mopar purple camshaft

[PRHeads]

In the 40 years I’ve been messing with this stuff...... the only automotive flat tappet cams I’ve come across that weren’t parkerized came from DC/MP.

https://www.enginelabs.com/news/a-look-at-the-parkerizing-process-history-with-howard-cams/

 

[MoparDanMan]

bought a new mopar performance six pak cam.. the finish don't look right to me. kinda dull non machined kinda look . anybody got any imput on this new finish? looks almost cast color as in a dull greyish finish.

If the bearing surfaces are machined, that sounds right. If not there's a problem.

 

[Rodge]

As others have said it's the parkerized finish all flat lifter cams come with . Be sure to break it in properly- i recommend 2000 rpm for 20 minutes immediately after startup, you can slightly vary the rpm but don't let it fall below ~ 2000. To keep the car from overheating i run a garden hose on the radiator. Also its not recommended to use synthetic to break cams in.

 

[MoparDanMan]

As others have said it's the parkerized finish all flat lifter cams come with . Be sure to break it in properly- i recommend 2000 rpm for 20 minutes immediately after startup, you can slightly vary the rpm but don't let it fall below ~ 2000. To keep the car from overheating i run a garden hose on the radiator. Also its not recommended to use synthetic to break cams in.

And add a zinc additive to the oil. There's no longer enough zinc

 

[plum70chrgr]

The dull finish is called Maganese Phosphate, trade name "lubrite". It is a break in coating to help with the extreme loads that the cam lobes see. I work for a company that manufactures rotary refrigeration compressors and we put the same finish on the eccentric lobes of our crankshafts. Still need to use a good cam lube when installing.....VERY IMPORTANT!!!!

 

[earrll26]

i believe lucas makes a hot rod oil that is higher in zinc i have been told to use that when breaking in my new purple shaft.

 

[camgrinder]

camshaft has been parkerized, an acid etch process designed to hold oil during the initial break in process. all cast iron cams should be parkerized. I know some early purple shafts were not, not a good idea with today's oils

 

[MoparGuy68]

The good ones used to actually be purple between the lobes.
Ahhh those were the days...

The cam I put in my 71 Challenger, back in 1989, did indeed have a PURPLE shaft..

Gee our old Purple shaft equipped Mopar ran great! Those, were, THE DAYS!!