Cams housing finish

[Matt80]

Hi, just got back from machine shop an head I had to bore the camshafts' housings to correct their oil clearance,
and curious to know what's your adviced finish for them.
I thought they would need to be very very smooth and low rugosity, but these have a cross hatch pattern like it was a cylinder:
is that correct?
Thanks

[modok]

It's fine.
It was honed.
the surface finish of the cam bearing bores on most old american engines is basically garbage. "dull drill-bit finish"
Just terrible, and yet they "work ok".
Honed, or even simply bored at a fine feed with a sharp tool is a big improvement.

[Matt80]

It's fine.
It was honed.
the surface finish of the cam bearing bores on most old american engines is basically garbage. "dull drill-bit finish"
Just terrible, and yet they "work ok".
Honed, or even simply bored at a fine feed with a sharp tool is a big improvement.

Ah, I thought it needed to be the smoothest possible, as on all OEM aluminum heads...
Thanks

[modok]

I misinterpreted some of the first post, but the answer is the same.

It is the same as piston pin bushings.
They are both commonly Honed or OR Bored or both, both methods work fine when done right.
Honing can produce a smoother surface, better surface texture for oil retention, and size is easier to nail.

The advantage of boring is that it is faster, and there is no possibility of introducing abrasive material.

[rustbucket79]

So this is a cylinder head you had machined? Cam rides directly on the surface?

Factory aluminum heads where cams ride directly in the castings are bored to a fine finish, but as already stated, a honed finish is great, and potentially in perfect alignment provided it was honed on a mandrel longer than the the length of the head (bores)

[Matt80]

So this is a cylinder head you had machined? Cam rides directly on the surface?

Factory aluminum heads where cams ride directly in the castings are bored to a fine finish, but as already stated, a honed finish is great, and potentially in perfect alignment provided it was honed on a mandrel longer than the the length of the head (bores)

Yes, cams ride on the head aluminum, and yes, mandrel longer than the head.
That's how they look like:

[rustbucket79]

Tough to tell from pictures but if the bores are properly sized, true, and inline, you would be amazed at how irrelevant surface finish is.