Does anyone know the specs for this cam?

[VDub67]

I recently sent my new VW case to Bernie Bergmann in CA to have it machined for hydraulic lifters. He did the work and returned it with all necessary hardware, including what he considered to be an "ideal" cam. The engine is to be set up as a 2180cc w/ dual-port heads (40mm intake valves; 35.5mm exhaust valves) & dual carbs. As to the cam, we discussed a middle-range street cam.

Anyway, the flange on the new cam is stamped '147'. On the hand-written invoice, it appears to indicate '147H'.

Is anyone familiar w/ this cam as I have descried it? Does anyone know what might be the specs for this cam (i.e., lift, dwell, etc.)?

[mark tucker]

I think Ive used that one before with 1.4 cb rockers. as I recall .328 intake& .338 exhaust. or close to that. I had all the specs from degreeing it in every .010" but my cam ploting book seems to of run off(lost in limbo,incogneeto,on vacation,etc) It was in a 2387 with cb mini wedgeports,the owner is tickled shitless& the car needs a lot more tire as they smoke too much.

[Matthew]

Is it machined for Ford or Chevy lifters that are without the mushroom head, (meaning the head is the same diameter as the part of the lifter that rides in the case)? If so that cam has to be really mild especially in the lift department.

Does it have a bolt on cam gear? Have you asked Bergman to provide you with specs?
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[VDub67]

Matthew,

As to your 1st question, I have no idea.

As to your 2nd one, yes, the gear does bolt on (looks like 3 8mm bolts).

As to your 3rd question I was waiting for that one.

I sent him a polite e-mail a couple weeks ago asking to please let me know the specs for the cam. He ignored it. I called him a week or so later (last Friday afternoon) and got his VM. I left a polite message asking him to please respond to my e-mail inquiry. Zero response.

Someone somewhere must know this cam or have a master list of VW cam types w/ specs.

[Quokka42]

We kind of expected that would be what you would get from BB. Unfortunately very few on here will deal with him at all, and people making stuff up won't help you. I fear you are going to have to check it yourself if you want to know the specs.
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[VDub67]

I appreciate your response, QUOKKA42. In some ways, you seem to know more than I do about Bergmann. Maybe I found out the hard way. Without elaborating too much on this forum, from my own experience, I had some fairly good interaction w/ him early no. Our very few phone conversations were cordial and I was nothing but polite & respectful to him. Ditto our e-mail exchanges going back maybe a year and a half ago. He responded to my questions leading up to my having him do his machine work, if only half-heartedly. But as I said, he returned my case/ w/ the parts but little documentation and ZERO on the cam he sold me. My polite attempts to get him to open up about the cam have fallen on deaf ears. He seems to have completely blown me off! When a "professional" refuses reasonable communication w/ their paying customers, that is UNprofessional. For his professionalism, I must give him a D-, and I hope others will take note of this.

It's really both sad & perplexing - he has so much going for him. Why does he treat his customers this way?

[vwracerdave]

Bernie has always kept his cam specs secret.
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[broskinny]

[bugguy1967]

If you're interested, there's a shop called European Motor Works in Hawthorne, CA that can give you the full specs on your cam if you send it in. I bet it'll cost you under $20.
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[mark tucker]

ask roy he may know.
CB listed a hydro 1470, 288 duration&.375 lift.
Just degree it & find out what you have.if you cant do that you might not want to be building you own motor. all this stuff is simple, but simple to some can realy get AFU by somebody else.

[bugguy1967]

Off topic, but anyone know where to get an ok quality set of v-blocks large enough for cams and crankshafts that don't cost a fortune?
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"A petrol engine can start readily, run smoothly and give every appearance of being in good order, without necessarily being in good tune." - Colin Campbell, "The Sportscar Engine"

[mark tucker]

shars. or an old case.enco,ebay.

[modok]

The bigger question is what do you want these v-blocks to attach to?

If to be used for checking and straightening shafts of different sizes then constructing the table these v-blocks will mount to will be the bigger job.

[Matthew]

[raymon covey]

degree it! I have seen the after market cam gears off as much as 7 degrees. You need to degree it to see if it is advanced or retarded. You will then know the lift and duration and compare to other cams.

[mark tucker]

[yamaducci]

These Bernie Bergman related posts are always so entertaining. About as entertaining as AJ Sims.
He is one of the greatest salesman in the VW aftermarket industry with Zero Follow up. He will talk your ear off to sell you something that's for sure. I have seen issues with him dating back to the late 90's with him using wrong parts, used heads and a worn out case that had no oil pressure. Really every issue you could think of. I am sure he is busy because no one will work for him anymore and he doesn't want to work with anyone either. So he must be doing it all himself. So maybe he has time for the sale but not the after-sale. His Feedback section on here is not good at all. So good luck with everything.
Like it's been said, measure the cam. You can do a quick measure with a vernier cliper or micrometer to see if Mark Tuckers guess is close by measuring the lift at the cam lobe. Good luck with your build
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[Bashr52]

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my memory is the 2nd thing to go but I recall Weber cams making a 147 grind. FWIW. Weber cams, NOT Web Cam.
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[OLD VW NUT]

Long ago and in a galaxy far away (I.E. before the internet - 1990 or thereabouts) I had Bergman do some case work for me. It was the first time dealing with him - and the last time. I had the case machined for hydraulic lifters and better oil flow and clearanced the case for 82 crank and opened up for 90.5's. The case was machine grooved on one mating edge for an o-ring for extra sealing - decked and shuffle pins installed and a main bearing align bore and thrust cut. While everything measured out OK the machining looked rather crude - not like the nice smooth machining left after RIMCO did my last case that I'm running in the Ghia. I spent a lot of time cleaning the oil passages that had chips in them AFTER he had put threaded plugs back in them. I paid for a hot tank cleaning. I doubt that was done.

The hydraulic lifters were .880" small block Ford type IIRC.

Bergman deals junk. He knows damned well that once he's sent your stuff back to you it isn't likely any word back from you is going to be something he's going to want to hear about.
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