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I have an '81 L81 350, and was wondering what would be the best cam i could put in this while retaining the stock valve springs, ect. I was looking at the XE268 or 262, but was wondering what would have too much lift, and what wouldn't. I would also like to install some 1.52:1 roller rockers in the process...would this combination cause too much lift for the stock springs on the 862624 heads? (i believe that is the head number for L81)
The rear end is 3.70 with TH400 tranny.
Cams anyone? :cheers:
Comp Cans rates thier cam specs with a 1,52 rocker ratio so the lift should be no problem. However they strongly recomend a valve spring change with both the XE262 and XE268. If you dont want to change springs then maybe look at the cams in the High Energy line of grinds. In that line, the 260H at 212 duration @.050 and .440lift is the biggest cam they recomend without a spring change.
You said L81. I never heard of L81. Are you sure its not L82? Anyhow the L82 cam profiles are as good as or better then the 260H anyway. If you do have an L82, I would stick with that. If you want to upgrade the cam from there, you really should change the springs as well.
Comp Cams 268H maxes out safe lift @ .460 w/ 1.52. XE262 is similiar w/ more ex. duration & needs new springs. 260H more TQ & 268H more hp-
rocking the curve up, only about +20 difference. 268H will give a nice cammed idle.
Does anyone know the specs for the stock L82 cam? Its very close to the 268H huh? Thats why I suggested, if VETDRMS wants bigger then the L82 profile a spring change is in order. Matter a fact I just checked my CC catalog and the lift for the 268H with 1.52 rockers is .454. Maybe its the stock L82 that has the .460 lift.
Thanks for the input. The L81 was the only available engine in the '81 corvette. Rated at 190hp @4200rpm. I was thinking a cam would breath a little life into this engine. So i "could" go with the 268H without a spring change, and used some 1.52:1 roller tipped rockers as well? Should i just
go ahead and replace the spring while i'm in there? I'm in the process of building a 406, but i wanted to add a little juice to this engine while i'm at it. The engine is non-rebuilt, and has 34000 miles on it, so its still pretty fresh. Thanks again.