I recently purchased a 1980 L82 with a bad cam. The car has Hooker long tube headers and side pipes with glass packs, a Holly street dominator intake, and Edelbrock 750 carb. I originally thought I would drop in a stroker and 5 speed Tremec. I haven't seen at all what it should run like when functioning properly. If the car has good enough torque and HP after repaired I might just add a manual trans and be happy. I am told it has a 2500 stall speed converter and shift kit. I am interested in low to mid range torque and drivability. I don't want to over cam it but might add the manual if satisfied. I understand about lift and duration and have read some threads where some say they had trouble with Comp cams and many seemed to like Lunati.There are a thousand cams to choose from and without too much tech talk I would greatly appreciate someone with knowledge to tell me exactly which brand and exact cam to buy. Thanks for any help I can get.

 

Give Crower or Isky a ring they have a lot of good stuff for that era 350.
You dont want a suggestion from a kid picking from a spreadsheet

Aggressive ramps, grinds desinged "to sound good" only imo are a mistake

 

Thanks. This will be a weekend driver and I won't be drag racing. However, once in a while you want to feel that torque. I have a mechanic that will be doing the work and it's been a lot of years since I have done the real work. I just want to cut to the chase and order what I need. Just a car for the fun, nothing too serious but want to do it right.

 

If Competition Cams had issues more than other cam companies, its because they sold tons more cams than other companies. They are number one seller.
Some say they had inferior metals, premature lobe wear. Well, every company went through that.

And you can be rest assured that a lot of those lobe failures were the result of the installer / owner NOT following the instructions for cam break-in. The owners manual is very specific what has to be done before, during and after start-up. But you know how people are, pitch the instructions, who reads that, right?

 

Years ago I put a 268 CompCam in my 79 L82 with flat top pistons and kept the original heads. The 268 was a slight upgrade from the original cam. Last year I replaced the boat anchor heads with aluminum heads and added shorty headers. The 268 CompCam is fine for me as this car is not a drag racer but a car I enjoy driving on weekends and when I want to apply some gas I can get a bark in the first three gears. No regrets with my CompCam as I did read the instructions.

 

Since you have 2500 stall speed I would pick a Comp 282 Magnum Solid lifter Cam or the Comp 280 hydraulic version, the solid lifter version will pull hard to 6500 rpm

 

A cam in the 280 (advertised) range is a really bad idea with stock heads, low compression, and what is likely a 3.08 rear end.... The stock 1980 heads run out of flow below 5,500 rpm, and no big cam will ever fix that.

A nice running cam setup is one based on the L79 350-horse 327. This is one of the best-running Chevy hydraulic-cammed engines ever produced when running the stock heads. When the 350 replaced the 327, GM designated the new hi perf 350 the "L46," which also put out 350 hp. This L46 cam is the same as the L82, and is almost identical to the L79. However, the L46 cam was revised with much better cam lobe dynamics, making it potentially a better cam than the L79. Unfortunately, they ground the cam lobes on a 114-degree intake centerline instead of the L79 110-degree spec. If you use an adjustable timing gear set, such as the Cloyes C3023X (or similar), you can use the L46 cam and simply advance it 4 degrees to achieve the L79 110-degree centerline. This is a great setup for a mild street engine, offering outstanding bottom-end torque and power through the usable rpm range of the heads. The L46 cam is available from Federal-Mogul under part number CS1095R, available through any NAPA store or Summit Racing (with lifters HT817). This cam will produce a "performance" exhaust note and idle while still producing enough vacuum to operate the power brakes and headlights.

Lars

L79 versus L46/L82 cam specs (duration @ .050"):

L79 Hydr. Lifter (327/350 hp) 222/222° .447”/.447” 110° Centerline
L46 Hydr. Lifter (350/350 hp) & L82 222/222° .450”/.460” 114° Centerline

 

the 282s is a strong running cam but needs compression , a good 3-3500k stall, 4.11s better head to work the way its supposed to

 

Stock 1980 L82 Cam is 114 to help with power brakes and automatic transmission idle in gear , I’ve been thinking of adding 1.6 rockers on my 1980 L82 to bump lift up around .480-ish

 

If the heads are staying stock then the Comp 268H is a proven choice.

The heads can be changed to have smaller 64cc combustion chambers and the increase in compression really helps. You can stick with the L82 - L46, 350/350 cam if you swap out the heads. You can go wilder of course, but that is how I like mine. This is what I did and would do it again.

The L82 cam is aimed right where you are shooting. It just runs pretty lazy with low compression and smog exhaust.

 

L46 cam and lifters, $112.98 plus shipping.


Good price and would work very well on your car.

Add gasket set and timing gear set and your good to go.

This would be a good option to.
https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/200105/10002/-1

 

The 268H was designed in the 80's for low compression 350's. It is the largest cam that one should put in a stock engine.
218/218 @ .050
.454 lift I and E on a 110.
A lot like the L-79 cam but with a little tighter ramp.
The Vette in my Avatar was an L-79.......I too ran this cam with 1.6 rockers and a LOT of head porting.....but the cam is VERY lazy and not a lot of low end torque......the midrange was surprising though....this engine also had 9.7 to 1, an Edelbrock 2101 2.5" rams horns and factory sides (not the best flowing).......why am I saying this? Because when you put too much cam in an engine that has no chance of breathing it is damn near impossible to tune......and runs waaaaay lazy......my 331 nosed over at 5400 rpm.....this is a best case scenario. If it would have had headers and real exhaust it would have made another 40 horsepower upstairs.....and revved to 6k.
Put the 268H Comp cam in.....and bolt up a set of headers and a 2101 intake. It will run great!

Jebby

 

The 268 is a great aftermarket cam that runs really well in near-stock engines. It does like headers and a good intake to keep the flow going past 5,000. I've used it in several builds, and I have it in my carb testing engine. With a little compression, it will make 350 hp easy. It's as big as you want to go on a mild street engine with stock heads.

Lars

Comparison of the XE268H to some other grinds:

L76 Solid Lifter “30-30” cam (327/365 hp) 254/254° .486”/.485” 110° Centerline

L79 Hydr. Lifter (327/350 hp) 222/222° .447”/.447” 110° Centerline

L46 Hydr. Lifter (350/350 hp) & L82 222/222° .450”/.460” 114° Centerline



CompCams:

XE262 218/224° .462”/.469” 106° Centerline

XE268 224/230° .477”/.480” 106° Centerline

XE284H 240/246° .507”/.510” 106° Centerline

“Nostalgia Plus L79” 229/236° .468”/.462” 108° Centerline

Nostalgia Plus N+300HP (L48 enhanced) 211/218° .426”/.420” 108° Centerline

 

agree on comp 268H

very similar ... is summit 1065 ... 218/218, 458"/458", ICL 105, ECL 115, LSA 110 ...
... when installed straight up, 1065 willl be snappier than L82's ICL 114, LSA 114
https://static.summitracing.com/glob...s/sum-1065.pdf

1065 with lifters $136
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...make/chevrolet

 

Thanks. I do have the long tube headers and side pipes. The stock L82 heads have slightly larger valves and supposed to have 10.2 to 1 compression.

 

No, it is closer to 8.5/1 those heads are 76cc smog type heads and they are probably the worst pieces on an L-82.

 

1980 L82 has 2.02/1.60 valves , screw in studs with guide plates , 9.0 to 1 compression , low compression LT1

 

I could definitely be wrong, I have read conflicting info. Here is where I got that. https://itstillruns.com/difference-b...-12185069.html

 

The 1980 L82 had 8.9:1 compression ratio, advertised as 9:1. This is the "advertised" compression ratio, which is usually higher than the actual, produced compression ratio by up to a full point. The advertised 9:1 compression ratio is achieved if running the heads at "minimum allowable chamber volume," which is not the same as the production volume. Your actual compression ratio, if the heads have not been altered, is likely around 8.5:1.

 

OI was always a crane cam guy and I was young and dumber in the early 80's. I looked at my L-82 cam specs of Stock L82....0.450/0.460...222/222...................114 So I reasoned that I needed a cam with more area under the curve (faster ramp rates) and higher lift. So I bought the 278 power max and 1.6 roller tipped rocks with 120# seat spring to handle the extra lift. At the same time I installed headers and true dual exhaust. Oh and the change to ported 186 casting double hump 64 cc heads to increase the compression, It really woke up my lethargic 79 L82

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/crn-113802/overview/