I'm putting together a 29' A Pickup, which will be my daily driver for a while. It'll have a 350/350 to scoot it down the road. It's a 72' 350 out of a truck. I haven't torn the motor apart yet, but from looking up the specs from the year, it looks to have 2.02/1.60 heads and I'm guessing decent compression in the 9:1 area. The motor will be running a Weiand WC4D 4x2 Intake with four 94's. I'm not sure if I'll run a progressive linkage or just run them straight, as of yet. For an exhaust setup, the plan is to run unbaffled lake pipes. The rear end is a Ford 9" with a 3.5x or so ratio with 29" tall rear tires. If everything checks out clean in the short block, it'll remain untouched. So with that being said, I want to relace the current stock cam with something that'll aid in the production of a decently wide torque band. The truck will be a street driven vehicle and probably will never see any track time. I DO NOT want to over cam the motor for the sake of "a lumpy idle". But what I do want is a stout, responsive, torquey motor. I'm not interested in any Hydraulic Flat Tappets and do not want to spend the money on any kind of Roller setup. I've been doing a decent amount of research as to what might possibly work well with this mild setup. I'll list the cams I have as prospects. Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Crower: LSA:112 In: 264 Ex:270 In@.50:230 Ex@.50:236 Lift: .458/.468 LSA:114 In: 274 Ex:282 In@.50:242 Ex@.50:248 Lift: .482/.504 Comp: LSA:110 In: 256 Ex:262 In@.50:218 Ex@.50:224 Lift: .465/.477 LSA:110 In: 262 Ex:268 In@.50:224 Ex@.50:230 Lift: .477/.488 LSA:110 In: 268 Ex:274 In@.50:230 Ex@.50:236 Lift: .488/.501 Elgin: LSA:110 In@.50:242 Ex@.50:254 Lift: .459/.485
Get a crane blueprint of the duntov 30/30 you'll be happy with the sound and the power band. If you were going hydraulic I would have said L-79 for a street motor but solid the Duntov cam is the only way to go.
Your plans for your engine sound very traditional, i.e. the four 97's, and, heck, nothing is more traditional than the old Duntov 30-30, a rocking solid lifter cam. I've visited the Crane facility in Daytona and they are good folks.
All the cams I've listed will work with stock stalls or 2000~2200 stalls. The Duntov Re-Pop Cam from Comp looks something to the effect of: LSA:112 In: 284 Ex:291 In@.50:247 Ex@.50:254 Lift: .504/.498 Doesn't it seem a bit excessive for what I'm trying to acheive? Well, I wouldn't mind having a rocket of a vehicle, ...who wouldn't? But, I don't want to hinder driveability all that much either. Like I said before, my goals are to have a broad torque band for street purposes. I don't mind changing to a higher stall to compensate for the behavior of the cam, but as mentioned before, the motor will live on the street and not the strip.
Now you've guys got me tinkering with the idea of the Duntov Re-Pop cam. THANKS!!! Haha. How's this cam behavior in a mild 350 with a decent induction setup, lake headers, etc.... ??
Ian, the cam is the personality of the motor. I don't think you can go too big on any of those cams. I would choose the comp 268 cam which is what I have in my 46. It pulls well down low and still revs pretty well. I think 2500 to 6500 is the perfect range. anything over .5 lift you need to make sure your springs are suited for the lift. Also do a search, there are apparently two different duntov cams and one is a real winder and isn't good for the street from what I've read on here. I know those guys were talking about 283's though. good luck and let us know what you pick.
I would go with the comp cam with these specs:LSA:110 In: 268 Ex:274 In@.50:230 Ex@.50:236 Lift: .488/.501 I think that would be the best compromise between getting a good sound and having good low end torque. -oldrodkid
My $.02 worth - skip the solid lifter cams - for what you're talking about there are now much better hydraulic cam profiles out there than there used to be. Take a look at the 'extreme energy' line in comp cams something like a XE268H for a stockish converter, or the lunati voodoo line #60103. I just prefer the hydraulics for the lack of maintenance and the increase in drive time Honestly much more than those and you're really looking at a little more compression or better heads to get a good streetability. Of the solid cams you posted - I'd go with the second crower as power should still be decent down low with the wider LSA. If you're buying a converter when rebuilding the trans - a 2500RPM converter or small stock vega converter (does anyone still make those??) won't really be any more money.
FWIW the Comp 268 is probably the most popular cam out there today. It does work, and it's a good call. However... You will appreciate the vacuum of the smaller Comp 262 cam you listed. If I were you, I'd go with that one. The multiple carbs and honest street nature of this build mean it'll spend more time under 3,000 rpm than over 5,000 rpm, so the 262 is a better call. ~Scotch~
Good call Scotch. I'll take that into consideration. I'll most likely end up with the Comp 262 cam, but I'll look around a little bit more before I make my final decision.
I think I came across something with a good compromise and it just might work for my situation. From studying the specs, it seems as if I'd be able to get away with power all across the power band and still maintain streetable behavior due to the 106 LSA. Howards Camshafts: Lift: .520"/.520" Duration @ .050": 240/250 Lobe Center: 106 I'm open to all perspectives and want some good technical insight. Thanks again.
Or this: Doug Herbert: RPM Range: 2300-6800Advertised Duration: 277/295Duration @ .050: 235/245Lift: .498/.500Lash-Lobe Center: .016-108c I think I'm going to narrow it down between this one or the Howards. The decent amount of lift with out going overly radical on the duration and the low LSA's will give me what I'm looking for. If I have something *** backwards, let me know. Thanks.
i've always heard the 30-30 is good for street thats what i'm planning to run on the motor i'm building right now Anouther thought on the 30-30 is it's built to run with FACTORY parts, everything should agree with it But on the other hand the factory never ran it at less than 10 to 1 compression, the z28 was 11 to one and i dont know what the others were
How about the fact that it'll get put into a 350 opposed to a 283? How much difference would that make?
I'm not sure i read your original post right. It said you DON'T want a hydraulic flat tappet? My choice for solids would be Duntov 30-30. I ran one in my 301 and it had a slight rump @ idle, sounded good through the valve covers, and was smooth throughout the RPM range. It'll be smoother and torquier yet with your extra cubes. Also, there's a solid Comp stick with .495 lift i like (minus the .022 lash the lift is actually less than that). For hydraulic-Comp 268H, or Chevy's 350HP 327 (i think Crane blueprints this one-i think it's the L-79). Also, if your heads ARE 2.02 valves, i'd consider getting the smaller 1.94's off let's say a 300HP 350 from a 1969-1970 car(Monte Carlo?). I think i'd be snappier in the RPM range you're most likely to spend the most time in. The 2.02's might make most Max power, but the smaller heads better average power. A friends got 2 Pontiacs. One runs hi 11's and the other mid 12's. The slower, mid 12 second car's a ton more fun to drive on the street. The quicker car makes more power, but you have to twist it's neck to make that power, while the slower car has more low RPM power on tap. If you take that thing apart, and you're right about the compression....A-put flat-top pistons in it instaed of dish if you replace the pistons, B- square deck the block and cut the heads to get closer to 10-1 compression
IAN this is not a dontov 30/30. Call crane thwey have the exact factory spec blueprints of the original cams and are the only ones that do. The 30/30 was a 283/327 cam it won't hurt you a bit in your 350. It is a good street cam, sounds good mild lope and good valve train chatter broad flat power band.
Groucho you're right on the hydraulic in crane its the L-79. I'm makeing over 400 with my 355 with that same cam. Now they call it a 350 horse 327 cam, its the same motor that was called a 375 horse 327 on the streets when we were kids. The duntov 30/30 was the solid lifter equilvelent to the L-79 actually the fore runner both were designed by Duntov. The didn't get their sound or rump from tons of lift it was all in the ramps.
Exactly right. Easy on the lift, heavy on the duration=easier on the valve springs. PS-Ian, if you're just playing on the street and you're inclined to leave the shifter in drive most the times, I'd be tempted to run some old Power Pack heads on that thing. Get some more port velocity/throttle response. I know it's tempting for the "more is better" thing, but not in all applications
Good advice huge valves and ports the size of tennis balls are about usless unless you're going to keep the revs up. I had a buddy bolt up a set of tunnel port heads and the intake etc to go with 'em on an otherwise stock FE once, total waste of time the mill wouldn't turn enough revs to go with the topend.
How about a hydraulic with Rhodes lifters. Sounds like a perfectly adjusted set of solids at idle and a little above. Also has the advantage of taming a more radical cam at idle for more streetability. Some guys don't like Rhodes, but I have run them for years.
They sound good in theory, but in reality the Rhodes are noisy GARBAGE! I bought a 69 Z-28 w/302 and Rhodes lifters. Sounded like the motor was ****ing "hurt". Horrible sound, not like the sweet sound of real solids. I put stock hydraulics in it and lost NO low RPM response and it was quiet. So, the ONLY thing the Rhodes do is make noise. Who in the **** wants to PAY for noise? PS- i know 69's had solids. This one had been changed prior to me buying it
Thanks for the wealth of info guys. I'm gonna shoot into the garage in a few min. to check the heads to get the exact specs. And yes, I'd rather run a solid cam and not get a hydraulic setup to mimic a solid cam. Thanks again. Highly appreciated.
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