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406 SBC cam recommendation

49K views 23 replies 17 participants last post by  c4racer 
#1 ·
A friend of mine with 406 small block in a 65 Chevelle needs a cam recommendation from the "real pros" :beers: It's a weekend cruiser with appox. 10:1 CR. Turbo 400 with a 2400 stall converter and 3:55 gears. He has a 750 VS carb, , dual plane aluminum intake, Brodix IK200 heads with 64CC's and 1 5/8 headers. He needs enough vacuum for power brakes.

He wants to run a hydraulic flat tappet cam (I know ;) ) So far Comp Cams tech said to run a XE284 (240/246 507/510) Thier own website recommends a 2800+ stall for the XE284, so I don't know why they would recommend it :confused: The next smaller cam XE274 is 230/236 duration, 490/490 lift which I thought would be a better fit if using a Comp XE.

I prefer Lunati, so my suggestion would be the Vodoo 60103 which is 227/233,
.489/.504

What do you guys think of these choices in this 406?
Any suggestions?

Thanks
Mike
 
#3 ·
In 383 and 400 small blocks I have best results with single pattern cams.
Here's the magic hydraulic flat tappet 400 SBC cam.

Lunati pn 30106 - 234/234/488/488/110/106

It's listed as an oval track cam for two barrel 350 engines but it's a great 400 street cam. I tried a lot of flat tappet hydraulic cams and this one is it.
 
#4 ·
Im running a VERY VERY combo similar in my car. Im running a Comp XS274S solid flat tappet. I would go for the XE274 if you want the hyd. This cam has great street manners and still runs great at the track. Has gone 11.89 at 115 untuned. I think the XE284 is a bit to much cam for the 2400 converter. I would want at the very least a 2800 with that cam.
 
#5 ·
This is my example , a 68 elcamino 406 ,10.2 c0mpression , dual plane , 780 holley , topline 220 heads , hyd flatt tappet crane 284h06 , its 226 @ .050 ,and .470 lift on a 106lsa ,single pattern , i ran a th350 ,2400 converter ,3.73 gears and 28x10.5 slicks . it ran good 12.50 @ 110mph . NOTHING special . i would guess in alot lighter car very low 12s.

Another killer grind is isky 284mega , its 236@ .050 and .510 lift on a 106lsa .
 
#6 ·
A friend of mine with 406 small block in a 65 Chevelle needs a cam recommendation from the "real pros" :beers: It's a weekend cruiser with appox. 10:1 CR. Turbo 400 with a 2400 stall converter and 3:55 gears. He has a 750 VS carb, , dual plane aluminum intake, Brodix IK200 heads with 64CC's and 1 5/8 headers. He needs enough vacuum for power brakes.

He wants to run a hydraulic flat tappet cam (I know ;) ) So far Comp Cams tech said to run a XE284 (240/246 507/510) Thier own website recommends a 2800+ stall for the XE284, so I don't know why they would recommend it :confused: The next smaller cam XE274 is 230/236 duration, 490/490 lift which I thought would be a better fit if using a Comp XE.

I prefer Lunati, so my suggestion would be the Vodoo 60103 which is 227/233,
.489/.504

What do you guys think of these choices in this 406?
Any suggestions?

Thanks
Mike
I have a 67 with A very similar combo I have a lunati bracket master 480lift 230@50 292adv. 109lsa it drives nice and makes pretty good power . the car ran 12.80 with no tuning on regular radials.
 
#10 ·
A friend of mine with 406 small block in a 65 Chevelle needs a cam recommendation from the "real pros" :beers: It's a weekend cruiser with appox. 10:1 CR. Turbo 400 with a 2400 stall converter and 3:55 gears. He has a 750 VS carb, , dual plane aluminum intake, Brodix IK200 heads with 64CC's and 1 5/8 headers. He needs enough vacuum for power brakes.

He wants to run a hydraulic flat tappet cam (I know ;) ) So far Comp Cams tech said to run a XE284 (240/246 507/510) Thier own website recommends a 2800+ stall for the XE284, so I don't know why they would recommend it :confused: The next smaller cam XE274 is 230/236 duration, 490/490 lift which I thought would be a better fit if using a Comp XE.

I prefer Lunati, so my suggestion would be the Vodoo 60103 which is 227/233,
.489/.504

What do you guys think of these choices in this 406?
Any suggestions?

Thanks
Mike
VOODOO 60103= weekend cruiser needs torque. You can not beat that cam with it's fast ramps in a HFT cam unless you go custom roller. dual pattern cam is best with aftermarket heads on the STREET ..IMHO
 
#11 ·
Ok, After going back and forth on this, we have it narrowed down to a Comp Magnum 286 (236/236 @.050 490/490 lift) or the Comp Magnum 280 (230/230 480/480) I ran the DCR calculator on these and the 286 came in at 8.24 and the 280 was 8.44 Static CR is 10.6 For a weekend street car with power brakes, which cam would you choose between the two? Would the 286 have enough vacuum in a 406? Would it have enough torque down low? Is the 280 too small for a 406?

Man it's even tougher picking a cam when it's not for yourself. :wacko:

Thanks for the help.
Mike
 
#18 ·
A friend of mine had A60104 in A very similar 406 very streetable and ran 11.70s on drag radials.
 
#16 ·
The thing I like about the Lunati cam is I tried it and the Comp Cams Magnum cams in a 350 circle track engine. The Comp Cams Magnums needed more valve spring pressure to control lifter pump up and valve float. Even with lighter springs I could get higher RPM's with the Lunati cam. That told me a lot about the cam right there. Later I tried the cams in street 383's and 400's. The Lunati cam was perfect. I've used it with a Holley two plane Z28 intake and a two plane Weiand Stealth intake.
 
#19 ·
A friend of mine with 406 small block in a 65 Chevelle needs a cam recommendation from the "real pros" 🍻 It's a weekend cruiser with appox. 10:1 CR. Turbo 400 with a 2400 stall converter and 3:55 gears. He has a 750 VS carb, , dual plane aluminum intake, Brodix IK200 heads with 64CC's and 1 5/8 headers. He needs enough vacuum for power brakes.

He wants to run a hydraulic flat tappet cam (I know ;) ) So far Comp Cams tech said to run a XE284 (240/246 507/510) Thier own website recommends a 2800+ stall for the XE284, so I don't know why they would recommend it :confused: The next smaller cam XE274 is 230/236 duration, 490/490 lift which I thought would be a better fit if using a Comp XE.

I prefer Lunati, so my suggestion would be the Vodoo 60103 which is 227/233,
.489/.504

What do you guys think of these choices in this 406?
Any suggestions?

Thanks
Mike
Well I run a 400 30 over 110 pop up Keith blocks 5.7 rod 400. Crack 315/315-557/557 solid lifters run low 7 all day and the Eight Mile 690. 1 time
 
#21 ·
How how did that get dug up. What’s funny is I have that comp cam originally mentioned in the thread the 240/246 one. Motor was built around that same time as this thread too. It’s ok but it’s a pretty big cam even in that motor. Maybe too big for a hyd flat tappet in general. But it runs strong and made 510/500 and car runs mid 11s. 2nd gen camaro.
 
#22 ·
A friend of mine with 406 small block in a 65 Chevelle needs a cam recommendation from the "real pros" 🍻 It's a weekend cruiser with appox. 10:1 CR. Turbo 400 with a 2400 stall converter and 3:55 gears. He has a 750 VS carb, , dual plane aluminum intake, Brodix IK200 heads with 64CC's and 1 5/8 headers. He needs enough vacuum for power brakes.

He wants to run a hydraulic flat tappet cam (I know ;) ) So far Comp Cams tech said to run a XE284 (240/246 507/510) Thier own website recommends a 2800+ stall for the XE284, so I don't know why they would recommend it :confused: The next smaller cam XE274 is 230/236 duration, 490/490 lift which I thought would be a better fit if using a Comp XE.

I prefer Lunati, so my suggestion would be the Vodoo 60103 which is 227/233,
.489/.504

What do you guys think of these choices in this 406?
Any suggestions?

Thanks
Mike
Your own recommendation is the right one in my opinion. You just about nailed it except I'd be lifting quite a bit higher with those heads .

For a modestly geared street car you want lower duration with a tighter LSA and higher lift. You put a lunati voodoo low 220's @ .050 duration with about .550 to .600 lift on a 107 or 108 absolute max LSA in that combo and itll come out the hole like all hell fire lol
Low overlap is what you want there .
If you cannot find those specs or close to those specs in the lunati catalog then look at Howard's cams or bullet cams. If not there then have someone cut the cam to your specs and stick to your guns .

The alternative is using a higher @.050 duration ...eg...235 and up along with a spread LSA and it'll run good and be streetable but guess what along with that??
Less power and torque ALL the way through the rpm range . Dont fall into the BIB trap !
Bigger is better is NOT better !
It's not a race car . Keep the overlap and duration low and tighten the LSA and that thing will run like a bat out of hell .
 
#23 · (Edited)
For a street driven “weekend cruiser” 400 with 200cc heads and power brakes, I’d keep it around 230*@0.050” and no tighter than a 108 lsa. Lunati> Comp. Thats just personal preference.

He’s also kind of reverse engineering with matching the cam to converter and gears. Should be the other way around. But it’s all close enough in that realm of mid level street able small blocks to work well together. I think comps original recommendation is too much cam for his combo.

edit: very old thread. Damnit. Well, I still stand by my response.
 
#24 ·
Since I have that cam in the same size motor I would agree. Not enough vacuum for power brakes and there is no power or rpm benefit to offset that. To me once you get up in the 240 range you are better off with a roller cam of some sort or at least a solid FT - a hyd FT cam is limited to about 6K rpm anyway so a smaller cam will actually make more power under the useable curve.
 
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