I HAVE A 65 el camino that apparently had a gm 151 327/350 hp cam installed at the dealership at englewood chevrolet in march of 1965 installed into a L-77 220 HP 283, I AM IN THE PROCESS OF REBUILDING THE MOTOR and was wondering if this cam is the best choice for my set up, it ran kinda wierd before i yanked the motor i don't know if it was because of the cam or if it was due to the fact that the motor was tired and needed valve seats? I need to know if i should add more compression as it is 9;25 to1 ? has anyone run a 283 with the l-79 cam? i had 1;94 valves installed in the power pack heads will this help?
L-79 cam for a 283? Need help
jared68nova
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the 929 was in all base v8's from the 195 hp 283- the 300 hp 327, right? that aint gonna work for me i have had that cam in almost every car i have owned before changing them out of course, what about the LT-1 solid cam?
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1,794 Posts
Here is the problem as most see it. You have a small cubic inch engine, with small port heads. If you choose one of the Chevy solid lifter cams, you wont have any bottom end, and with restrictive heads, you won't have any top end. If you could find some used Dart Sportsman II's, or a good set of double humps, I would suggest any of those cams.
Also, having experience with the 140 cam in a 302, I would avoid it no matter what. If you never intend on driving below 3500 RPM, that's the cam for you. In a street car, it's impractical. I would use the 178 in a 302 with Dart heads and 3.73+ gears, and a 2.5 box.
I would run 1 1/2 or 1 5/8" headers, but no larger. Also, the longest headers I could find. If you decide on a 30-30, advance it 8 degrees. If a 178, I would also advance 6 degrees. Same with a 151, 6 degrees.
I consider all the above good advice. The best advice is call UDHarold, and see what cam he would advise to crutch the parts you have. I still think something like 214-218intake, 225-230 exhaust, on a 108 LDA is what you would enjoy driving. A hydraulic, of course. If you change heads, you can go with a solid high winder and love it, but that will need 4.56+ gears for a good runner. Just my opinion.
Something else you need to know: a SBC with 2.2, 3.73, solid lifter cam, and 26" tires will do 70 MPH in first gear. I consider a 2.5 and 4.56 to be good street gears with a solid lifter 302.
DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER BUILDING A SOLID LIFTER SB WITHOUT A SCATTERSHIELD.
Also, having experience with the 140 cam in a 302, I would avoid it no matter what. If you never intend on driving below 3500 RPM, that's the cam for you. In a street car, it's impractical. I would use the 178 in a 302 with Dart heads and 3.73+ gears, and a 2.5 box.
I would run 1 1/2 or 1 5/8" headers, but no larger. Also, the longest headers I could find. If you decide on a 30-30, advance it 8 degrees. If a 178, I would also advance 6 degrees. Same with a 151, 6 degrees.
I consider all the above good advice. The best advice is call UDHarold, and see what cam he would advise to crutch the parts you have. I still think something like 214-218intake, 225-230 exhaust, on a 108 LDA is what you would enjoy driving. A hydraulic, of course. If you change heads, you can go with a solid high winder and love it, but that will need 4.56+ gears for a good runner. Just my opinion.
Something else you need to know: a SBC with 2.2, 3.73, solid lifter cam, and 26" tires will do 70 MPH in first gear. I consider a 2.5 and 4.56 to be good street gears with a solid lifter 302.
DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER BUILDING A SOLID LIFTER SB WITHOUT A SCATTERSHIELD.
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670 Posts
You asked for some 283 combo's and here is an experience I had with a very streetable one that sounded healthy thru the pipes too.
A few years back (ok more than a few) I built a 283 with cast flat tops in it. I used a .425 .425 206/206 with a 110 LSA. I put a brand new set of World SR tourqer 305's out of the box on with the supplied springs. YES the 305 torquer heads. If I am not mistaken those heads were 58cc's 1.94/1.50 or similar out of the box. The cam sounds small, but this was an awesome little combo on pump gas. I ran it in an 85 SS monte with a TH400 and 3.73's I used TCI's saturday night special. I used an edelbrock performer with a 650. Later for fun, I put the smallest fixed nos wet kit on it. I think it was 75hp. What a blast the car was to drive. Another one I sold like an idiot....
A few years back (ok more than a few) I built a 283 with cast flat tops in it. I used a .425 .425 206/206 with a 110 LSA. I put a brand new set of World SR tourqer 305's out of the box on with the supplied springs. YES the 305 torquer heads. If I am not mistaken those heads were 58cc's 1.94/1.50 or similar out of the box. The cam sounds small, but this was an awesome little combo on pump gas. I ran it in an 85 SS monte with a TH400 and 3.73's I used TCI's saturday night special. I used an edelbrock performer with a 650. Later for fun, I put the smallest fixed nos wet kit on it. I think it was 75hp. What a blast the car was to drive. Another one I sold like an idiot....
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45 Posts
who is udharold and how to i talk to him?
If we are keeping the restrictive intake ports on '896' or '520' 1.72 heads, I'd go single pattern. Something like and Isky 262 or 264 would have some 'sound' (108 LSA), and work a whole lot better than a L79 cam.
This is a high lift cam and it needs all the valve you can give it!
You would be better off to go to a double hump head from a 327
with the 202 valves. Fuel will be the next issue ,It will perform the
best with a min. of a 650 cfm carb. Boosting the comp. ratio to at
least 10:1 will give you the best performance.
Hope this helps
Sam
You would be better off to go to a double hump head from a 327
with the 202 valves. Fuel will be the next issue ,It will perform the
best with a min. of a 650 cfm carb. Boosting the comp. ratio to at
least 10:1 will give you the best performance.
Hope this helps
Sam
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G
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·UDHarold once owned Ultradyne Cams, onna the best cam businesses there was!
You can call Harold here
(662) 562-4933
And if you do, please say hello from ol' pdq67 for me!
You can not go wrong w/ a UDHarold spec'd cam!!!
pdq67
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote
You can call Harold here
(662) 562-4933
And if you do, please say hello from ol' pdq67 for me!
You can not go wrong w/ a UDHarold spec'd cam!!!
pdq67
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote
FYI
My motor is not being built to be a high winding ground pounding race motor.
It's going in a full time street car for cruising.
My purpose was to freshen up the motor and get a little more torque on bottom end and some additional HP to handle accessories to be added at a later date.
Mike
My motor is not being built to be a high winding ground pounding race motor.
It's going in a full time street car for cruising.
My purpose was to freshen up the motor and get a little more torque on bottom end and some additional HP to handle accessories to be added at a later date.
Mike
Which is even another reason to go with the 262 Voodoo. Harold knows his stuff, that cam is 219*/227* .468/.489 112/106
With 1.6 rockers its lift is .499/.519 call lunati and have it ground on a 110, you wont be sorry. This cam has great street manners and runs like a whitetail deer on opening day.
G
Guest
·You'd better be running small valve heads on her w/ a cam w/ that much lift on a 283 as I see it..
STREET CAM...............
Install this one and GO!!
Clevite PN 229-1998; 258/219/270/229, 114/110, .456"/.479", and lash at .022" and .022".
It or the old -097.
pdq67
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STREET CAM...............
Install this one and GO!!
Clevite PN 229-1998; 258/219/270/229, 114/110, .456"/.479", and lash at .022" and .022".
It or the old -097.
pdq67
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote
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22,967 Posts
The cam and lifters as stated in my previous post for Mike's engine is already in hand.
The motor is now in the process of being assembled...
The motor is now in the process of being assembled...
How could lift hurt? Get the seat-to-seat "right" for CI and CR, then the more lift the better, IMO.
I also don't really see the need for a solid in a STREET car running from idle to 6000 rpm. JMO.
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1,794 Posts
We have a guy who doesn't want his 283 to be a dog, but wants a mean lope. Those things are mutually exclusive. He's been given a lot of good advice on making his small engine into a good streeter, but he's not taking it. He needs a 350 with a mild Voodoo. There is no shortage of cheap 350 blocks. Northern sells a good 350 kit for under $200; a 383 Scat kit for under $550. All new parts. Either of those would provide good performance with a lope, and get him into the 13's.
G
Guest
·The reason for the small valve heads on a 283 is that w/ big valve heads you may hit the tops of the cylinder lips at lift if it is too high..
4" cylinders are made for big valve heads! Notice the 1.84"/1.5" valves in the 305HO engines and the 1.72"/1.38" valves in the 267.
This why I keep mouthing about using 1.84"/1.5" valve -601 heads on a 292 and 2.02"/1.60" -291 heads on a 301/306 depending on what pistons I find..
pdq67
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4" cylinders are made for big valve heads! Notice the 1.84"/1.5" valves in the 305HO engines and the 1.72"/1.38" valves in the 267.
This why I keep mouthing about using 1.84"/1.5" valve -601 heads on a 292 and 2.02"/1.60" -291 heads on a 301/306 depending on what pistons I find..
pdq67
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1,794 Posts
Marooned,
Not specifically! Comment was aimed at Jared. However, you also are getting a cam with an intake closing of 40 degrees ABC. For a small cubic inch streeter, I like something about 10 degrees sooner, as others have said in this thread. In making suggestions, there are a lot of things we don't know. I have had SB "street engines" with cams in the 250 range. I also ran wide ratio 4 speeds and 5.38 gears on the street. I did that stuff because I liked winning. Back in the 60's, we had maximum compression street engines. Leaded "Ethyl" was 113-114 octane when delivered to the stations. Those days are gone forever!!!!
Today, those types of engines are unrealistic, and thanks to modern heads and cams, unnecessary. If you want to build a small CI engine, fine. With the right heads and cam, you can build an impressive and practical driver. Little heads and a big cam is never a good combo. If you want to work with small engines, you can't build them with the same parts as large engines. If you do, your power band will be beyond usuable.
Another thing! If you are building or rebuilding any engine today, don't even consider a flat tappet cam. The factories have given us hydraulic rollers that will last. Use them. If you can afford to step up to solid rollers, that should be first choice, IF you want performance. A roller will give less dilution at overlap and a broader torque curve, no matter what the duration you choose.
With the exception of the 097, all of Chevy's performance cams are ground on too wide lobe centers for good street performance. Cams with less duration, more lift, and closer LDA's make torquey streeters, and they sound better. By the way, when you use the 097 cam with FI, it doesn't lope. I'll let someone else explain that!
Now, who's stealing the post?
Not specifically! Comment was aimed at Jared. However, you also are getting a cam with an intake closing of 40 degrees ABC. For a small cubic inch streeter, I like something about 10 degrees sooner, as others have said in this thread. In making suggestions, there are a lot of things we don't know. I have had SB "street engines" with cams in the 250 range. I also ran wide ratio 4 speeds and 5.38 gears on the street. I did that stuff because I liked winning. Back in the 60's, we had maximum compression street engines. Leaded "Ethyl" was 113-114 octane when delivered to the stations. Those days are gone forever!!!!
Today, those types of engines are unrealistic, and thanks to modern heads and cams, unnecessary. If you want to build a small CI engine, fine. With the right heads and cam, you can build an impressive and practical driver. Little heads and a big cam is never a good combo. If you want to work with small engines, you can't build them with the same parts as large engines. If you do, your power band will be beyond usuable.
Another thing! If you are building or rebuilding any engine today, don't even consider a flat tappet cam. The factories have given us hydraulic rollers that will last. Use them. If you can afford to step up to solid rollers, that should be first choice, IF you want performance. A roller will give less dilution at overlap and a broader torque curve, no matter what the duration you choose.
With the exception of the 097, all of Chevy's performance cams are ground on too wide lobe centers for good street performance. Cams with less duration, more lift, and closer LDA's make torquey streeters, and they sound better. By the way, when you use the 097 cam with FI, it doesn't lope. I'll let someone else explain that!
Now, who's stealing the post?
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45 Posts
i don't need my 283 to sound like some all out drag car i just need a little lump to it, i know i would be better off running a 350 or maybe my 383 stroker but that would take away from the originality of my car, and like i said before it already has a strange begining, it basically came with the 151 cam since it was installed 2 weeks after new at the dealership, there is a wax pen marked 151 on the heater core cover from 1965, i just needed to know what to expect from the combination as my car would barely even run due to the motor bein in such bad shape, true you guys have all recommended good cams and i thank you and i will call ud harold as see whats really goin on. That clevitte cam is looking kinda interesting though....
G
Guest
·jared,
For my next junk292/301/306 depending on piston cost I have a CHEAP solid lifer cam from PAW in my bedroom closet along w/ my new 300-36 intake!
It is spec'd at;
280/246, 108/108, .498" gross lift and need's .030" lash on both sides per the cam card and the PAW part number is 10341.
I'm going to run 1.6 ratio rockers on her and I figure then it will be right at .501" net lift!
And, fwiw, I'm going to shift it at 8,000 rpm just for the fun of it!! heck, I used to shift my old junk301's -097's Duntov up there around 7,500+ rpm too when I had new points
Bttt, a Performer 204/214 will do a stock 195/220hp/283 FINE by me..
pdq67
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote
For my next junk292/301/306 depending on piston cost I have a CHEAP solid lifer cam from PAW in my bedroom closet along w/ my new 300-36 intake!
It is spec'd at;
280/246, 108/108, .498" gross lift and need's .030" lash on both sides per the cam card and the PAW part number is 10341.
I'm going to run 1.6 ratio rockers on her and I figure then it will be right at .501" net lift!
And, fwiw, I'm going to shift it at 8,000 rpm just for the fun of it!! heck, I used to shift my old junk301's -097's Duntov up there around 7,500+ rpm too when I had new points
Bttt, a Performer 204/214 will do a stock 195/220hp/283 FINE by me..
pdq67
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote
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