I am assembling a 454 for a friend of mine.
It’s going into a ‘72 Chevelle convertible, all power and air. Strictly for street use.
I am trying to use the DCR to check compression vs. octane and DesktopDyno for torque vs. hp, but I’m not sure I have all the variables keyed in just right, especially the cam and head specs. All help will be appreciated.

The combination:
Parts he has*
454 std bore, stock crank, stock rods from Summit 3/8 bolts*
L-2349 speed pros* – plan to mill to dome to .195 (21.6 cc)
Crane energizer roller rocker arms*
2” hooker headers*
2.5” pipes w/flowmasters*
400 turbo – 11” convertor (of unknown stall speed)*
2.73 peg leg* - looking for a 3.42 posi

Lunati Hydraulic #302A6LUN Cam = I 276 E286 (221 & 230 @ .050) .515 lift
781 or 049 heads – springs to match cam - 3 angle vj – pockets ported & gasket matched new valves- milled for flatness and or compression
Performer 2161 intake
Performer quadrjet 1901 (to use cold air induction set up)
MSD ready to run distributor and wires
Edelbrock water pump
New 4 core copper radiator


My main concern is compression vs. octane with this cam/head/piston combo. I think the headers are too big, but we have them. The block has been decked, but I haven’t checked actual deck height yet. Of course it will get balanced after I check all the clearances.

My questions:
1) Will this combo run on 92 octane ok for street use only?
2) Will the rockers fit under stock type valve covers and a/c brackets?
3) How much would 2.19 + 1.88 valves help? What about Pro-flows?
4) Any estimates on DD and DCR?
5) Where do I get flow figures for similar heads?
6) Where do I get cam timing figures for this cam?
7) Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance, sorry for the length of this.

Jeff

bump

sell the 2" headers and buy some 1-3/4" headers.

junk the headers..........go small..........with that cam keep compression around 9.5 to 1 but if you wanted to squeeze more out of it you could go as high as 10.25 to 1 maight have to play with the timing some to keep it out of pinging..............the rockers would work you would have to double up the valve cover gaskets..........the bigger valves will help for sure.................

While I think the headers are a very small issue, check this out, $168 for coated Hedmans is a deal.

http://www.paceparts.com/page.asp?id=628

Does your friend already own the cam? Dennis is right about the CR. If no one else gets to it, might be able to run a quick DCR cal'c for you tonight.

Just for reference, I'm running Hookers with 2" Primaries on my 95' Camaro.

Isn't the Lunati Hydraulic #302A6LUN ground on a 115 LSA?

If you already have the headers,run 'em..

Just checked, its on a 112 lsa, for DCR calculations, assume you phase it +6 advanced, i.e. on a 106 Intake Centerline....

with 117cc heads and slugs down .010", I get 9,65 static, and 7.80 dynamic. Good for mid-range fuel I should think. You'd want it a bit higher for all out power. ( and it would require premium fuel ). He might wnat to consider leaving 25cc on the dome, which brings dynamic to 8.0, again, assuming 117cc heads.

Those heads , at least the 049s are usually huge bathubs, not 117, more like 120cc. So all these calculations are likely low depending on the chamber size.

The Energizer rollers will fit under the cover ( unless you have an angled cover to clear the booster )by using a single rubber gasket on the valve cover ( i glued it ), and a double cork FelPro glued to the heads. Make it look 'stock' by spraying the outisde edge of the cork with silver engine paint. you'll also need valve cover bolts slightly longer than stock.

Thanks for the info. I like the double gasket trick.
I'll work on the header situation...thanks for the link, what a deal!
The items marked * he already has. We have not ordered the cam yet. Do you have a suggestion?
He says premium fuel no problem due to limited use (mostly weekends). But,I'll cc the heads and mill block and heads and pistons to nail the C.R. (with a little cushion).
Anybody with an opinion on the valve size + brand?
Thanks again,
Jeff

Jeff, You might consider stepping the cam up to say, the same grind Chris uses, the 302A7. A slighty better grind IMHO, but still within the same duration range. Might also want to minmize the flycutting of the domes, and shoot for 10:1-10.2:1. IMHO, it would make more power and still be a relatively docile street ride.

CHris is running the stock valve sizes, you might think about that. For your rpm range, I don't think I'd go any fancier than the GM take out valves from competitionproducts.com, which are around $90 a set.

Just for reference, I'm running Hookers with 2" Primaries on my 95' Camaro. and spraying it with 500 hp of nitrous ;)

Originally posted by Rapid Robert:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr /> Just for reference, I'm running Hookers with 2" Primaries on my 95' Camaro. and spraying it with 500 hp of nitrous ;) </font>[/QUOTE]I may not be sprayin' 500 but I am spraying every bit of 325, and they are doing fine. They flow way better than I expected. I'm sure it would do better with some larger primaries, but these cost $149 a pair, and Lemons wants a grand for some real headers....

You can fit full rollers under short valve covers without haveing to add 2 gaskets, u just need crower short poly locks not the long ones u get with the rockers, i have a 502 bbc with stock aluminum short valve covers and crane roller rockers and all i had to do was get short poly locks and they fit perfectly.

Think about a different intake. Unless they have changed it has the peanut port configuration and will really hurt you as far as flow.

Call Lunati at 901-365-0950, ext 126, and talk to Steve Slavik.
He had this cam* in his yellow/black Chevelle, with the 454, and drove it about 5 or more years.

UDHarold

*276/286H12, .515/.515 valve lift.....

Thanks for all the input, everybody. No nitrous on this one. My car is a different matter...

He wants to run the cold air setup, so I am concerned about being able to run a quadrajet and also the manifold height. I'll check the ports.
Anybody tried the edelbrock performer q-jets?

Harold, thanks,I'll definitely call Steve. By the way do you know the timing numbers on this cam for DCR and DD? (Is it asymmetrical?)

Thanks,
Jeff