[1bad69+70camaro]

well after all i might build a cheap 540. i know that cant be but a budget deal i guess. i will be using iron eagle 308 square ports. what kind of power from a solid flat tappet in the .600 range and a victor jr intake? i want to shoot for 650 horses.

 

[blue66]

I think you have a realistic goal in mind, and will make a very fun street engine

 

[Busted Knuckles]

I think the heads may be a bit small. Most street 540's run at least 320cc runners and if you have a light ride, 345/355 might be closer to what you need. See if you can locate 540Hotrod, that's Jim M from Houston. He's trying to break into the 9's with his '67 'Vette and it looks to be his intention to start working with solid flat tappet cams as soon as he accomplishes his e.t. goal. He's helped on a lot and is a great source of real-life engine/combo experiences.

 

[67RS502]

Yea, Jim aint gonna go for a cam with only 600"
Something in the 270/280s duration with as much lift as you can.
Super Victor, 1050 or atleast a HP1000 (which is way too small.)
I'd at least do a good VJ and some bowl work. Should make 700+ easy.

 

[UDHarold]

A good cam that will give you 650+ BHP with .600" NET at the valve is the Lunati 402A8LUN. It is 292/301 at .020, 259/267 at .050, .625"/.625" gross valve lift, and 110 LSA. It is a good street and strip cam, capable of 100,000 miles on the street--It has run 300 hours non-stop at Mercury Marine, 5000 rpm.
540s can use bigger cams, I used to use a 296/304F on 110 or 112, with 263/271 at .050, .630"/.630" gross valve lift, and it worked just fine too. However, it would be a custom grind from Lunati or Bullet.
Both these cams meet your goal of 650+ BHP and .600" net valve lift.
Compression ratios should be in the 9.5 to 10.5 range.

UDHarold

 

[norvalwilhelm]

540s can use bigger cams, I used to use a 296/304F on 110 or 112, with 263/271 at .050, .630"/.630" gross valve lift, and it worked just fine too. However, it would be a custom grind from Lunati or Bullet.
Both these cams meet your goal of 650+ BHP and .600" net valve lift.
Compression ratios should be in the 9.5 to 10.5 range.

UDHarold

I am running a crane billet cam with 262/270 @ .050 and .631 lift with red zone lifters in my 540 with 114 lobe centers.
I wanted to keep the lift low for street use to try and cut down on the guide wear.

 

[firestone13914]

A 540 will make a ton of low end power, but I still think you need to consider your compression when choosing a cam. As I understand, with lower compression, once you get to a certain point, bigger cams start to kill low end power and dont add a whole lot to the top end. I would try to find a cam that matches the powerband of the heads. Those heads are recommended for under 7000 RPM and under 500 cid. Being that they are going on a 540, that just means that the RPM range at which they will make power will be reduced. I figure they will run out of steam around 6000-6500 RPM on a 540. I assume you will be around 10:1 compression. Being that it says under 7000 RPM, I think a cam recommended for a 3000-7000 RPM range would be about as large as I would go. That will also test the limits of your compression. As an example, the 306S cam by comp is 260 @.050 .629 lift recommended for 3000-7000 RPM, but it is also recommended with 11:1+ compression. The 294S is 248 248 @.050 .595 .595 lift, recommended for 2500-6500 RPM, and with 10:1+ compression. I think something inbetween these two would be your best bet. For instance, the XS290S (252 260 @.050 .598 .598)may not be a bad choice it is recommended for 2800-7200 RPM, but they dont give a compression recommendation. You can go larger, but I think you will just be creating a miss match for where your heads are going to want to make power, and the amount of compression you will have. You may add a little on the top end with a bigger cam, but I bet you will really start to widdle away at the low end power. Any one else have any opinions or experience with respect to this? My guess is that you will be in the 625-650 range wtih a cam like this at around 6000 RPM.

Adam

 

[BillsCamino]

My cam specs...
295/304; 266/271 @ .050"; .763/.742" gross lift (solid roller)
With a true 11:1 CR.
Makes pretty good power all around but especially on the top end ... 1.4X 60' times with good traction...shifting @ 6400.

 

[540Hotrod]

Budget 540????

I've run a flat tappet in mine a couple of times. Not really one that is great for it..it was one I had laying on the shelf and I stuck it in there mainly to make some 2000 mile Hwy trips without solid roller worries. I pulled off a 2000 mile roadtrip once with the .731 lift roller...but figured I was lucky.

The flat tappet I used was a Crane 266/276 with .600/.620 lift on a 110. As I said..it's a long way from what it needed...but it ran pretty well. It would still easily get 7000 rpm in upper gears.

No real good track data....but I did run it a couple of times at a Vette event. Literally drove in from the first 1000 mile leg of the 2000 mile road trip, unloaded luggage and lawnchairs and pulled to the line. So this is with plain BFG street radials, fat front tires, closed exhaust, no tuning tricks or carb spacers etc. Traction was a little tricky...I think I had some 2.30-2.40's 60's!! But I finally got my foot in it in 3rd gear and ran some low 11'[email protected] mph. I think it could do near 133-134+MPH in *race trim*. With the solid roller it usually MPH's in the 139-141 mph range depending on heat conditions.

Now put a *good* aggressive flat tappet in there as compared to this very soft one (170*@.200) and add some intake lift with either lobe or rockers and I think it could really fly! That will be one of my next big trials.

I would definitely use larger heads on it...those will run out of air early...long before a solid flat tappet does.


JIM

 

[UDHarold]

The 292/301F is 170/176 at .200, the 296/304 is 173/180 at .200.

UDHarold

I also have some new designs, and some cores to put them on.
Solid lifter---288/296F 259/[email protected], 171/[email protected], either .626" or .643" gross valve lift on intake and exhaust, LSA to order.
Solid lifter----292/300F 263/[email protected], 175/[email protected], .655"/.655" valve lift.
Hydraulic----288/296H 233/[email protected], 147/[email protected], .575"/.599" valve lift.
Hydraulic----296/304H 241/[email protected], 155/[email protected], .599"/.623" valve lift.
Hydraulic----304/312H 249/[email protected], 163/[email protected], .623"/.646" valve lift.
All cams are custom-made, so LSAs are made to order.
These are not UltraDyne cams.

These take a few extra days, to be sent out to be phosphated.

 

[mc71454]

Mine is a 252/260 @0.050 with .680/.690 lift on a 112 LSA, 5* advanced. 335AFR Heads.

I don't know the actual power it is producing, but sure is Fun :hurray:

Need more cam for this year though, that cam was left over from when I used the 310 Canfield Heads. Going to swap the cam for this season though.

 

[540Hotrod]

That second one looks pretty neat there Harold. Whenever I get to the flat tappet testing stage...for sure it's going to be some Harold cams I use!!


JIM

 

[SS540_1970]

I am in the middle of a similar project right now. Built a 540 with flat tops (9.5:1 calculated) and used the 320cc Pro-topline heads and a Lunati 402A8LUN solid flat tappet, with the idea of going rolloer down the road. It has a new style Weiand Team G.

Took it to the dyno a couple of weeks ago and only got a best of 637 HP at 5700 RPM with the dyno shops 1000HP holley. Now....not sure about the dyno that day, reputable dyno shop but never got two runs to be the same or even close and the operator was always fiddeling with the throttle linkage and claibration.

Anyway, the problem I think I might have is the static compression ratio. Exhaust temps were high during the dyno pulls with air-fuel ratio good. Someone on this forum recomended that I cc the Pro-toplines as they are sometimes big, which I didn't:sad: , but now will tear apart and look at, maybe mill em down for a 10:1 "Real" ratio as long as I am at it.

 

[540Hotrod]

Give us a little more info...what intake did you have? Can we see the full dyno curve?

What are the specs of that cam?

JIM

 

[HP Hunter]

Some basic rules with 540 engines.
You can't use 4150 carbs, you cant use any intake that dont have a 4500 carb base, and you cant use hydraulic or solid lifter cams.

If you go with those rules you will be just fine and above 700 horsepower even at 9.5 compression.

Harry P. Hunter

 

[jks67SS396]

ive got a pro systems hp1000 that flows 1040 for my 540. havent fired it up yet, but should within a few weeks. street driven, 2x3.5" headers, afr 315s, 257/[email protected] SR cam, 10.4:1 CR. im hoping to make around 700. we'll see...

 

[Busted Knuckles]

Some basic rules with 540 engines.
You can't use 4150 carbs, you cant use any intake that dont have a 4500 carb base, and you cant use hydraulic or solid lifter cams.

"Can't" is a mighty big word. I'm afraid you'll find a few folks here that will argue all those points

 

[yanniz]

Some basic rules with 540 engines.
You can't use 4150 carbs, you cant use any intake that dont have a 4500 carb base, and you cant use hydraulic or solid lifter cams.

If you go with those rules you will be just fine and above 700 horsepower even at 9.5 compression.

Harry P. Hunter

you are kidding, right?

 

[Bob West]

Some basic rules with 540 engines.
You can't use 4150 carbs, you cant use any intake that dont have a 4500 carb base, and you cant use hydraulic or solid lifter cams.

If you go with those rules you will be just fine and above 700 horsepower even at 9.5 compression.

Harry P. Hunter

Where do you draw the line cubic inch wise? and why? I bet I can't use a dual plane on a 505 either

 

[HP Hunter]

Everyone will do what they think is best.
Someone mentioned 700 horsepowr. I wish you luck with a 500 cubic inch and a dual plane and any hydraulic or solid and 9.5 compression. I cant do it normally asparated maybe others can???

Harry P. Hunter