So my 454 is ripped apart in the garage after the oil pump tube pickup broke off resulting in a spun rod bearing blah blah blah. Top end of the engine seems to be fine still.

So while i have it out of the car and totally disassembled i've been toying with the idea of changing the cam while i'm at it. I currently have an Engle solid cam I242@.050 E252@.050 with .560 lift on I and 286 duration, .580 on E with 292 duration, and a 110 lobe center. My best with this cam with pretty much no track tuning was 12.7@107 with slicks and about a 1.8 60'.

It's about 10:1 compression, 290 closed chamber heads with the smaller valves still(i know i should have larger ones but i would need new heads as i think these have the hardened seats already), port polished and gasket matched. Speed pro hyper pistons, stock truck rods with polished beams, performer rpm intake, 950hp holley, 1 3/4" tube headers with 3" collector. TH-350 beefed up with a TCS converter that flashes to around 32-3500rpm. 4.11 posi out back.

So i'm considering a new cam, might as well be a roller. My goal would be something capable of running mid 10's with good traction and tuning, and low 11's with not much effort. I'd like to not change many other components of the engine although i know the valves in my heads will probably hold me back some.

The car is driven mostly on the street, but is really a weekend cruiser at most, would never get more than 1000 miles a summer on it, so as long as it idles at or under 1000rpm i'm fine with that. I have manual brakes so vacuum isn't a huge concern.

That being said, is this goal realistic? I've heard people debate the hydraulic vs solid roller quite a bit as well. I really don't mind a solid, i usually lash my valves once a summer with my current cam and it doesn't bother me at all. However if a hydraulic could accomplish my performance goals and idle better, not need adjusting etc, i wouldn't discount it as an option.

Chris,I bet you current cam wouldn't do too bad if everything was dialed in.
FYI my 3.31 geared/TH400 SS454 went a 12.56 @ 108 thru the exhaust with a smaller hydraulic cam (223/231 @ .050 525/.550 110 LSA)
I do have the bigger valves though. Before the big valves/porting best was a 12.85 @ 105.5 MPH
A solid roller would get you what you want...at least mid 11's with the small valves IMHO

Ya I really wish i had just gotten the big valves installed the first time, don't know what I was thinkin back then...(probably tryin to save a few bucks) Hard to justify replacing them now seeing as the hardware on them is still practically like new.

Whats up with all the big blocks dropping oil pick-ups lately?

I dunno but my bank account is not down with it! Next time i'm welding it for sure!

I cant believe the cam you have isnt pushing your ride to 110+. Might be the cam isnt phased right? Maybe just a doggie cam, donnow, but it seems the combo should give more than that. Cam seems about right given the desried rpm and compression.

More than a a few folks around here run/ran the COMP XR292. AR288 is a nice easy street grind as well.

Chris, when you say "about" 10:1, how close?

I actually have the heads on the shop floor right now and was planning to try and CC them to figure out my exact compression ratio. I expect it to be between 10 and 10.5:1.

Also, i'm sure my cam is capable of pushing the car to 110 or more, but i never got much chance for tuning it at the strip as it's been in storage for a couple years. Also i never degree'd it when i put it in, just lined up the dots like the instructions said and that was it.

I should mention that i don't want to spin the engine past 6500rpm, so would look for a cam with optimal shift point somewhere around 6000.