Hello all, I am considering changing my cam shaft. I now have a 408BB 9.5-1 compr. running 215 heads 2.19 intake 1.7? exh. with 911-16 comp springs CC 270H mag. cam. Do not want to touch heads and springs. Looking at the 280H magnum but my 270H magnum cam already only gives me 12 in vacuum. So here is my question, what cam can I run maybe a roller cam? with the performance of the 280H but better idle and vacuum??? thanks for help!
Gary.

some might call this a band-aid for to big a cam or they cant stand the ticking noise....sounds like a solid cam......but i did and im happy with my choice.....i have a 414ci 396 motor with a fairly rough idle cam.....its a hyd. cam...with 233/239 @ .050 it was giving me about 9" of hg at idle........i wanted to increase bottom end torque with this cam and have a little more vacuum at idle........i really liked the rpm range this cam ran.......so i just installed rhoads lifters.....

i still have that cool rough idle.....it sure is smoother then before...low end increased and my idle vacuum jump to about 13.5" of vacuum.....

Gary,the Ultradyne (now Lunati) cam I run would be perfect with your entire combo,inlcuding your convertor and gears.
The specs are 223/231 @ .050 .525/.550 112 LSA
It should still hold plenty of vacuum for powerbrakes.
You can check it out here (actually the whole line) http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/ProdLine/Products/IEC/IECC/Chevy7.html
IMHO,I'd trailer your car to the track,and see what it does first.
13's should be no problem with your current set-up,but as I said,that 1st timeslip will tell you what your potential is.
BTW,it was a real pleasure to meet you and your Wife yesterday..you guys are great people and I'm looking forward to hooking up with you during the cruising season.

Thanks for the replys guys, my springs are rated to only .530 lift. Chris your cam looks a little big for my springs????? Chris what type of lifter solid, hyd. Roller...???
Gary.

Gary,my cam is a flat tappet (non roller) hydraulic.
With your springs rated to only .530 lift,it leaves you little room for improvement as far as lift goes.
You won't be able to use a hydraulic roller with those springs either.
I think your dyno numbers are certainly impressive for a mild 396 (408) and I would just run the car at LVD if your really wanted to know how it performs.I wouldn't change anything IMHO

Gary,
where did you get the information for the springs? Comp 911's are godd to about .560
lift. Limiting factor on lift (other than coil bind) is retainer/guide clearance. Even a bone stock Chevrolet BBC head can handle .550 lift. You should double check it first.

I'm going to say something stupid like maybe an old-school cam might do you better then a modern cam??

Lunati's sells cam PN 00021 spec'ed like this;

304/221/324/233, 115/110, .500"/.510".

It is an old school cam that in the right combination does well.

I mention it b/c it is a low lift cam, (for your short valve springs), and has a wide LCA angle to boost the lower rpm torque numbers as well as flatten and broaden the whole torque curve. So it should idle well and produce pretty good vacuum... (I'd call Lunati on it's vacuum characteristics..)....

I have a new one just like it that's made by Clevite, (and I wouldn't doubt that Lunati may be reboxing it too???), as well as a new Erson Hi Flow AH at 284/220, 111/111, .542"/.542" cam, (but it's too tall for your springs), that I was going to install in my 454 motor back before I got bit by the dreaded, "more power, Scottie" bug and went 496!! Now I have a good old CC 282S solid cam for max. midrange grunt..

I looked at many, many, many cams and centered in on these three for grunt..

You are actually trying to do a very difficult thing AND maybe, just maybe, a set of Rhoads lifters like Dennis mentioned and running them on a CC 280 Magnum may be the best thing to do???

One last place to look and I don't even know if they are made is over in the BB roundy-round cams b/c just maybe they have some limited lift jobbers with short advertised durations and aggressive .050" numbers????????

I say all this tongue in cheek b/c there are a whole bunch of SB cams made like this b/c of all the different circle track cam lift rules that are out there..

Just don't really know?? Where's Harold??

pdq67

Thanks again guys maybe I am wrong on my spring specs. They are Comp Cams 911-16 anyone have any input on them? Also my lifter # are HT 817 not sure of brand just that they are flat hyd. anyone one know what brand they are? Maybe sealed power?

Originally posted by gnunzio:
Thanks again guys maybe I am wrong on my spring specs. They are Comp Cams 911-16 anyone have any input on them? Also my lifter # are HT 817 not sure of brand just that they are flat hyd. anyone one know what brand they are? Maybe sealed power? HT-817 can be a few different brands but most come from the same places. The better ones were Stanadyne after Johnson went belly up but they are now back. Problem is the Johnson's are a bit pricey as of now compared to the Stanadyne.
There are also a few Mexican & Chinise lifters being sold for pretty cheap out there by some of the mail order places that in the politiest terms,, have a few "issues: :D

The 911 coil binds at 1.200 so depending on where you are installed anything to 1.250 will work.
1.900 will give you over .600 ;)

Thanks again guys for input! Mike so are you saying I can use up to a .600 lift cam with these springs??? Also any suggestions on a cam for a little more poweer with my set up? Thanks for your time
Gary.

Gary,the cam that I use in my 454 and suggested has gone a best of 12.55/109 MPH in a 402 with 3.73's/TH400 with a similar convertor(BB Mike's 71 'velle)
This is with a "soft" 60 ft. on street tires..so I stand behind my suggestion.If you're after 12's with your 402,this is cam that will get you there with your combo.

Thanks Chris I appreciate your input!

I had a 280H in my previous combo (396, 063's 2.19-1.88, TRWs 9.59:1, RPM, 750DP, M20, 3.31).

The car lacked low-end - felt like you were taking off in 2nd. You could almost stall it in 1st. Pulled to 6500 though. Power brakes worked good. I think you need more compression to get that 280H cam to work good.

Then again, maybe the car didn't run good cause there was spun rod bearings!

Originally posted by gnunzio:
Thanks again guys for input! Mike so are you saying I can use up to a .600 lift cam with these springs??? Also any suggestions on a cam for a little more poweer with my set up? Thanks for your time
Gary. =
Yes if the specs are correct & you are installed at 1.850 or taller they will handle .600 lift but most heads won't without a little longer valve or the guides cut down so the retainers don't smack the seals which is not a good thing,,

For a cam I would prefer one with about 16 little bumps on it,,, :D
Mr. 4 speed's cam looks pretty good but I would like it better on a 110 I think.
More torque in a small engine.
I like split pattern cams in Rats with stock heads because of the crappy exhaust ports,,,

OK Mike funny Ha Ha 16 bumps! No part numbers or make sugestions. I agree with split cams they give better vacuum and idle quality correct???
Gary.

He, He!! "BUMPS"!!!

pdq67

Wow has this place gotten to this! graemlins/sad.gif

Thanks any way I guess I will call my local machine shop! :(

Gary,I think PDQ was just having fun smile.gif
The part # for my cam is 302A7LUN (Lunati)
You can check it out here:
http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/ProdLine/Products/IEC/IECC/Chevy7.html

Hey Chris thanks again for all your posts! I guess Mike & PDQ could not resist a little fun. When I was ready to purchase I was going to go through Mike at wolf place or Harold to keep it in the family so to speak. I guess I will have to get it local. Just figured to get as many opinions as possible always open to good advise.
Gary.

Originally posted by gnunzio:
Hey Chris thanks again for all your posts! I guess Mike & PDQ could not resist a little fun. When I was ready to purchase I was going to go through Mike at wolf place or Harold to keep it in the family so to speak. I guess I will have to get it local. Just figured to get as many opinions as possible always open to good advise.
Gary. =

Originally posted by gnunzio:
Wow has this place gotten to this! graemlins/sad.gif Gary,
Why the attitude??
I gave you what I thought was pretty complete answer on the springs, my opinion on a cam complete with a little joking included.
I said I agreed with Chris's recomendation on the cam but felt I would like it better on a little tighter separation like 110.
Don't know what else I can do.

This can't be all serious all the time man,,, lighten up,, life is short graemlins/beers.gif

Hey Mike that's cool no attitude! If you would like to answer an other ? Could I use the 911-16 with a comp XE274 or Chris's grind my guides have been cut for posi valve seals. Do you think Chris's cam would cause very low vacuum for a LIL BB 408 CID. At 112 sep. never mind at 110 sep.?? I understand that the 110 would give my lil BB more torque, but would it hurt drivability??? for acc. P/B ETC.. care to comment Thanks for your time!!!!
Gary graemlins/beers.gif

Gary,you'll probably pull the same amount of vacuum or a hair more with my cam on a 112 vs. your current 224 @ .050,110 LSA (I think your current cam is on a 110?)

I pull 14-16" depending on where I set my idle

Hey Chris Mike said to use a 110 LSA because of my small cube BB. I am affraid that I would lose bottom end torque with a 112LSA and lose vacuum & idle quality with that much duration at 110LSA. I spoke with my machine shop today and he agrees. My engine is not big enough to run much more cam than my CC 270H Mag. with out giving up streetability and power brakes should have built a real big block 454 or larger??? Any other comments would be great. Would like to take a minute and apoligize to PDQ & Mike had a rough morning at work today!

408 BBC, 9.5 - 9.6 CR (depending on how accurate the CC are). 3000 Stall Conv 3.73 gears. Running NX279HR 279/294, 230/242 on 113LSA, 108ICL. 13-14" vac at 1000 RPM. Enough of a hole shot to know that street tires are not going to cut it. Plenty of problems last year, even worse this year.

He, He!!

Sorry gnunzio, I was laughing about Mike's calling them "bumps", I never thought of lobes being that, BUT that's just what they are!! Funny to me.

And you noticed nobody even commented about my old-school suggestion so I could possibly be the one that might feel miffed if I wanted to..

Mike, what are your thoughts on my above prior "logic" here such as it is?? Please come back....

pdq67

"Bumps", He, He!!

Originally posted by mr 4 speed:
Gary,I think PDQ was just having fun smile.gif
The part # for my cam is 302A7LUN (Lunati)
You can check it out here:
http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/ProdLine/Products/IEC/IECC/Chevy7.html Hey Cris, is your cam identical specs as the one in the link?

Originally posted by gnunzio:
Hey Mike that's cool no attitude! If you would like to answer an other ? Could I use the 911-16 with a comp XE274 or Chris's grind my guides have been cut for posi valve seals. Do you think Chris's cam would cause very low vacuum for a LIL BB 408 CID. At 112 sep. never mind at 110 sep.?? I understand that the 110 would give my lil BB more torque, but would it hurt drivability??? for acc. P/B ETC.. care to comment Thanks for your time!!!!
Gary graemlins/beers.gif Gary,
I just looked at Chris's cam & I take back the 110 for your deal.
I didn't realize it was that soft off the seat.
280 on a 110 is gonna be a bit lumpy in a smaller engine with Power everything.
It would be better as is for what you want but I would look at some of Harold's newer stuff with less seat timing like his "VooDoo" (damn there's that name again :rolleyes: ) line.

Sorry Harold, I know you didn't have anything to do with that stupid name :D

Or The 274 Comp you mentioned would work very & well & yes your springs will work with this assuming they are above 1.850 installed they should handle .600 lift.

And no problems, everyone has a bad day graemlins/beers.gif

Anthony,yes my cam is identical to the one listed.
Gary,if you go with this cam on the 112,you will be more than satisfied.Especially with 3.73's and your 10" convertor.

Thanks all for your thoughts that was what I was looking for!! I will consider all & then decide if I should change. Chris one last ? for this post what springs do you run in your 454?
Gary.

Gary,I use Crane part CRN-11308-1 which is a spring/retainer kit.
They are good to .580 w/no machining required.They're $99 at www.summitracing.com (http://www.summitracing.com)

Hey Chris thanks for all you input!!!! graemlins/beers.gif

Gary,FYI

I checked the vacuum on my car today..it pulls a very steady 15" @ about 800 RPMS in park/neutral.
It will probably be less in a 402,but not by much..enough to sneak by without a vacuum reserve can.

Thanks again man that's real life info priceless. Chris looks like your cam specs fall right in between the CC XE268H & the XE274H do you agree? That were I was looking to be great advice!
Thanks! Gary.

Gary,the 274 will have less vacuum then my cam FYI

i believe that comp recommends the 924 spring for the 274H. the 274H cam in a 454 should make about 12-13" of vacuum. mike

Ratuned thanks for the input, Chris do you agree on how your cam specs up to the Comp cam's XE268H & the XE274H. Meaning a little more tha 268 and a little less than a 274??
Gary.

Gary, yes I agree that mine is in the "middle" of those two