do i need new valve covers if i put a 3 quarter cam in? this is for a 383 stroker, 350 small block



sorry for the ****ty pics didnt want to pull it out cuz it was raining

 

Please explain what a "3 quarter" cam is?

 

hell i know man im asking this for my dad o.0 they told him he needs a stonger cam it has take off but its kinda weak when ure goin 55 and u stomp on it

my dad hes very anti-computers couldnt use one to save his life lol

 

A different camshaft won't affect the valve covers.

 

alright thanks, another question, what would be the best cam to put in it?

 

your Dad is part of the old school....way back when cams were either stock or 1/4 to 3/4 "race". Then never really told you the lift or duration. Haven't heard those terms in years. Brings back good memories.

What cam is in there currently? I believe that Lingenfelter made the 74211 cam originally for the 383 stroker. That might be a possability for your car. Depending on the RR's that you use, your lift may be too tall for the valve covers. You might solve this with thicker gaskets or different covers

 

My first suggestion is to call a couple cam companies and tell them what you've got and ask for their advice. They'll want to know displacement, static compression ratio, valve size, heads (flow data if available), fuel delivery, car weight, intended use, and probably a dozen other things I'm forgetting here.

 

So what would be an example of a "3/4 cam?" Are we talking 240-250 duration? 260? 65-70 degrees of overlap? I would think that's about 3/4 of the way between stock and race...

Just curious because I've heard this term thrown around before and was clueless. Still am.

 

I could be wrong but I think.....we are talking "lift" (lobe height) here like a .500 lift cam would = 1/2 inch cam
and a .750 lift cam would be = 3/4 inch lift or "full race" if you will...you know the cams that you have to bang each lobe on the cam bearing to get in.

 

So I only have half a cam???

 

I think it's a reference from the old days. People used to say 3/4 cam meaning not a full race but almost. A 1/2 cam would be halfway between stock and full race. So a 3/4 would be 230-240 degrees duration. Most laymen don't know the differences between intake valve closing points and LSAs and durations and overlaps and such, so they just said 3/4 cam or 1/2 cam to get their points across. Nowadays there's so much more to it that I don't hear those expressions too much any more.

 

A couple of years ago my neighbor brought me his "1/4" race cam to show me.....the front 1/4 of the cam broke in two. Car just did not want to idle!!