Crane cams

falcongeorge · Post by **falcongeorge** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:52 pm

Not sure where else to post this, are we any closer to knowing the future of the automotive side of Crane under the new ownership?

Lasher... · Post by **Lasher...** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 2:43 am

I received a new ignition catalog just the other day from S&S. A couple of months ago spoke with Terry and he said they did have plans of grinding cams again.... hopefully by the end of this year...... but I have not seen anything resembling a cam catalog or pricing yet.... just the ignition stuff.

falcongeorge · Post by **falcongeorge** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:55 am

well, I guess thats good news...sorta.

rmcomprandy · Post by **rmcomprandy** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:30 am

I'm wonderin' about the valve train stuff ... I used a lot of their's.

David Redszus · Post by **David Redszus** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 4:12 pm

Has anybody asked Harvey?

falcongeorge · Post by **falcongeorge** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 4:42 pm

Have you got him on the line??

enigma57 · Post by **enigma57** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 5:04 pm

David Redszus wrote:Has anybody asked Harvey?

Point well taken, David! What happened to Harvey Crane in the late 1980s should be a wake up call for all small business owners.

Always take legal steps to ensure that you retain controlling interest in your business...... Especially if you intend to go public at some point!

Here's what Harvey has to say about this and about the current situation regarding the company which still bears his name......

http://harveycrane.com/

Best regards,

Harry

falcongeorge · Post by **falcongeorge** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:56 pm

That is cool. Never knew that website existed. I thought he was long gone from the industry.

trmnatr · Post by **trmnatr** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 11:57 pm

rmcomprandy wrote:I'm wonderin' about the valve train stuff ... I used a lot of their's.

Yes me too

Chase said they are moving in a "new" building, So hopefully cams this year

enigma57 · Post by **enigma57** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:22 am

falcongeorge wrote:That is cool. Never knew that website existed. I thought he was long gone from the industry.

George, old cam grinders never die...... They just fade away......

And that goes for all the pioneers who have made motorsports what it is today. Actually, I stand in awe every time I call a company for product information...... And someone such as Joe Mondello himself answers the phone. Or Harold Brookshire or Ed's son Ron Iskendarian or more recently, Stu Hilborn's daughter Edris.

I really appreciate their knowledge and thank my stars that I'm not dealing with some company that is no longer owned by the person who began it (or their family who carry on their work), but some by some investors who bought them out or some such thing.

As far as meeting folks unexpectedly...... I recall walking into an auto parts store (grand opening) in a small town in Texas looking for a starter motor back in the '80s. And as I headed over to the counter, I noticed a very beautiful lady seated at a table over to the side autographing calenders.

I did a double take, jumped back into my car and beat feet home, returning a few minutes later with an old faded and often taped back together poster pullout from Hot Rod Magazine that I had carried with me in the mid-60s whilst I was in the service. I had taped it to the inside of wooden foot lockers and metal wall lockers over the years. It was a picture of Linda Vaughn taken in 1966 when she was doing the Miss Hurst Golden Shifter promo.

I got into line and when it was my turn she just looked up and said, 'Hi, big boy!' I asked her if she would sign something I had and unfolded it for her. She was very gracious. Very much a lady and was happy to autograph it. I thanked her and as I left, I looked at it again just to make sure I had brought the right poster with me. Thankfully, I had.

You see, I had two posters hanging in my garage back then. Linda Vaughn's from Hot Rod magazine and Vanessa Williams' from Playboy magazine. Sure am glad I didn't get them mixed up and bring Vanessa's with me that day!

Best regards,

Harry

falcongeorge · Post by **falcongeorge** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 12:47 pm

trmnatr wrote:
rmcomprandy wrote:I'm wonderin' about the valve train stuff ... I used a lot of their's.
Yes me too

Chase said they are moving in a "new" building, So hopefully cams this year

Me 3. I always really liked Crane stuff in general, really hope it becomes available again. I always really liked the HMV line for mild street cams, thought it was head & shoulders above the equivalent Comp stuff.
Thought the old "High Intensity" wide lda solids were excellent too. Used the 238/248 114 solid in 327 & 350 daily drivers alot with around 11-11.5/1, worked EXCELLENT. In fact, I had a custom grind done for the 327 I am building for my Chevy II that is inspired by that cam.

Post by **CamKing** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:14 pm

If a new Crane cams opens up, I hope they don't try using the old equipment. I looked at all the cam grinders they had at the auction, and only one was worth having.

falcongeorge · Post by **falcongeorge** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:01 pm

CamKing wrote:If a new Crane cams opens up, I hope they don't try using the old equipment. I looked at all the cam grinders they had at the auction, and only one was worth having.

Well what would anyone expect, with a bunch of carpetbaggers running things. Things had gone WAY downhill towards the end. DAMN shame...

andyf · Post by **andyf** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 7:46 pm

enigma57 wrote:
falcongeorge wrote:That is cool. Never knew that website existed. I thought he was long gone from the industry.
George, old cam grinders never die...... They just fade away......

Harry

I thought the punchline was they never die, they just go flat.

wbclassics · Post by **wbclassics** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:18 pm

Lasher... wrote:I received a new ignition catalog just the other day from S&S. A couple of months ago spoke with Terry and he said they did have plans of grinding cams again.... hopefully by the end of this year...... but I have not seen anything resembling a cam catalog or pricing yet.... just the ignition stuff.

Yup, was just informed that Crane XR700 ignitions are back on the market... not that I've sold one in the last decade anyway.

Considering that the electronics manufacturing was probably outsourced it makes sense that the ignition stuff is one of the easier product lines for Crane to resume production and distribution of.

Kai