This is my 1st post, so thanks for any replies! I bought a 1971 chevelle with a 1969 396 4 bolt. It was rebuilt (probably 402 now) and appears to be mostly stock. Here is what I have for it so far.
Hooker competition headers s/s 1.75" out to dump exhaust through 40 series flomasters
Edelbrock performer rpm intake manifold with edelbrock 750 manual choke.
HEI distributor accell with high heat cables 900 series
The heads are stock 3931063 and 3917215 cast iron, closed chamber, oval ports, 100.9 cc. intake 2.06 exhaust 1.72
Now my question is, assuming the rest of the motor is of stock specs, what cam should I go with.
This is going to be a weekend car and will eventually have a 4 speed M22 put in along with gears..I am thinking 3.55 or 3.73's.
I would like to get around 425hp. Is this possible with this setup plus a new cam????
Thanks for any info you can provide.
Eric

Eric, congrats on buying the Chevelle and welcome to TC.

That's a good set up you have there. Do you know what cam is in it now? What kind of cam are you looking at; hydraulic, hydraulic roller, solid, or solid roller? If you pick a cam in the 224 to 230 range at .050, you should be pretty happy. I would stick closer to the 224 range if I was you. It will probably end up in the 375 to 400 HP range, but you'll have more fun with it.

Is this engine/car running now? Do you feel it should be a stronger runner? It may just need a good tune to wake it up.

You have a very good start. If it has the stock style domed pistons and the 063/215 heads, you have 10.25:1 rated, closer to 9.75--10:1 actual CR. 396 engines need to rev-up to make power, ideally not something one does with cast pistons. Forged pistons 'could' be in you engine, have you looked? Do you have paperwork from the last rebuild? If the pistons are forged, one direction and 6500-7000 rpms if the bottom end was built right. If not, we go down a different path....... 3.76 stroke and cast pistons....your critical speed is around 5800-6000 rpm.

Tell us about your current tuning as Brad suggested....
Remember; cam, matching springs, proper clearances.

I had the xe276 cam (230/236@.050) in a stock 396 with headers and stealth intake. The heads (215s) had some bowl work, but still retained the 2.06/1.72 valves. The motor made power to 6200 but did its best shifting at 5700-5800rpm. The cam had a lope but was still very streetable.

Thanks for all the input guys. Unfortunately I have no former build sheet and I am pretty much starting from scratch. The last owner had the car sitting up for 3 years w/o street time. When I took posession of the car, the timing was way off. So I fixed the timing, changed distributor cap/coil, chaged oil of course. Did a compression check (150 in all but two that had 160) Ran the car, carb was bad. Now I have purchased the Edelbrock 750 w/ performer RPM intake. I haven't removed the heads yet. I have no idea which pistons are in there, but given the set up, I would assume its as close to factory as possible.
I am thinking of going with the comp cams L201176 model. Hydraulic 224/224 @.50" with .51 lift. It only has a rpm range of 1500-5800. Is this too mild for what I want??
Also, should I get the heads modified at all?

Eric,
The Comp 280 Magnum 224*/.510"/110 LSA is a nice cam for a street 396.
It is a QUANTUM improvement over the tiny stock 325 horse and slightly larger 350 horse 396 cam.
I'd like to try my 454s mild cam in a street 396
Crane 282 H08 w/ 226*/.533"/108 LSA
You can't go wrong with a
Voodoo 60202 219/227* .530/.542" 110 LSA
with a lotta converter and 3.73 gears maybe a
60203 227/233* .542/.554" should be on a 110 LSA

Main concern is finding out what pistons you have.
Remember your clearances will have to be checked and you need the correct springs for the cams....