Ok guys not very happy. Speed shop could not get the 454 to a passable emissions level. First the guy estimates the car has a cam close to 300 duration? Said it is so big he couldn't get the CO even close. Also said the edelbrock torquer manifold is a POS. Compression test was about 120psi. SO.....he says with a smaller cam he said it will probably be near 180psi and ping a lot, so he suggested I need lower compression pistons too :mad: He suggested that crower cams are the only way to go and to get a crower #01903. The thing that I do not like is he says this will be a low 13sec car then?? I would like more like a low 12sec car. Sorry for the long post. I am just a little confused right now and am about ready to drive to the storage place and cover it for the year.

-Joe

The torquer IS a POS.
With 120psi cranking it must be a complete dog.
The cam recomendation is a little lame, that is unless he knows what your static compression is.

Yeah that has a duration I believe like 218ish@.050. I think it is a bit small.

The cheapest/best way to go, would be to check the cam specs with a degree wheel and dial indicator setup. Then you will have an idea on where to go from there as far as cam choice. You can also pull the cam and take it to a machine shop if you want to. But you really should get the tools to do it yourself.
And get a RPM intake.

Crower has some good cams as far as that goes.

Yours may be making it difficult to tune. But I would not recommend doing all that work just to swap cams, just for emissions testing. And ESPECIALLY not change pistons. That's a total engine rebuild.

Try a couple of cats. (no not the furry kind) As cheap as they are, and as little foiw restriction, it's usually the easiest and cheapest way to get it to pass. For example http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=CTO-6007

The main concern is if I put a normal sized cam in is that the compression ratio is going to go up even higher and cause pinging. Like I stated with an overkill cam it measured 120psi while cranking. I really don't want to run race gas.

You should be looking for a cam that generates at least 160psi and no more than 180psi for pump gas. At 120, I'm surprised it runs at all. What is your static compression????? The guy is right about it never passing with that cam, but you don't need to go completely to the other end of the spectrum either.

TJC, not sure of static compression. How do you calculate that? Yeah the car is a bit of a dog down low, but once it hits about 70, look out. But that obviously isn't where I want my power. Any recomendations on a cam?

You will need to know the piston type, dome size, bore size, compression height, chamber size, and gasket thickness. Do you know anything about the history of this motor? Can you post the head casting numbers at least. They're under the valve cover.

Off the top of my head I would estimate that you'll need to drop about 20deg of intake duration. But we have no idea where you are starting from.

I will try to get a look at the head castings. Since I really have no idea of the motor history, I am thinking it may be a safer bet to start over. I will post asap.