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Anyone running a Comp Magnum 292...

17K views 16 replies 14 participants last post by  pdq67 
#1 ·
I'm looking for some input from anyone running Comp Cam's 292 Magnum (or another brand with the same specs). Advertised duration is 292 @.060, and 244/244 @ .050. It's going in a 402 with 049 heads, so if anyone is using this came or a similar one I'd like to know how streetable it is.
Can you drive it around town without much trouble (I know this cam requires a pretty high stall speed)? How does that big of a stall (3000-3500) act in city driving? Ever race it? What about highway driving with this set up?
I realize it will have low vacuum for power brakes.

I'd really like to hear people's opinion of this cam, and how it performs in different driving situations (racing, cruising, whatever). It would also be nice to hear from someone who has it in a 396/402, for comparison purposes.

Thanks fellas,
Nooj
 
#2 ·
just did a quick searc, that is an older design cam, much better ones out there now. It would have a lopey idle and probably make around 425hp or more in a well done 402. It would require a 3000 stall and 10/1 comp would be good to have
 
#4 · (Edited)
My firend had the comp 292 cam in a 70 ss396(402) with holley 750 dbl pump and Edel trq al intake,headers,stock 290 heads,crane varable dur lifters, 331 12bolt posi ,with m21 close ratio muncie.

I had the car tuend/dialed in well and with the varialbe dur lifters blleding off a few deg dur 2 low speed the motor/car was very streetable.

He could be in stop & go traffic for a while and then get into it and it would run very strong to approx 6200-6300 rpms.

Even with the var dur lifters it had only 8 inch vac @ 950-1k rpm idle that sounded hot/ratty and you definately knew something was under the hood.

But i was surprised the power brakes worked ok at low speeds but maybe it had something to do with the master & booster being newly restored.
But the brakes felt a little hard at idle but stoped ok and other than that they were fine.

If you dont run var dur lifters that cam will idle very doyugh in a 402 so keep that in mind.

But if you use variable dur lifters to tame the low speed duration some and have the expertise to dial in the carb & timing for the 292 cam it can work fine on the steet as my friends car did.

Since the muscle cars are getting worth so much my friend asked me to cam it down and reinstall the stock intake and q-jet which i did.

The cam and lifters have approx 3500-4k miles on them and the lifters were kept in order to keep correct lifter woth each cam lobe that it was broken in on.

As a matter of fact i think he still has the carb and intake too which was removed a couple months back with the cam & lifters which he wants to sell . The same parts new (cam/lifters/al intake/750 holley dbl pump) would be approx $850-$900 and i bet he would sell the pakage as a matched working unit for less than half of that so pop me an email if interestsed.

Scott
 
#5 ·
Back in high school I had a buddy that ran that cam in a 10:1 327 with "2.02" heads. It was "wicked fast" and probably would have run high 14's in his lightened 70 Monte Carlo. Who would have guessed back then (1986 )that a modern grind with ~20dg less duration would have run all over it.
 
#6 ·
I had the Comp 292, but it was in my 427, so my results won't completely correspond to what you would get. I have 10.5 compression, 3200 stall, 781 heads, Edelbrock 2.0 intake. The cam had a very strong idle that I really liked. The engine was pretty strong, especially once it got the rpm's up. Downshifting into second at 55 mph and nailing it scared many a passenger.
The vacuum was adequate; the brakes were good enough for me but I wouln't exactly depend on them for my family's daily safety. I used the car for city driving quite a bit. The high stall was cool, but I can see how it might annoy some people. It did give some valvtrain ticking, as many people have accused it of doing, though not enough to be a deciding factor. But it sure did have a great idle.

I'm rebuilding my engine and I was researching different cams. I spoke with UD Harold (if you're not familiar with him, do a search here. He's the resident cam genius and has designed many many camshafts) and he said that the 292 was not very accurately advertised, that it was probably closer to 300.
However, after speaking with him, I decided on a Lunati VooDoo 268. It won't have quite the peak numbers, but he feels that it will have more area under the curve. The VooDoo is a much newer and better design than a lot of older cams. Sorry I can't give you a comparison, I don't have the engine finished yet.
Hope that helps some,
Danny
 
#7 ·
Hey guys- Thanks for all the replies! My major dilemma was whether or not I should keep this cam. The 402 I have came with my 70 SS, freshly rebuilt, with the 292 comp installed. I'm a long way from having this car running, so that's why I wanted to get some input and opinions from people who have a similar set up- so that I could make the decision to keep it or change it.

From what I gather I should be able to keep it and still have a good weekend cruiser (provided I get all my components matched up and tuned) Plus- it'll have a very sweet sound rolling into the car shows. I guess I can always change it later on if I get tired of it.

Thanks again guys,
Nooj
 
#8 ·
Thats the best way to go.......run what ya brung! Its in there, and if its capable of running....its worth trying out. Yes, its easier to swap this stuff out before its all together and on the road....but its also very hard to rely on somebody elses definition of streetable! On that topic....opinions seem to vary a LOT. I may hate it....but you may love it! You never know. The topic of streetability is not as cut and dry as some other topics...and thats why its a tough issue. So, yes, with something modern, you can potentially be just as fast and more streetable.....but you might find out that you dont care either. Id run it and see how it works for you.
 
#11 ·
I'm running that cam in a 9.7:1 468...it runs pretty decent. I've got a 3000 stall convertor. With traction the car will run mid 12's and it's street manners are really good. I can putt around town without any issues...
 
#13 ·
I'm running the 292 in my 71 chevelle with a 30 over 402, had a T400 w 2800 stall and ran great in traffic, really nice sounding cam. I currently changed over to a muncie and it run's even better, haven't ran it at the track since we don't have one now, but from stoplight to stoplight it run's pretty stout. With a speed demon 750, eldebrock dual plane manifold, stk ported heads, it's pretty solid combination.

If braking is important, it's non existing, vacuum idles at 12 inches and goes down to 5 with a couple of pumps of the brakes. I ordered a electric vacuum pump and when I get it, hopefully that will solve that problem. Goodluck
 
#14 ·
With 049 heads, the most CR you can have is about 9.5/1 if the motor was built with the .330+ dome pistons from the 396-375 motors. More than likely it has the .188 dome 402 pistons and your CR is at best 8.5/1. I would drop the cam way down and just pick something with a 110LSA to keep it lopey sounding. I had ran my 402 (9.5/1CR motor) with the Crane 286Powermax 226/236 on 112LSA, this was lopey sounding in a 402 motor. We also ran the next smaller cam - Comp 280 230/230 on 110LSA in a 396 motor. This cam was still very lopey at idle. I personally like 112LSA for a little more vac at idle and a wider powerband.
 
#15 ·
I ran the comp 280H 230/230 @.050 with a 396 that had CC heads w/about 9.5:1 and the car was a little soft on bottom. I had some other issues which may of comtributed to that though. The 292 would be out of the question for your app. IMO.
 
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