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So three years after I learned about IPD and the brick brotherhood (sisters too?), I finally finished my modest upgrade series on my '91 244 5-speed. Swaybars, repeater turn signals, strut braces, even the tachometer were all easy DIY. I gradually acquired a decent set of 15-inch alloy rims and installed them when I got new tires. I waffled awhile about whether and what to improve in the engine, and finally bought a VX cam from someone who was upgrading to a turbo cam. Never did more to the engine than fluid changes, so I was inclined to pay my mechanic to swap the cams. Determined I'd save about $200 by buying parts and renting tools from IPD, and doing the work myself. Took a whole weekend to do, but it was worth it. The Bentley manual was indispensable.
My only apparent error is the new valve cover gasket, which appears to leak a bit of oil. Maybe I didn't flatten it down evenly enough prior to tightening the cover down.
The VX cam, with factory cam sprocket, works well with my setup. Originally the engine would push hard from idle to 2700 rpm, then not go higher unless I floored the gas. With the new cam it's kinda sleepy until 2000 (don't pull into fast traffic with no space!), then starts to come on, and really pulls from 3000 on up. The way the transmission and rear end are geared, though, I'm way above the speed limit by the time I pass 3000 in 3rd and 4th gears. I disagree with IPD--it's more a freeway cam than a street performance cam. Still the final product is worth the time and money to me because it now drives like a modern European car vice 1970s relic (still noisy, but who cares?).
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