I finally got the car running again this past weekend. I had planned to have it running a week sooner, but due to recent events, I didn't have the heart to do much wrenching.
After my less than spectacular results on the chassis dyno and the loss of power that was discovered following each run, I decided it was time for a change. I installed the comp cams 282S (solid) to replace my generic PAW hydraulic cam(.480 lift, 292adv duration/230 @.050"). In addition, I switched to steel shim head gaskets to bring the compression up to 10.0:1. The idle quality is much smoother and vacuum readings have increased to 14" as opposed to the 11" that I had with the other cam. I will miss the choppy idle of my old cam, but I'm sure the top end performance of the solid cam will more than make up for it. The exhaust note has more of a throaty sound than before and it really starts to sound good as the RPM approaches 3000. I have not been past 3000 yet and will try to keep my foot out of the "go" pedal until I re-torque the heads and set the valve lash to it's hot specs in week or so. Then we will see what this thing does. :D With my quiet stock type mufflers, the sound of those solids is damn cool. Now it sounds like a Corvette should. I will post an update when I find out how it runs at redline.:D

Tom :flag


[Modified by tsw71, 9:09 AM 9/19/2001]

 

Tom - I almost bought that cam but I thought it may be too big for my motor. I perfer solids over hyd, but my back dosen't. I had an old 283 in my truck & the hyd lifters would start pumping up over 6000.
If I get tired of my Comp Cams XE268 in my new motor, I may go with a solid. You could have probably went with a 292S with that 5 speed you're running.

 

Yeah. The 292 would have been a lot of fun, but I'm trying to keep my stock rods together until I can afford to build a strong shortblock. Other than the forged pistons and ARP hardware, it is just a stock L-48 bottom end. This cam should keep me form overreving and stuffing the rods through the side of the block. I think a rev limiter might be a good thing to get in case of a missed shift. :eek: :eek: Now if I can just keep from snapping my crank on the first to second gear speed shift.

 

Right On !!!! :cheers: Its good to hear some good news. Sounds like that new cam is going to be a good match with the rest of your setup. I'm envious. All of those powerful sounds, solid lifters, choppy idle, carb sooosh, etc. must be music to your ears. Ahhhh, gotta love it! :cool:

 

I have the 292S in my car. It does not idle real good (who cares). I have a bout 7 inches of vacuum at 900 rpm idle. It really comes alive above 3000 rpm though. With 4.11 gears it spends a lot of time up there. I really like the cam only wish I had a little more compression. I estimate just shy of 10.1. With the alum heads and this cam I would like to be around 11.1

 

Nunus, It is definitely cool hearing all of the different sounds. I run solids in my street rod, but with the sidepipes I run on that car, it makes it hard to hear much of anything including my stereo :D I must admit that the solids in the vette are going to take some getting use to. I'm was so accustomed to hearing my worn out hydraulic valvetrain, that when I first fire it up, my first though is "oh crap! it's getting worse!". Then I remember that it is supposed to sound that way. :D

Gordonm, When I was playing around with different cams on my Desktop Dyno. At one point I considered the 294S, but with my S/R torquer heads, I felt it would be over cammed. I bet yours works great with the AFR190's. I would guess that your motor pulls strong up to 7000 RPM with that cam. :cool: Eventually, I will build a stronger shortblock and port my heads to make a real screamer. The search for horsepower is neverending. Just about the time I finish one upgrade, I'm already looking toward the next.

Tom

 

I like the cam and it pulls hard but I always want more power. Looking towards a roller cam but it is expensive. Always looking to go faster.

 

I have a stock L-48, in a 77. The only major change is my true duels. If I went to supercomp headers and a performer intake, would I be able to run the Comp 282 solid cam? What would I need to change(other then connecting rods, lifters, and possibly springs). What kind of improvement would i be looking at with these mods? I do not know what my rearend gearing is. If I went to this intake,cam,headers setup, would I need to get new heads, new piston rods? new pistons? crank? If I would have to replace a bunch, what cam should I go with, that will make me happy(for now). Im looking at about a $600 budget, I just want to do simple but effective power adders...and I heard a cam is a good start.

Daniel

 

Daniel, I think the biggest improvement other than the headers would be heads. You can gain alot by using better flowing heads with smaller combustion chambers for higher compression. I would not go with the super competition headers(1-3/4" tubes), but rather the competition headers(1-5/8" tubes). The smaller tubes will give you the needed back pressure for torque in a lower RPM street motor. A better cam will make a large difference in power, but I would probably not run something like I have without the other pieces of the combination(heads,intake,headers) that make it work good. Soild cams like this usually need close to 10:1 compression to make them effective. A strong bottom end(steel crank and good rods) is also a good idea, but you can get by with your stock bottom end if you keep it under 5500-6000 RPM. I'm not sure if you saw my post above, but other than my forged pistons and quality aftermarket rod bolts, the bottom end is basicly stock.

For the $600 you plan to spend now, I would recommend the Comp 262 or 265 hyd cam, a pair of 1-5/8 headers, and Performer intake. This would probably make an honest 300hp. Just don't forget all of the things that will nickle and dime you to death, like the gaskets, timing chain, lifters, ect...... This stuff adds up pretty quickly. I would also replace the stock valve springs. Either get a complete cam kit that includes lifters and springs or get the springs used on early LT-1 heads. These have better seat pressure that will prevent valve float. Since they are the same diameter, they will go right on without modification as will the ones that are offered with the cams I suggested.

Good luck, Tom

 

Congrats Tom!

Just got back and saw your post. Have you re-torqued those heads and tried the upper ranges yet? The increased vacuum should definitely be worth big mileage gains if you take another rood trip.

The beautiful valve trains noises more than makes up for the loss of a lopey idle, more Ferrari like! Can't wait to see and hear it.

Chuck

Chuck

 

I have not had a chance to re-torque yet. I figured I would try and get about 50 miles on it before doing that and the valve adjustment. I will probably do that this weekend. I was tempted to stop by earlier this week to take you for a spin, but I'd rather wait until I get all of the final adjustments done. Then we will both get to see if it will rev. :chevy :yesnod:

Tom

 

Tom,
Congrats on completing your swap. :cheers: Looking forward to a full report when you can really hit the loud pedal!