Okay guys, just want a recommendation on what cam I should go with. Here is the planned set-up so far:

72 L-48 (stock bottom end, supposedly rebuilt semi-recently)

Holley Street Avenger 670
Edelbrock Performer RPM Air-Gap
Canfield heads - 195cc runners, 65cc combustion chambers
Muncie M-20
3.43 posi rear end
Ceramic coated LT's into true duals into Dynomax Super Turbos

This car is my daily driver, but I still want to get as much power out of it as possible without making it a pain to drive in traffic and around the city. I don't mind sacrificing a bit of practicality, but I certainly want to be able to launch at normal RPM's and not have to spin up to 3000 every time I leave a traffic light. That being said, I'm hoping to get at or close to 300RWHP out of the car if at all possible.

So, what cam would you guys recommend? I was thinking perhaps the Comp Cams Magnum 270H or 280H, but I thought maybe a dual-pattern cam would be beneficial.

Oh, and I'm fairly sure I want to go the hydraulic flat-tappet route. Thanks in advance guys

 

if you want a hydraulic cam, stay away from Comp

I had an XE 268H which wiped a lope after 1400 miles on a proper break in

Still waiting to fire up my Magnum 270H but I expect that to last about the same time as the 268

 

We'd like to know what type of pistons and compression ratio you have. Probably best bet would be to contact Crane or Comp Cam and ask their recommendation for your particular setup. These guys are usually friendly and ready to help out.

My 79 is an auto with a 3.55 rear. I'm running a 670 avenger, 180 Dart IE heads, 64cc chambers, Elderbrock EPS intake, and 9.7:1CR 2VR flat top pistons. The specs on my CC XE262 cams says I should be close to 345HP. I've been running this as my DD during the summer months for over two years (approx 7K miles) and am happy with it.

 

thats odd.. the last setup on my 350 was very similar, only differences were the carb (725 demon) heads (041x w light porting) and cam (xe268).
I was only pumping 315 horse

I'd like to know how you got that extra 40 horse out of very similar setups, or were you just using desktop dyno?

 

Without a lot of explaination try that Comp 270 Mag but no larger duration. Maybe the next step smaller single pattern cam 268 Hi-Energy would be a better street cruiser.

Just my 2 pennys here if u want a decent driver with those rear gears - go for the 268 HE and with those good heads & headers forget the XE series.

cardo0

 

I had excellent results with my combo, Trickflow heads, 355 small bock, 10.3 compression, comp 270H magnum cam, performer rpm Air gap, 750 cfm edlebrock carb. trans is a 700r4, with a 2500 stall, and 3.55 rear. produced 308 rwhp. not been to the track yet but would not be surprised if I get low 13's or high 12's.

 

yeah stay away from COMP. They're bombs just waiting to go off.

With that said, my COMP XE solid cam has run fine in my big block...for 2 years now. If you like the cam, get it. Don't be afraid of em. Ya just gotta break em in right.

Brett

 

Hmm...well, the car won't see a great deal of highway duty, so I wouldn't have too much of a problem with going up to 3.55's. I don't know if that's enough of a difference...but with no OD, I really don't want to go up to 3.73s or shorter. Problem is that I have no reason to believe I'm running anything but stock compression (8.5:1 ), but I really want to get close to that 300RWHP number. Would I be alright running the 270 and 3.55s? I really don't want to make the car a bear to drive in traffic, but I really want good numbers out of the motor...

Although, I guess if Tumarr got such good results running through an auto...I'd hopefully be pretty close with the M4, even with a lower CR.

Just as an aside...please feel free to explain. I'd much appreciate knowing your thinking behind the advice Thanks a lot for all the suggestions guys!

 

I would expect ur Canfield heads to have tighter chambers and raise compression. But if u have the low compression dished pistons then yes ur c.r. is maybe 8.8:1.

Big cams (long duration) need more/higher c.r. to make power. With a big cam and those low gears u will be just where u didn't want to be Kid - reving to 3k to get it rolling.
A shorter cam's intake vlv shuts sooner trapping more fuel charge (ABDC i think i recall) and also has less overlap which increases the dynamic c.r..
Look at my short cam (266 full duration) while i have 3.70 rear gears with a 4sp - i still need to rev to over 1k rpm to get rolling and not much pwr until 1,500rpm (well i do have 28" tires).

Everyone wants to make big pwr from a little 350" but u need to use parts that compliment. Good heads is a start but with that low c.r. and low 3.43 gears (or 3.55 even) a big cam is a shortcut that will make less pwr until nearly 5k rpm and lousey to drive.

Tumarr is happy because he's using 10.3 c.r. and a 2,500rpm stall.

Since ur open minded enough to ask and will listen then as i recommended before use that 268 HE but no more - smaller/shorter yes but no larger.
U want more power try 1.6 ratio rockers for up to 15 more ponies. And that higher 1.6 ratio rocker will increase overlap so u may want to go the next step even smaller cam. To make as much pwr with a shorter cam means a more friendlier drive for u each day - more low grunt to play with, less bog/stall off the line.

But since ur not sure of the rebuild then the piston and deck hieght are unkown and we're just guessing at c.r.. Without pulling heads and taking measurements i think i'm done guessta'mating here.
So good luck Tornado and post ur results for us please.
cardo0

 

Depending whether builder put dished or flattop pistons in ... your CR probably ranges 9.25:1 - 9.75:1 w/ cf 65cc.

HFT Cams:
Clevite/DANA P/N 229-2370 .480"/.486" 220*/230*
SpeedPro/TRW P/N CS1062R .468"/.480" 220*/231*

Both available through local parts houses at good$ ... High quality ... less$ than comp, crane, lunati etc.

 

Thanks a ton for your advice mate I wish I had some better info on the rebuild, but the person I bought the car from simply had no idea. I was actually thinking of using 1.6 rockers; I'll probably look into that a bit more and decide if I want to go with them.

I guess when it comes down to it, I'll be a helluva lot happier with a friendly daily driver that runs mid 13's than a lousy driver that runs low 13's

I'll probably look around at what some other companies have to offer that are similar to the 268 HE but maybe with higher lift. Comp has been getting such a bad reputation lately that I feel like I should steer clear. Thanks again everyone!

 

Block may or may not have been decked ... rather common during block prep for overhaul ... this affects compression a lot.

Clean the paint & grime off real well from your block's ID stamp pad at right front ... if the ID numbers are bold, faint or non-existant will help you gage if/how much block may've been decked.

 

I gotta tell ya bro, I've had lotsa cams in my engine trying to get the right combo over the last 3 years and the best by far for me is the Isky 270/280 Megacam (hyd). For my money it's the best out there.