Nobody can recommend a cam unless they know the car, the overall build (engine specifics), stroke, bore, application, rear-gear ratio, trans/overdrive, intended usage (around town, long trips on the highway, etc), valve train work (porting, relieving, compression ratio, valve sizes, etc), top-end --> manifold, carbs. Give us a lot more information, then we might be able to recommend some cam choices. B&S
Good points, thanks. I’m flexible and I have some money to spend on this. I was hoping to build a mild to spicy engine that drives well. car is built in a post war styling. Drop axle, primer, juice brakes, 40ford wheels, etc. it’s on a stock model a platform with stock rear which will get changed later. car will cruise a couple of times a week with some light freeway driving. going to run either a 2 or 3 carb set up. I hear a 3 carb set up is a pain but 3 carbs remains an option because I own an intake already. Stromberg 97s will go up top. likely buying the HnH Navarro 59 heads 4” Merck crank so that’s the stroke. likely going to bore 0.020 over standard to clean cylinders. Relieving is an option. 78 case 3 speed transmission I don’t have a lot of decisions yet as you can see. Thanks for an advice or help.
If it was my block, I'd have it pressure tested and then sonic tested - before investing a bunch of $$$ in it. MAG testing only goes so far - you need to do the above so you know what you have to work with. There is nothing worse than NOT pressure testing a block, getting it all machined and built . . . then seeing water trickle out of the exhaust port from a crack you could not see while magging it. Bore: If the above checks out, I'd probably bore it to 3 5/16 - with a Merc crank it will be 276 cubic inches. This is a great combination for the street. Given that you have a lighter car, my cam choice would be an Isky 1007B or one of my favorites a Potvin 3/8. Manifold: If you're building a 276, no problem with 3 carbs. Another really good manifold is the Edelbrock Slingshot with two 97's. It allows you to run the generator/fan combo in the stock position. I prefer to have an original stock cam reground these days (as quality has really been bad at some of our old-time favorite suppliers) - and I use Pete Samuelson to regrind all my cams. Pete's cams are pieces of jewelry! Send him a good cam core and you'll love what you get back from him. His hearing isn't that great these days, so he prefers to communicate via eMail. eMail: americanproductz@yahoo.com
I had my block pressure tested. Also went with the Isky 1007B regrind from Pete, but I have the stk crank and 0.060” overbore. If I could have afforded the slingshot intake, that would have been my choice, as I wanted to keep the generator in it’s stk location. If you’re building a 276, you might find this interesting.
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