Very professional opinions here so I hope to get suggestions althought my 396bbc is not in chevelle. I need nice lopey and torquey solid hiperformance cam for my heavyweight 65 SS Impala with AC
Engine specs.
65 396 std bore
10.33 compression ratio
ported 206 heads 96 cc oval closed chamber
2.19/1.72 manley race flo
max 313 cfm int. 0.550lift at 36inc h2o
I/E ratio only 62% average, low lifts exhaust 80%
1 3/4 hedmans 2.5" duals with magnaflow straigh throughts
edelbrock rpm and stock q-jet
Drivetrain
TH 400
Stall? Will buy new for a cam, 2800 maybe?
12bolt with 3.73
Is UdHarolds (Lunati) LS-6 replacement solid 272/272 too much cam for me?
Is 272/282 better choice because of my I/E ratio?
Car is only street weekend cruiser, but i really like solids
Now I have comp XE250hyd with CI oval manifold. It is out of breath above 5K. Quite noisy for a hydcam and towtruck idle.
It begins to pull hard after 3000rpm but it is over too soon.But it runs very smoothly from idle. I think i have head/ cam mismatch. Heads favor 3-6K range but the cam is much lower. What do you think?

Fender, I am a believer of small solids in heavy cars. I would think the Lunati 272/272 would do well. You might even consider the small CompCams 270/270 solid.

You already have the 3:73 gear and a new 2800 stall converter would certainly help to get things going. Merely my opinion.

Charles

I don't know about the replacement but the origonal L-72 cam that I tried in an oval port motor really didn't work that well. It did make power at 6000rpm but the loss of low and midrange actually made the car slower. Get a more modern design that is good to 6200 or so and you will be much happier.

Fender,

Don't forget you will have to have a groove put in your rear journal for that 1965 block. I don't have the specs in front of me tonight, but Steve at Lunati, 662-892-1526, can provide you with the info, or put the groove in there for you. The 272/272F will work just fine, you can get it on either a 110 LSA or even a 112 LSA for smoother bottom-end.

UDHarold

Thanks for responses. I would even consider comp xe solids. There is even smaller profiles available.But is XE noise and clatter still there? I dont mind solid slightly ticking but my XE sounds harsh.
Mike, did you have enough compression for L-72 cam? I have 210psi cranking pressure now. It tends to detonate at heavy loads, so later intake closing is welcome. But I donīt wanna lose too much bottom end.
UdHarold, good point. There is groove in my CC250XE now. I still have original cam left to duplicate the groove in lathe. Do you think I`ll need dual pattern?

I had a small Crower solid in a stock 67 396..specs where 240/246 @.050 .517/.530 114 LSA
Motor was in a 67 Chevelle and ran mid 12's @ 106-107 MPH with 4.10's and a 3500 stall
Had a lopey idle and pulled to 6K+

Take a look at the crane fireball 304 solid.
Those other cams wont get you what you want in a solid.

fender, I ran the exact same motor down to the 2.19/1.72 valve combo, 3.73 gears and a 3000 stall converter in my '69 Chevelle. Probably not that much weight difference between the two cars - mine also has AC. I ran the Crane 286 Powermax hyd flat tappet in it. Power was very good off idle right to 6000 (with a 2800-3000 converter, other than idleing with the AC on, it really doesn't matter how great the power is below 1500 anyway). I used a port matched Ede Perf 2-0 with a 770 Holley and later a 670 Holley. This was a decent running combo. I only made two passes with it when it was first put in the car. In 90+ degree August heat with a very lean out of the box carb, it pulled to 100 in the 1/4 with very bad wheelspin (2.40 60' times).

Personally, I think you are headed the wrong way going to a solid with your set up. My own experience is the only reason to go solid is when you want to run the motor to 6500+. With your gears, 6000 is plenty.

Yeah,with cast pistons redline canīt be very high, 6k maybe?
I am not going towards mech cams because of rpm only. I think faster opening rates of solids makes more torque than same 0.50"hyd?
Also when you check the lash youīll see if there is something happening in valvetrain. Lash opened or no lash etc.
In spite of my age (31) I think mech lifters belongs to old school hiperf chevrolet(dz302,l-78,ls-6 etc)
Crane 304 is maybe overkill for my combo. My alternatives are comp xe solid or nostalgia ls-6 replacement.From lunati there is 272/272 and 272/282. Isky Z-66 is also interesting. Please tell me your experiences when you changed hyd to solid cam

The F304-2 makes a nice cam in a 427, it would be OK in a 396, but I'd rather see you use a more "intense" design. Isky Z-66 is about spot on. you'll want around 230d @.050. Comp 270 and the Lunati 272 are good.

I'd go with the Z-66 like Gene mentioned.

It should be very powerful in the rpm range you want.

pdq67

The motor was a stock 66 360 HP with headers a C396 and an early 3310. I really think it ran better with the stock 360 HP cam.

If you take off that Q jet and run a 650 or 750 double pumper you'll see a BIG difference.