I have a L88 that will be installed in my Chevelle soon.

I want to keep it 'Chevy' as much as possible. Should I run the L88 cam or bump up to a ZL1 cam?

Specs: Standard bore..Compression dropped to 11:1.
074 Alum.heads, 5 angle VJ, Roller rockers.
Fact. 163 Dual plane intake.
Holley 800cfm DP.
Bal. & BluePrinted.

Car..4 speed
3.73 rear
3" exhaust with flowmasters.

Want to make power to 7000 rpm.

I know that a big cam doesn't always make more power..its the combo, but times have changed....I have a Street SBC 355" 10.5 comp, Brodix Track 1 heads with a Crane .625 lift roller..it runs ridiculously well.

L88..ZL1 cams seem kinda small nowadays.

What do you guys think?

I would use the L88 for several reasons:
Wider lobe separation with less overlap will be more streetable
Less lift will be easier on springs and maybe less cam wear
The slightly smaller L88 will be better suited to the lower compression
The L88 will most likely have equal or more power to 5500-6000 than the ZL-then the ZL will be better to 7000
With the 3.73 the L88 will surge less at low RPMs with the 4 speed

I like both of the cams. I guess it shows my age. I have used both and in the 396-427 there isn't much difference- in a 454 and larger the ZL1 is a little faster. Most everyone wants the new high intensity cutting edge technology camshaft- if I had to make the last 10 horsepower I would too. The older cams have a unique sound (like I said, you have to be old to appreciate it) and the older smooth lobe design don't seem to wear as bad. Pick the one you want. Best of luck.

I ran the L-88 way back when too. It definitely liked being uncapped. Mufflers hanging off headers really killed it!

I really don't think the L-88 is that best cam..it runs alright though.

Have you looked at Comp? They recently came out with an "improved" version of the ZL-1. It's still going to be pretty hairy in a 427 though!

I have a friend with a genuine L-88 (it wa a shortblock bought at dealer years ago) in a '70 Nova SS396 that we installed open chamber iron heads on to kill a little compression. He's using an old TRW cam I think.,..it's been there 20 years....it's around .630 lift and duration is in the 260 range. We've run GM dual plane and old Tarantula intakes...no big difference.

He has 4.10's and they are nowhere enough gear for it to run well at the track. The L-88 likes to RPM and with slicks he crosses the line in 3rd gear!!

But it does pull like crazy to 7500 rpm!!

But it cruises around pretty well with a wide ratio 4 speed in it.

I'd check the Comp ZL-1....they've tightened up the specs on it a good bit and it looks a little more aggressive as well as likely to have better manners.

For comparison I ran the old Crane .580/.600 256/266 on a 110 LSA on the street for years and loved it. Great all around cam..better manners than the L-88's and pulled as high as you wanted. Plus never hurts parts.

I also have the Crane 266/276 .600/.620 on a 110 that I like. It will make power past 7000. I had one laying around and use it in my 540 sometimes in the summer cruising months for less worry with the solid roller stuff. Runs well in a larger motor..probably a little hairy for a 427.

Neither of these look great on paper either...but they don't hurt stuff and run well.

That Comp ZL-1 would be between the two of those.

Both are very OLD technology. Cams have come A LONG WAY since the good old days.
I would look to modern roller technology. Solid for sure, because you will want the sound! Click click click.
Comp steel core cams are an excellent choice. Also look into the Lunati VooDoo line. And don't forget Crane etc.
No one will be able to see it....just hear it.
And anything modern will run circles around the orig stuff.
Besides, modern oils seem to suck compared to what we got just a few years ago. Thank the EPA for that.
Break in is now a real issue with solid lifter stuff.
Good luck and have fun!

Ron

I agree that those cams are "old" technology, and I for one wouldn't choose either one of them for performance. In addition to that, you should keep in mind that if you dropped the compression ratio, then long duration cams like those might not provide the street manners that you would want if you'll be driving this car on the street alot since the lower CR will hurt your low end power with the use of longer duration cams. BTW, I'm a bit skeptical about the use of 3.73 gears with an L88 cam. I'd think that you would need something more like 4.11's. What stall speed will you be running?

Thanks for all the great advice guys. Everyone made a good point for whichever direction I go.

I know a 'new' cam will provide more power...I am just trying to be a little more nostalgic with this car since my others cars have new tech stuff like rollers, aftermarket heads etc.

The duration on the L88 and ZL1 are real close..I was thinking about the lift advantage of the Z.

The lower compression and 3.73 are a concern though. Maybe go with the L88 and 4.56s.

BillyG...I have a M22 4 speed.

BillyG...I have a M22 4 speed.AAAAHHHH....that's a horse of a different color than. Good luck with your choice. I guess that I'd want to go with the Z since it has more lift. Maybe it won't be too bad with an 11 to 1 CR.

Just found out that the Elgin L88 cam that I'm gonna use has been reworked a bit.

It has a 300 intake/310 exhaust duration more like a L72.

A 544 intake/570 exhaust lift more like the L88.

I think this will work better with the 11:1s and 3.73s.

Thanks for all the Input. :thumbsup:

I figure that we can just continue to run EOS in our oil past break-in and the new type oils will be fine!!

pdq67

Or just use Shell Rotella-T (still has all the additives)

Just found out that the Elgin L88 cam that I'm gonna use has been reworked a bit.

It has a 300 intake/305 exhaust duration more like a L72.

A 544 intake/570 exhaust lift more like the L88.

I think this will work better with the 11:1s and 3.73s.

Thanks for all the Input. :thumbsup:The duration @ .050 is more important. Did they change that too? If so what is it? 11.0:1 CR on a 427 should be fine with a duration figure @ .050 between 245-265 degrees. Ofcourse that's speaking in general terms. The actual valve timing events are most important but you can usually get a general idea of where they're at with just knowing the overlap and the duration figure @ .050" lift.

In a 427 even the L-88 535 cam works better with 4.56s. If you use a 454 or bigger engine you can go back to 4.11s. the 180 ZL-1 cam works nowhere I tried one in a street car, a bracket car with 5.38 gears and an early Super comp dragster. In every case a change to anything else showed an improvement. Personally if you want to go old school get an F-256 Crane. It's a great cam of the old design (new stuff makes more power but is harder on parts) that won't kill springs and related parts. The top end is actully better than the 535 cam and the low speed is far superior.

Mike,

What are the spec's on the F-256 Crane?

He, He!!

Everybody know's I'm old-school....

pdq67

I would use the L88 for several reasons:
Wider lobe separation with less overlap will be more streetable
Less lift will be easier on springs and maybe less cam wear
The slightly smaller L88 will be better suited to the lower compression
The L88 will most likely have equal or more power to 5500-6000 than the ZL-then the ZL will be better to 7000
With the 3.73 the L88 will surge less at low RPMs with the 4 speed

I like both of the cams. I guess it shows my age. I have used both and in the 396-427 there isn't much difference- in a 454 and larger the ZL1 is a little faster. Most everyone wants the new high intensity cutting edge technology camshaft- if I had to make the last 10 horsepower I would too. The older cams have a unique sound (like I said, you have to be old to appreciate it) and the older smooth lobe design don't seem to wear as bad. Pick the one you want. Best of luck. I have used the 3959180 ZL-1 cam in a couple of different engines. In the 396 it pulled to high 7000s and in the 454 it flattened out at about 7200 but had way more torque and power in the larger motor. I have had friends that used the L-88 cam and to be honest their 396s ran almost identical times to mine. The 454 was eight MPH faster than the 396 with less gear, 4.10s vs. 4.88s, at about 150 lbs. lighter car. Either one works well but their are probably better cams out now. I found that with better valve springs these cams don't have many problems but the oils have been changed so the EDM lifters might be in order now.

AAAAHHHH....that's a horse of a different color than. Good luck with your choice. I guess that I'd want to go with the Z since it has more lift. Maybe it won't be too bad with an 11 to 1 CR. The compression is fine for the ZL-1 cam. My 11.25-1 square port 454 in a 3460 lb. Camaro, (including driver), with a close ratio 4 speed, 4.10 gears, Edelbrock C-427 dual plane manifold, 850 double pumper carb. and a sloppy leave, (bog or burn) ran a best of 11.15 @ 126.76 MPH. No telling what it would be capable of with the right traction, gearing and todays tires. That run was done in 1974 so the trap speed would be a little slower now. (divide by 1.0072 to get todays speed).

Just found out that the Elgin L88 cam that I'm gonna use has been reworked a bit.

It has a 300 intake/310 exhaust duration more like a L72.

A 544 intake/570 exhaust lift more like the L88.

I think this will work better with the 11:1s and 3.73s.

Thanks for all the Input. :thumbsup: By the way the standard cam doesn't really run all that good. Mine didn't have a lot of torque or H.P. when compared to the ZL-1. My car picked up 8+ MPH when i added the big cam, carb and manifold. The Crane 256/266 cam runs exceptionally well. A local telephone company guy with a 427 used that cam and some cast iron O/C heads that were ported and went 10.33 @ 133 MPH in a '66 or '67 Chevelle while i was in Houston in '73.