Hi hambers I'm Loking to get a hi lift cam for my ford 302 so for I got a edelbrock 302 performer intake and I'm currently looking for a four barrel as well. I'm new to the hi lift cam situation and need some pointers on what size of cam to get. I want some thing for the streets and some thing with a slight rough - mild rough idle some thing that is loud enough that you can hear it and know that it has a cam but can be used as a daily drive. If any one can give me some specs to look for like the duration and lift numbers for some thing like this it would be greatly appreciated thanks -kirk
Flat tappet motor or roller cam ? Anytime a thread comes up like this all you get are a bunch of personal preferences.......ie, some people will love Comp Cams, some will like Lunati, etc, etc. I think most companies today make very good products or they wouldn't still be around. My suggestion is to pick a brand you like, call their tech people, and run your combination past them as well as what you want to accomplish. They will steer you into a cam that will fit those needs. I can tell you what cam I have and it might be totally wrong for your car and combination. Don
Thanks for your input don I will look in to doing that. It's a Flat tappet motor out of a 1985 mustang with a t5 that I will be putting in a 1959 f100
Thanks for understanding. I wish that there was just a certain cam we could say " Here, buy this one" and it would be perfect for you, but for a cam to work right it has to be matched to everything else in the motor. You don't want piston interferance problems, you probably are going to use the stock valve springs and rocker arms, it is going in a pick up truck so bottom end will be important, and things like that. The wrong cam can make a motor run worse than just leaving the stock one in there sometimes. For a budget build, I would not be afraid to use one of Summit's cam and lifter packages. They go for about $ 140 and they are probably just a cam from a well known cam maker in a Summit box. For years I bought cams from the now defunct Performance Auto Warehouse, and their cams came in a plain white box but with a Crane timing card inside. I asked a guy I knew who worked at Crane and he told me most of the house brand cams out there came from them, all they did was pull regular Crane cams off the line and put them in PAW boxes. Good luck, Don
If it is from an '85 Mustang & it's the original '85 302 it is a roller cam engine. T5 cars got the roller cam. Auto got flat tappet. '85 was first year for roller cam.
X2. The '85 Mustang GT 5.0 came with a T5 had a 4bbl HO package which got a hotter camshaft with roller lifters. It was rated at 210 hp. Last year of the carburetor on a Mustang.
I wondered about that too, but he seemed pretty certain when he said it was a flat tappet. But you guys are right, an 85 should be a roller motor. Don
Hummm maybe the guy that I bought the engine from told me the wrong year or the changed some thing at some point but I know for sure it doesnt have any rollers because I've pulled out the cam and lifters already. Also I only had a stock 2barrel. Hummm I guess he told me the wrong year............ Well thanks for the info guys.
Sounds like your V8 is an '82 or older. I said V8 because there is the remote possibility you have a 4.2 liter V8 rated at 120 hp. May want to post the engine code. Does it have a serpentine belt?
D9 would be 1979. Makes sense. You will need to know that because in 81-ish Ford went to a 50 oz imbalance vs 28 oz on the earlier motors. Won't affect your cam, but if you need a harmonic balancer, flexplate, or flywheel it will matter. Don
Keep in mind that Non H.O. engines from 1979 thru 1993 came with Cast Pistons. Your stock heads stop flowing at .500" lift so anything up to and beyond that is a waste. For flat tappet hydraulic cams I have 3 recommendations- Ford racing and Edelbrock both have a similiar cam that would work well for you. The Edelbrock Performer has .448"/.472" lift and ADVERSTISED duration of 270/280. The Ford Racing # M-6250-A311 has the same gross lift but 280/290 Advertised Duration. Both cams offer good low end torque numbers, and provide a peak H.P. rating around 4800 RPM. Ford racing also has a slightly milder cam # M6250-M50, w/ .453" IN and EX lift and 274/290 Advertised duration. This cam moves the powerband down lower and has less chance of any valve-to-piston interference. The 2 Ford racing cams have different firing orders so keep that in mind. Any of the above 3 cams should bolt in with no additional mods, but again it is the ***emblers responsibility to verify and confirm that it will.
If yo dont have enough engine, a high lift cam will hurt HP and TQ. Comp makes a thumper series. They sound big, but give you driveablity and throttle response. Not to mention you can do a big smokey burn out with them as well... ps 82 ho 302 had a 351 cam, so if you get one, follow the 351 fireing order. I would use a 500 lift 260 duration cam. I wouldnt leave the valves open much longer or any wider
The H.O. came with the same cam as the 302 Torino from the early 70's. Which would have still had the standard 302 firing order for the era. The 351W was still different.
Nope, the 82-84 HO, and CFI 85 HO had a cam from the 1973 351W Torino and thus has the 351, or late 5.0 firing order, not the Cl***ic 302 firing order. This is a fact that is pretty easy to check on the Fox Body forums if you don't believe me.
cant beat factory ford! I would use the ford racing cam stay with a split duration grind also watch craaigs lisst you might be able to get a set of used gt 40 heads cheap well worth the bolt on performance gain stay away from the gt40p castings unless you get the special exaust manifolds with them
I like comp cams...if you are looking for easy street go hydraulic and avoid the constant lash adjustment. On high lift cams roller is best. Talk with the cam company of your choosing and they will pair you up with the whole set up...springs, lifters, etc.
I have this in my 302 http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-K3600/ specs like post# 12 but I also have the '65 289 HI-PO heads more compression and stud mount rockers I also have the RPM intake and it pulls strong but not a real lopey idle but sounds good with the 24" Cherry Bombs.The heads on your '79 **** for breathing and performance and if you use a higher lift cam you will be playing with pushrod length to get things really right.The 1965-67 289 heads have the same specs as the HI-PO's and can be found cheaply another popular Ford head is the GT-40 heads you might like this Cam:http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HRS-217081-13/ This the Cobra "K" code cam take a listen:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aZMCF55qd8
You have a mild engine with a mild intake. Don't mis-match anything. I have had good luck with 1850-600 cfm Holley on that intake with a Comp Cams 268H intake. Little bit of lope, works with the smaller intake and has good torque. Use the cam kit with springs and lifters. JMO, SPark
Look around for a roller motor. The ford racing '"F" cam is a drop-in thumper that makes good power and nice sound. .512 lift
There is nothing wrong with a 79 engine. Sure, it isn't the hipo one that the later 5.0's are, but with a few minor modifications they can be made to run fine. The very first motor I had in my 27 years ago was a 78 truck 302. Basically a stock rebuild, with a PAW hydraulic cam, dual point distributor, early heads, and two fours. Not the motor my current 331 is but it served me well and never left me down. If you go with some cam that is in the middle range of the ones offered, put a decent distributor on it, and an aluminum intake with about a 500 or 600 cfm carb, it will wake it up pretty well. That is basically what I did to the 302 I swapped into my Jeep pickup and it surprised a few cars on the street. Don
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