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

For what it's worth, further on the cam spec's dilemma . By chance, I came across a re print artical in Y-Block magazine, issue 141, August 2017. In the blurb by the then HRM's Racer Brown, apparently in 1969, he mentions while answering an enquiry (about 1956's) that 57's likely had a better Cam in the E code cars available, an " E-2  Isky" for the 285 H.P. versions..  He also stated that NASCAR allowed the Dual 4 Bbl setup as stock in 1956, but NHRA did not in Fords, (apparently it was an over the counter, dealer install item) only allowed in Mercury's.. How many 285 H.P. units were built, I don't know, but I do have a copy of a 1957 Ford newspaper Ad, that includes a reference to the 285 H.P. engine..    


Paul