My 540 12.7 compression with a very low .700 lift cam 270/275 duration 112 ls made well over 800 hp @ 7000 rpms on gas. Street/strip (mostly street). Basically everything else the same as you plan. Eagle crank and rods. Dart Block. 335 AFR heads. 1050 Dominator. CNC Super Vic intake. 1 inch open spacer. You might want to consider bigger headers and a different convertor for the 555.

 

Hi mate, I also have 540 although I’m not real happy with the cam, lunati 241, 249 at 0.050
It’s a bit tame and idle not very lump
Just wounding if you could send me your cam spes
Much appreciated
Mark

 

Headers are a problem. Unless I want to spend $1000 for some lemmons. Unfortunately for a gbody, I don't have the option for an off the shelf header that is larger than 2". Once I nail down a combo I will call ptc and see what needs to be done to work with the combo. How much over 800 did it make

 

You might be ok with the 2" if your only gonna spin to 7000. Another guy on this site just did a mini 540 header study recently. I think it was John Wilson's 540 for his truck. 2 1/8 would probably be better for hp., 2" for torque. My 540 made 827 @ 7000 and was still climbing 6 hp per 100 rpm. 695 ft. lbs @6000. That was the 13th pull and with my luck, I had seen enough. By the way, you wont regret buying Lemmon's headers if you go that route.

 

Under 6500 the 2" did fine on my 540. They were up 40+ ft lbs in the midrange. By 7300 or so they were down 50 HP/ The 2-1/4's were fine above 7000 but lost a ton down low. 2-1/8" seems to be a nice happy range for most of them. They picked up the low end and held on well after 7000 rpm.

RPM range will determine a lot of it.

JIM

 

Heres some more to read from yesterday:
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=254116

 

I just sold my hand ported 325's off of my 540 and bought the 355 CNC dart pro 1 heads. My 540 went to 7600 with those heads and went 9.30's at 141. I did feel the heads were small but I used them because I had them. I think for your combo a bigger head would be better but I think it will have to have a higher rpm limit like 7500. From my converstaions with AFR they said that the 335 would be ok but for max power a 357 head would be best and spin it higher. I went with the Dart heads however because I already had the matching Jesel rockers and pushrods from the 325 which were a direct bolt on to the new heads.As far as a cam, Chris Straub made one for the new heads that is meant to peak at 7-7200 and be shifted at 7500. The duration on this is 275/287 on a 109LSA. This however is dependant on the heads. I think Chris will tell you that you will need a much larger cam to fill the cylinder based on the smaller 325 port.

 

I don't have a problem with the 7500 rpm. I turned my 468 that hard but thought I wouldn't have to with this. But after doing some research I might have to. I don't have the budget right now to go with a cnc'd head so I am looking at the as cast Dart 345's and AFR 345's.

 

Ross,

x2 on the Lemons headers, made 12 HP more than Hooker 2 1/8th inch in back to back dyno pulls. Used Dart Pro 1 355 cnc heads on a 555 made 952 HP over 800 Torque with a roller cam at 13.5 to 1 compression with the 454-r intake. Pro-Systems dominator. .770lift custom grind cam with 1.8 rocker on intake. If you want a good compromise I would look at the Lunati 50204 roller, I think .689 lift, very easy on parts. Might not really pull but to about 6800 but would go 7000. Would not be afraid to drive it on the street.

I have a Eagle Rotating assembly in my 496 and have had very good luck.

Your plan looks good.

Good luck.

 

What does your car run, what is the weight, what transmission and gearing?

 

I am hoping to make in the 840-850hp range. Does that sound possible with the parts that I am considering?

 

Yes it's possible. Mine made 840 on the dyno with too big of a cam and too small a head. By the time the cam woke up the heads were done. I think with a 345 head you should be fine. Don't be afraid to spin it, mine is happy shifting at 7500. When I was looking for heads, many people were telling me of 540+ combos going to 8000.

 

I have an idea as to why you want to run E-85 , but based on my little experience with it , its a SOB to get started in colder weather. The consistency of the fuel itself is apparently an issue as well . The owner of the car below chose the fuel.

I have a 67 Camaro chassis car in my shop right now that I'm finishing for a friend that uses a 468 w ported BB-2 heads , 13-1 , good roller and a Pro Systems E-85 Dominator that made 814 . In this Camaro , which weighs about 2800 or so w/driver it should run 8.90s or so once its sorted out.............I'll know this spring.

 

There are several of my friends around here that have a good handle on e85 and have been running it for years on there cars, mostly boosted applications. They are a little harder to start than gas but definitely easier than alky (which I have ran too). Big reason for me to run the fuel is the price, I have a station not 5 miles from my house, and it was $1.41 last night vs. 7-8 dollars for race fuel. Also, should make a little more power than gas.

 

Next time send him a PM instead of resurrecting a thread that died 16 years ago...