Ok Fellas,

I need some help here on deciding on what cam on my first 454 build.
here are the numbers,
454 bore .30 over
049 heads, pocket ported, 2.19/1.88
2004R OD tranny
3.55 gears
AC car
Disk brakes

This will be a street car only, so I dont think i will ever hit 6k or anything wild like that. Looking for a good cam, dont know if solid flat tappet or hydraulic roller.
What do you guys think??
UDHarold, give some advice? or can you grind me one for me?

Thanks Fellas :thumbsup:

Big difference in price between the two choices. But the cam he made for me has more than enough vacumn for power brakes. As would the Lunati 272 if you have the compression. That is an important fact to know with out crappy gas and needed duration. Call him, he will guide you in the right direction, office phone is 662-301-1245, good luck

As Gary mentioned, what is your compression ratio? With your pocket porting and bigger valves your heads have some potential, but if you have flat top pistons it will have around 8 to 1 compression and limit your cam choices.

Kinda dont know what cam to go with, it is my first 454 build, and it will be mostly just street, doubt i will ever see 6k or more on RPM's. So thinking comp should be around 8 to 1, 9 to 5.
Pump gas friendly.

1ST YOU NEED TO FIGURE YOUR COMP,then since you live in CA i beleive you can only get 91 octain and if thats the case i would bld for 9:0 comp max exp since it wont be a race car.

Cam it correctly for 9:0 compression and you should be good to go.

Maybe a hyd flat tappet cam in the range of 220-225/224-230 deg dur @.05,.520-.530/.530-.550 lift,110 or 112 (better idle) deg LSA would work well with a mild 9:0 comp 454.

If you want to push it the Voodoo 603 is a nice cam that specs to approx 227/233 deg dur@ .05,approx .530-.540 lift,110 deg lsa. I think it specs for a little more comp but it would still work well in a 9:0 COMP 454 esp with 91 oct fuel IMHO.

SCOTT

cool, thanks for the suggestion Scott :thumbsup:
i will look into my compression. but yeah you are right about the 9.0. using the 91 oct.

What Scott said.

Keep in mind that your cruise RPM is going to be well under 2000 with those gears and that tranny. You want a cam that'll be reasonably happy at that RPM.

If you have flattop pistons your CR will be low, down towards 8:1. You'll be wanting to use a short duration cam if that's the case and that will also work with your OD cruise RPM.

Remember to look at the advertised duration hard here, b/c that's when the intake valve shut's and the engine starts trapping charge!

As always, jmho..

pdq67

If you want to commit to the expense, a small hyd roller would be perfect. Limit the intake duration to 220* @ .050.

Mad70ss,

Here are a couple of suggestions for a 9:1 or less engine that should work just fine, power brakes and air conditioning:
Hydraulic
263/271 at .006", 217/225 at .050", 131/139 at .200", .527"/.551" valve lift, and 112 LSA.

Hydraulic Roller
266/275 at .006", 214/223 at .050", 140/145 at .200", .600"/.575" valve lift, and 112 LSA.

Both cams should idle down around 600-650, maybe lower, and pull good, even with a stock converter. If you want a little converter, around 2200 should be fine. They will both have enough vacuum to work power brakes, etc.
If the engine is not a MK VI, with hydraulic rollers already, you will need a retro-fit hydraulic roller kit. If it is a normal 454, a hydraulic cam works just fine.


UDHarold

I have the 231/239 .6/.6 HR Voodoo, and it has plenty for power brakes, idles at 750, and tolerates the 3.31 and OD (.64) trans. Had to be doing 70 though to get into OD.

Mad70ss,

Here are a couple of suggestions for a 9:1 or less engine that should work just fine, power brakes and air conditioning:
Hydraulic
263/271 at .006", 217/225 at .050", 131/139 at .200", .527"/.551" valve lift, and 112 LSA.

Hydraulic Roller
266/275 at .006", 214/223 at .050", 140/145 at .200", .600"/.575" valve lift, and 112 LSA.

Both cams should idle down around 600-650, maybe lower, and pull good, even with a stock converter. If you want a little converter, around 2200 should be fine. They will both have enough vacuum to work power brakes, etc.
If the engine is not a MK VI, with hydraulic rollers already, you will need a retro-fit hydraulic roller kit. If it is a normal 454, a hydraulic cam works just fine.


UDHarold


UDHarold,

Are these cams something like stock? or will they give me mild performance? i want it to sound beefy, not too aggressive, but a nice rasp to it :thumbsup:

For comparison of flat tappet cams the stock hyd flat tappet cam for the 396 & 402 /350hp,427/390hp,454/365hp & 390hp motor was 214/218 deg dur@.05,.461/.480 lift,115 deg LSA .

That was a decent mild perf cam in a 396/402 but it was a very mild cam with a smooth idle running out of steam at fairly low rpm in the larger 427 & 454 motors.

Scott

Now if you want "cackle" instead of performing STREET GRUNT out of basically a stock, mild 454 BB, then install something like a 270/225, 106/102, say maybe .500" lift?? or whatever and put up w/ all the "CACKLE" you can stand, imho!!

Harold, how far off am I??

Did anybody bother to look at the lift on both the MILD cams Harold mentioned?? Sucker's should put out ALL sorts a grunt, imho AGAIN, in a mild Street BB engine!!

I'm almost positive that my 454 core P/U engine had a CC 280 Magnum in it b/c when the guy that helped me get it asked me if I was going to keep it's cam as I canned it!

And if it was his engine out of his 3/4Ton, 4x4 w/ a TH400 and headers, it was soft down low at like 8 to 1 CR! But it did have a nice "cackle" to it, even at tha low a CR, only b/c it's a big engine imho..

pdq67

Go for the hyd roller. I'm not an "expert" on any subject, but given the number of cams I've run through my cars, get the hyd. roller and be done with it.
The most "fun" (not the fastest, but that may have had to do with many other things) was the UD HR4 233/233 296/296 BB hyd roller. Nothing since has felt like it or made sounds like it. I drove to the track on thin-wall street tires and did an 12.7 with a 2.25 60' with that cam. (at close to 113 mph).
It is a bit big for your application, but it all depends on what you want. That cam ran power-whatever in my car, never gave me any problems, but because of improperly installed valve springs the rollers damaged the cam, and UD was in a "transition state" when I wanted another one.
Flat tappets are fun, but just skip the headache.. and get the hyd. roller.
Next time I run my engine over, out goes the solid roller and in goes a hyd. And I never got to test my solid to full potential, or even mid potential..

matt

Matt, when the heck did you move to Cleveland?

Those cams will give you some lope, but it'll never "cackle" as Paul says since the compression has to be mellow to handle CA fuel.

Or maybe the "cackle" we hear in MO, are different than those in New Yawk.

BTW, on those two cams Harold mentions, and I dont know if $$$ is an issue, but check out the .200 durations ( where the power is made). Thats why folks drop the dime on rollers. And the fact that there is no drama at break-in time.

Thanks guys, now my concern is with AC and power brakes, will i get enough vaccum for the brakes with these cams? I was also looking into the "60203" or "302A7LUN", how will these work? Remember though, not looking to do any track stuff, just a beefy sounding street BB.

As Mr 4 Speed related to me before I bought the 280/288 aka 302A7LUN it has a stealth rumble. Either will run power brakes and A/C as 69-Chel stated in his post.