I have a sbc 400 in a 79 vet with a 350th transmission. I have a 750 cfm carb. other than that its a stock 400. I will be putting on afr 195 cc heads on in the future but I want to get the car driving first. I will be using the car for autocross and street mostly.

 

Lots of other factors involved, more information needed for sound recommendation. Rear gear ratio, engine compression ratio, intake manifold, exhaust, just to name a few.
Also are you thinking flat tappet or roller? Hydraulic or solids?

 

@Vette5311 from what I can find the rear ratio should be 3.55. engine compression is 10 to 1. the manifold is a Weiand 7547-1. the exhaust is 3in long tubes. as far as flat tappet or roller/ hydraulic or solid I don't really know the pros or cons of either.

 

Ok, 1st thing read up on advantages and disadvantages of roller vs flat tappet cams. Decide which one you want to go with before worrying about the grind. Know that beyond a certain duration you will need a torque converter with more stall speed. When looking at grind, look for something with a longer flatter torque curve. Remember torque moves cars in the lower rpm range.
More after you decide this.

 

The first thing is knowing for certainty what the compression ratio is, a stock 400 is probably 8:1 or 8.5:1. At 10:1 it opens a lot more options. If you can swing the cost, roller cam all the way, flat tappet cams are like rolling the dice any more.

I would pull the heads and measure the piston deck height and chamber size, get it wrong and it could suck biggley.

 

I wouldn't waste my time with a flat tappet cam, save your money and go hydraulic roller.....benefits all around using rollers.
You do need to take the advise in previous posts to understand what you have in that 400. If it's stock as you said, then in no way is the compression 10:1

 

You state that you “will” be putting on AFR 195 heads. Does that mean this cam you’re looking to spec is for the existing heads? Cam Specs for stock heads and AFR 195’s will be vastly different.

 

you do not want to buy a cam twice. so if you are SURE you are upgrading the heads buy a cam for the new heads and accept the reduced performance with the big chamber, small valve boat anchors you are currently running for heads. roller. absolutely. you see those 125 buck roller lifters on ebay? don't even think about it! buy good roller lifters. you may not need 50 buck a lifter Howards lifters. yeah. 800 a set. but they are made for going through the traps at 7000 rpm. repeatedly. auggiedogie says the rock auto lifters are not chinese crap. he runs em and likes em.

 

Calling Comp Cams might be a good place to start. They have some pretty knowledgeable people there who can help you determine what you should use in your engine of the future.

Saving money initially is not good start for a long lasting engine. Spend wisely and avoid Chinese parts at all cost.

 

I thought we were collectively done with Comp Cams now? They have NOT been doing well lately. And you DO realize they are now Chinese parts, right? Same with Holley.

Cam selection seems a very dodgy proposition these days. Personally, i'd be calling up an actual racing cam manufacturer like Mike Jones. Might cost more, but you'll get EXACTLY what you need, and they'll be made in America parts, overseen by a guy who actually cares about his reputation, not money. I'd pay that extra money, and i'm the poorest guy on this forum.

Oh, and if you can afford it, GO ROLLER. There is no comparison. It also removes the sketchy lifter/break-in woes that have become common now too. AFR heads would LOVE a roller cam.

 

I can only say that I'd go for a roller.
I'm using the rockauto roller lifters as well, they havent exploded on me - yet - but will get proper testing once my transmission is back in the car.

 

Typically you get about 30 extra hp with the roller due to the area under the curve because they can shape the lobes differently and keep the valves open longer on each compression stroke allowing more gasses to be crammed in. I went from a voddoo 262 cam to a retro roller 270 cam. and the results were very positive even on my 355. And even more positive when going with the newer chinese aluminum heads I put on this summer. (I go by parts performance and reliability record not geographic origin or branding when buying parts and these are the same castings AFR sells as their own enforcers )
The rock auto enginetech brand lifters I used are made in Taiwan by an oem lifter manufacturer. I bought my complete set last year for about $150. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...6VfpNHQjO1M%3D . with the cam button setup and comp 270 cam I have about $500 in the conversion.

As far as comp cams being chinese that would be a new one on me? most of these cam companies (lunati, comp, crane) are all owned by the same parent company these days who also owns edelbrock.. I am aware some of their lifter options have been reported to be from overseas but I believe many of the cams are made by Howards these days in the US (not that it seems to matter as there are issues reported with many flat tappet cams and lifters regardless now)

Holley has some parts made overseas and now owns most of the clone companies that holley clones are made and branded under which contain even more foreign parts.

 

Make sure your cooling system is top-notch first. 400 small blocks will not tolerate overheating like other small blocks. It might be obvious, but make sure your heads have the steam holes for a 400sbc.

Edit: I believe a common issue was crud blocking the steam holes as well, so you might want to check out the condition of yours.

 

Since you have a Tubo 350 transmission you will need a Torque Converter that works with the selected Cam , I would get a Comp hydraulic roller camshaft with a set of Morel roller lifters myself

 

Post 10 is incorrect.

Comp Cams headquarters is in Memphis, TN with specialty cams processed there and Jackson, MI.
Holley carbs are manufactured in Bowling Green, KY and have been for 50+ yrs.

 

I am not a supply chain expert, but have been told there are only a couple places that make camshaft blanks. I doubt many companies make their own.

 

What does "processed" mean though? reboxing and distributing cams made elsewhere. Ive read in multiple places that many of the lunati/com branded cams are made by others like Howards. when I was researching lifter I found that some of the lunati and I assume comp since they have the same owner are made overseas... I know they also have more expensive american made lifters as well. I dont have an issue with imported stuff if its good quality... I do have an issue with imported stuff sold at high prices under an american companies name implying they are american products though.

Holley carbs are still being made in the US... the catch is Holley's parent company bought the competing clone companies that are often using overseas components and now use those companies to compete with Holleys US made products.. I found this out after I bought my quickfuel carb from Holley directly.

 

Ive been told the same..

 

The actual engine building experts and pros on Speedtalk would disagree. Its actually getting pretty hard to find a true American made part these days, regardless ov what the box says. Just because the CEO and home office is in the continental US doesn't mean the parts are made there. They're god damn crafty about this... skirting the laws, and trade wording. Look into it. The sheer litany ov bad parts from once good companies speaks for itself.

 

Another common trick is importing through another country and claiming they are from that country... When the procomp heads first came out they were advertised as made in Australia although that later proved totally false. same with the intake manifolds. I believe many aftermarket crankshafts are imported but final machine work is done here allowing them to claim they are american made.. years ago I read an article about how like 90% of the worlds forged crankshafts are made in china including the ones for high end German vehicles like Mercedes.
I would guess they might even do this for many lifters having final assy done here.