Will a horizontal shaft B&S camshaft fit in a vertical engine?

#1
I have a old 1981 dated Briggs 3hp flathead engine mounted on a lawnmower that I am planning to restore in the summer, I have a more modern Briggs lawnmower but I figured I would like to rebuild the old flathead and keep on using that. I would like to put a small cam in it but I don't see a lot of modifications for the vertical shaft engines because you can't really mount them to any mini bike frames so there isn't any point.

My engine is a model and type 093502 0396-01
 
#2
I wish someone who knew for sure would see this and comment.
I would *think* that it would be the same part#... it would help keep down costs of engineering, manufacturing, and inventory. That is what mfg’s like to do since it increases their profit margins.
That being said, the vertical shaft engine sump and oiling isn’t designed to be mounted horizontally, and it isn’t going to lubricate properly.
 
#3
This was not difficult to find folks. According to Jack's, your vertical engine cam shaft would be part number 793149. You did not specify which "dated" flathead model number you had, so I assumed a basic model number of 80202. That's a pretty generic place to start. It also takes the 793149 cam.

On a stock engine, the cam rarely fails, and if it does, it's because of oil starvation in the sump. In that case, the rod/crank journals score as well. I don't recall seeing any cam modification parts for 80202 engines either. You need to be in 130202 land (5HP) or Raptor series to start finding aftermarket parts to hot rod with.

The exception to that might be getting Isly to weld and grind the cam for a hotter profile, as well as building yourself an intake manifold and mating it up to a Mikuni and running an external tank.
 
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