@Stan Galat posted:
The problem with the Web cam I had was that the lobes were ground on the wrong centerlines. The intake was fine, but the exhaust was 7* late. This would mean that my lobe separation angle was wrong, the overlap was greatly increased, and the cam timing was all wrong. The engine would've run, but not very well. It's a pretty big deal.
I like to belabor things I don't fully understand, either until I do understand them or until the person I'm belaboring gives up and either walks away muttering (good) or lies and tells me I got it (bad). This is the secret to my misplaced confidence....
Anyway—and thanks again, @Stan Galat, for your insight and instruction—are you sure a 7-degree later exhaust cam timing would increase overlap? Because my eyes tell me, according to the above diagram, that clocking the exhaust lobe rightward a little would decrease overlap, which my tiny brain suggests would increase your effective compression ratio while (perhaps) causing more spent exhaust gases to hang around the combustion chamber.
My guess is that would be bad for an engine built with high static compression.