Didnt want to muddle up Cliff"s post so I thought I would start a new thread on this subject.

A quote from the Hoosier below to start things off

" I was going through some old material, and found a copy of a page from some unknown magazine.  It indicated that the 285 engine had an Isky E-2.  I also found a letter written by the late Richard Gaston.  He claimed to have worked at Holman-Moody in the day.  He said the 285 came with the E-2 cam from the factory, with Ford markings instead of Isky markings.  Then in his next sentence he said that the 290 degree cam had a noticeable lope.  The E-2 was a 256 degree cam in those days, with timing events very close to the factory standard 256 degree cam.  Rich was retired when he wrote the letter, maybe his memory was a little like mine is, a little fuzzy at times.  I wish he were still around, I would try to get more info about the 285.     
John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

This 1st version grind of the E2 stick was also the cam that has been identified in the 1956 Mercury M 260 setup.

What I wonder about is that there are some differences between this 56 -M260 (260 H.P. rated engine) and the 57 285 H.P. rated engine.

The differences are both positive and negative.

The two carbs are essentially the same. The intakes were different with the 56 Mercury dual quad intake being a superior flowing unit. The heads were different . 1956 were "C" heads and the 57s were "G" heads.
Better flowing 57 "G" heads

Distributor was better in 57 .

If the camshaft used in both the 1956- M 260 engine and the 57s- 285 engine , would the upgrade of the 57s ignition and heads (but not as good of an intake) have made 25 more horsepower than the 56s better intake lesser heads and not as good ignition?

Oldmics

Old Mics:
In the materials mentioned above, I also found notes I had made in testing some camshafts I had at the time.  I also found a sheet supplied to me by Dennis K. in Michigan.  It was a sheet cross referencing engineering numbers and actual part numbers.  It showed two engineering numbers that crossed to B7A-6250-C, the blower cam number, namely EDB-D and EDB-E.  In my notes I had checked the cam in my blown '57 T-Bird.  It had B7A-C stamped on the back of the rear journal, and EDB-D cast into the blank.  I had bought the cam new from the local dealer in the late '60s.  The timing events were In. 16-74, Ex. 73-17.  This is a 270 degree cam, and the numbers are no where close to the E-2 or 290 degree blower cam.  Could this have been a left over 285 cam re-boxed and sold as B7A-C?  I also had figures for your NOS 260 cam, and they don't match up either.  Your cam numbers were listed as In. 22-58, Ex. 66-9, a 260 degree cam.  So the cam I have is not a left-over 260 cam either.  No wonder no definite answer has surfaced concerning the 285 cam.


John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"