocket on.

[oldelanman]

That's definitely a "C" type cam .... looks identical to mine ..... so not correct for an S/E Stromberg engine.

Check the raised boss in front of #1 plug hole of the cylinder head ..... an S/E engine should have a letter "H" stamped there to indicate high compression, a standard head has no stamping. Of course this is only an indication of what the head started life as and it may have been modified since.

Did you check your engine number as suggested by 1owner69Elan ... what prefix letter do you have ?

[Bits]

[oldelanman]

Hi,
I think that's the block casting number.
The engine number is stamped on the flat horizontal surface directly above the RHS (carb side) engine mount and may be difficult to read without scraping off the paint or maybe highlighting with a felt tipped pen. If the engine is original the number should correspond with the number on the VIN plate and the V5.

[Bits]

LF127391BA

The engine number is not stamped on the VIN plate and I do not have a V5 yet.

[oldelanman]

I'm pretty sure that the LF stands for Lotus Ford and that would mean the block is possibly from a Lotus Cortina ... can anyone else confirm that ?

Hopefully the experts will be along shortly with more info.

.

[types26/36]

I'm pretty sure that the LF stands for Lotus Ford and that would mean the block ihad an s possibly from a Lotus Cortina ... can anyone else confirm that ?.

I believe you are correct Roger, I had a LF block that came from a Lotus Cortina and I have only ever seen LP blocks in Elans with original engines.
BTW. are you sure the SE engines had an "H" on them? the Sprint BV engines have an "N" by the plugs which is often mistaken for a "H" but maybe this is a Stromburg thing ?

[oldelanman]

BTW. are you sure the SE engines had an "H" on them? the Sprint BV engines have an "N" by the plugs which is often mistaken for a "H" but maybe this is a Stromburg thing ?

Hi Brian,
I'm no expert, just going by Miles Wilkins book .....

So H would have been used on Super SE Weber and SE Stromberg engines which had high compression heads but not on SE Weber engines which did not - according to the engine identification table in MW book.

[69S4]

My Stromberg S/E has the H stamp on the head and an L engine number prefix but (from memory) only has the single groove 'C' cams. They've not been changed while I've owned the car (since early 80's) and nothing is mentioned in the box file full of earlier garage work receipts that came with it so I'm reasonably certain the cams are the factory originals.

[nmauduit]

LF127391BA

The engine number is not stamped on the VIN plate and I do not have a V5 yet.

I can't really tell from the photo but chances are that the last part is LBA rather than 1BA : check other threads on the forum for more infos if of use (e.g. initial letter can also be LP for Lotus Power...)

[oldelanman]

My Stromberg S/E has the H stamp on the head and an L engine number prefix but (from memory) only has the single groove 'C' cams. They've not been changed while I've owned the car (since early 80's) and nothing is mentioned in the box file full of earlier garage work receipts that came with it so I'm reasonably certain the cams are the factory originals.

The parts list also lists "D" type cams with S4 S/E Stromberg ......