Been drag racing alot at NYIRP and I am definetly getting addicted. Right now the best time I have is 14 flat @98.5mph with a crappy 2.16 60ft time. I just put in an electric fan for my cheap mechanical and put on Cal-Trac traction bars(man does the car stick now) and I expect it is a solid 13.7 if not faster car now(going on vacation so won't be able to track test for a few weeks). I want to pull a 12.9 with this combo before the end of summer. I know I need a cam and am open to all other suggestions. Here is the combo:

81 Camaro-3800lbs or so

355
Ported 1.94/1.5 Dart S/R Heads(I dropped 3 tenths and gained 2mph with no other changes excepted ported heads so at least I did something right-I expect them to flow in the 230/170 range @.500 Lift now)
Dart Sportsman II Dual Plane Intake
Holley 650 Double Pumper
1.5 Roller Rockers
9.0 Compression(can bring it up to 9.5 with a steel shim gasket)
Comp 50-state legal 203/212@.050 hydraulic cam with .425/.439 Lift(246/262 advertised)-its TINY

Tremec TKO 5-speed and 3.42s in the rear, Nitto Drag Radials and Cal-Trac tractions bars and subframe connectors.

So what you guys think, what can I do to get a 12.9? I'm really addicted now and I'm not gonna be able to stop until I see 12s! What cam reccomendations to you guys have? I am willing to go solid. Always open to try one of the Ultradyne cams I hear good things about.

ahhh....im waiting for all the "XE262 or XE 268" comp replys.

With the deep first gear of the tremec, and your 3.42's you actually have alot of gear to play with. What are you standards for idle quality, power brakes, etc,etc??? Id say your first change should be the cam for sure, with the stick you dont need to worry about stall rpm and all that crap so a "bigger" cam isnt going to hurt. You could jump to a solid cam in the 235/240 @ .050 range, and get matching springs/kit and im sure youde pick up A TON with no other changes. Also IF YOUR QUENCH ALLOWS you could go to the steel shim gasket if you want to do the labor. Just my thoughts.

Originally posted by Nickel333:
ahhh....im waiting for all the "XE262 or XE 268" comp replys.

With the deep first gear of the tremec, and your 3.42's you actually have alot of gear to play with. What are you standards for idle quality, power brakes, etc,etc??? Id say your first change should be the cam for sure, with the stick you dont need to worry about stall rpm and all that crap so a "bigger" cam isnt going to hurt. You could jump to a solid cam in the 235/240 @ .050 range, and get matching springs/kit and im sure youde pick up A TON with no other changes. Also IF YOUR QUENCH ALLOWS you could go to the steel shim gasket if you want to do the labor. Just my thoughts. Idle can be rough but would like to still idle below 1000. With the overdirve in the Tremec I need a cam that will have at least some throttle response cruising around 2K on the highway. But the 12s come first, I have another daily driver so this car is becoming more of a 3-4 times a week car to cruise nights and stuff. I still would prefer power brakes as vacuum reservoirs look mad ugly in my opinion.

I love to see another DART customer!! I just ran a 12.95 in my 66 Chevelle. Which was the first time I had ever been to a track. Try some higher octane fuel. I mix 110 and 93 octane 50/50. Also try to lighten the car up some. Losing 100lbs will lose you a tenth of a second. My car weighs 3170.

Originally posted by chevydog66:
I love to see another DART customer!! I just ran a 12.95 in my 66 Chevelle. Which was the first time I had ever been to a track. Try some higher octane fuel. I mix 110 and 93 octane 50/50. Also try to lighten the car up some. Losing 100lbs will lose you a tenth of a second. My car weighs 3170. Higher octane fuel will only hurt your cars performance if it isn't needed to run total timing without detonation. In other words, you want to run the lowest octane you can with full timing, and without detonation.

Aside from a cam swap, if you want to maintain street manners, are you open to nitrous??
Just a thought, best of luck!

Well if all you want is to idle under 1,000 then your options are close to unlimited. I run a howard 268/278@.050 in my 350 and i idle @ 1,100. you dont need race gas at all, it would be the biggest waste of money you could imagine.

NOW....chevydog66, where did you weigh your car? Have you weighed it more than once? 3160lbs is nova/camaro/chevyII weight with no options. And you have a full framed 66 chevelle, that, without the driver, and in full street trim should weigh at least in the 3,600 lb range. Just curious.

What are you timing spec's?

No cam. Blue bottle.

Timing is 11 initial, 25 mechanical for a total of 35 all in about 2,900rpms. 10-14 degress of advance too.

Nickel-I don't want to go too big on the cam like the one you mentioned because I need to have some throttle response cruising in overdrive at 2k on the highway.

I want to hold off on the blue bottle for now- not too sure how my hyper pistons would like that.

I think Nickel was just saying he's running a LARGE cam and still idling at 1,100 rpm's. He's saying that you can run a bigger cam and still keep your idle down.

I agree cam and weight would be my first choices. Be sure all the support systems ie exhaust/fuel pump etc. are sized right also. I am happy with my xe-268 cams performace. It is pretty mild in a 405ci small block. I would think that it would work well in your motor. Solids and hydraulic rollers are very popular and in many cases will edge out a hyd cam for performance, something to consider.