Radical/agressive cam/lope
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Yes they give a mean sounding idle.
The problem is without modern head’s and increased compression their bite doesn’t match their bark.
Bogie
The problem is without modern head’s and increased compression their bite doesn’t match their bark.
Bogie
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2,804 Posts
First question - do you want actual power, or just a mean sound? As Bogie already mentioned, aggressive cams need compression and good flowing heads to deliver power.
A big cam with no other engine upgrades will give you an engine that is very “soft” for low end power, and not that great on the high end.
A big cam with no other engine upgrades will give you an engine that is very “soft” for low end power, and not that great on the high end.
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654 Posts
A chevy L79 or L82 cam will have a slight exhaust note without the ill affects and ride down the road somewhat smoothly. Mated with turbos or glass packs will enhance the bark sound. Having these grinds with closer lobe centers (110 degrees) will lope more. Staying under 225 degrees will still maintain a streetabe car without digging into the engine/adding compression assuming you have 9:1 or more to start with. Ten or eleven to one would be better.
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1,159 Posts
Speaking of less than 225 degrees duration, an old skool CompCams 270H will sound pretty nice w/o totally killing low-mid range power. With its 110 LSA, it should lope a little more than the GM L79 cam and require less compression. COMP Cams CL12-211-2: Magnum 270H Hydraulic Flat Tappet Camshaft & Lifter Kit Lift: .470" /.470" Duration: 270°/270° RPM Range: 1800-5800 - JEGS High Performance
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8,822 Posts
Another option is the Edelbrock Performer RPM cam at 234/[email protected] and .488-.510 lift. It's a long slow ramp with overlap so you get a rumpty rump idle without killing it too badly.
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712 Posts
build a powerful engine and it will sound good
Or buy a tesla with fake sounds added by sound system
Or buy a tesla with fake sounds added by sound system
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1,050 Posts
I happen to have that Comp 270H-CL-211-2 cam in "The Judge" and I'm very happy with not only the sound, but the performance is excellent! This is a video with the electric cutouts opened. When they are closed, it still sounds fine, but lots quieter..
VIDEO !! This is the "Resurrection of the Judge", not the original...All outside trim/bumpers/grill done .......finally... 3/8/2018... better have your speakers going ! ! ! (Scroll down)
Check out how to build a classic 1949 Ford street rod with modern features and power and convenience you never thought possible. With a 383 SBC Stroker engine, S-10 front frame, Jaguar XJS/XJ6 rear end, air conditioned, power brakes, and power steering.
49fordcoupe.smugmug.com
This is the first drive, better idea of the sounds.
VIDEO - That little peel out was a tad scary, I nearly fell back in the unbolted seat....You can hear the high stall torque converter lets the RPM go up closer to the torque curve peak when I gave it about 25% gas... not the mention the huge tires squeaking just a tad ! Hope you have some good speakers..........By the way, that Donzi Sweet 16 with a supercharged Chevy engine in the background is for sale...
Check out how to build a classic 1949 Ford street rod with modern features and power and convenience you never thought possible. With a 383 SBC Stroker engine, S-10 front frame, Jaguar XJS/XJ6 rear end, air conditioned, power brakes, and power steering.
49fordcoupe.smugmug.com
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20,943 Posts
Howards Cams has some Rattler grinds you might want to look at. I'd prefer them over the Comp Cams Thumpr.
An old favorite is the Crane Cams 274H06 grind.
274°/274° advertised duration, 218°/218° duration @.050", .450"/.450" valve lift, tight 106° LSA
The tight lobe separation angle (LSA) gives the lope you want while helping low and midrange torque.
It can be found as the Summit Racing #1785 cam.
Isky 201271 and Howards 110991-08 both are something very similar, on a slightly less aggressive 108° LSA
An old favorite is the Crane Cams 274H06 grind.
274°/274° advertised duration, 218°/218° duration @.050", .450"/.450" valve lift, tight 106° LSA
The tight lobe separation angle (LSA) gives the lope you want while helping low and midrange torque.
It can be found as the Summit Racing #1785 cam.
Isky 201271 and Howards 110991-08 both are something very similar, on a slightly less aggressive 108° LSA
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65 Posts
The 270h do sound good with flowmasters
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65 Posts
Well not building a race motor or anything and on a strict budget so if a cam increases a little hp im ok with that
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2,804 Posts
It sounds like a cam with about 218-220 @.050 duration and a tight LSA might be what you are looking for. It will give you a meaner sound, but still keep a reasonable power band for the street. I can’t see something like a 235 @ .050 duration cam working well with a stock head flow and compression SBC, but I’m sure it’s been done.
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712 Posts
The 1985 Corvette fuel injection system does not respond well to a bigger cam. To make more power you need to change a lot of items. Starting with 230 hp. Your engine makes peak power around 4500 rpm but the torque from idle is very good. With a bigger cam (no other mods) you will just soften the bottom end and add very little if anything to top end.
Overall not a good idea
Overall not a good idea
Take this from me and from my experience as I was where you was 20 plus years ago and I look back now and over the years I have changed completely about stuff. First don't get that bug of wow that sounds awesome and I want something to sound like that. I would follow the guys advice above on some cams and I honestly would beg you to stay away from any camshaft that is marketed about the "sound" part of it as they are steering you with a lot of hype to get your emotions stirred up and think that would be cool to have and that is there goal to push that narrative and I love the rump rump sound of a racy motor and trust me it sweet but there are drawbacks to all that and it sounds like you are a rookie and are new to all this.
First time I made one of many mistakes and poor choices in my lifetime was starting off like you are now and I ended up with a very poor match up of parts and a horrible ride that only sounded good more then it ran. I had a stock 350 with smogger heads and only 8.5 compression ratio and a th350 with a stock stall convertor. The rear gearing was fine with 3:73 rear gears in my old truck I used to own. I heard a racy idle one day on a chevy Monty Carlo that my Father was working on and I asked what made it sound like that and he told me the cam.
I asked more about it and I was at the time getting a rebuild planed for my engine as it needed it as it had leaks all over the place. This was about 1999 so flat tappet cams could still be used with out all the issues that plague many old time hotrodders nowadays. I had the engine built back together but it was all stock except the intake manifold and with a new set of smogger heads, the famous 882 ones. I bought me a Comp cams 292H Magnum Flat tappet cam and lifter set. Well long story short. The engine sounded nice and racy and loved the rump rump part and I thought it ran nice but I was just a rookie and did not even know how to adjust an idle on a carburetor let alone know anything about motors.
I just knew I love the sound of the racy idle. The motor sounded good but that was the end of it. Needing a 1200 rpm idle to keep it running with a band aid of a tune for a carb and a very to small of a convertor to where every time I put it into drive it would chirp my back tires, some of my former work friends thought that was cool and said "wow that must make a lot of power". I loved the attention at 21 years old a it was rare where I live to see anything like that even back then.
Long story short I knew things were just not right as time went on and hated driving the thing as it was so soggy compared to when it was just bone stock with just an RV type cam and it ran so much better and I started to catch on about things. My Father did not have time right off to teach me and put me in the right direction on these things but I over time started to get interested in wanting to know more about stuff and learn. That is where you need to head to if you want to travel down this road as knowledge is power and will help you out in your journey to old school hotrodding.
I over time learned about engine setups and stuff and eventually got more into things and this build with all stock and a big cam got old really quick. I then still did not know enough yet but was starting to catch on things while working with my Father who grew up in the old days of old school muscle cars from the late 60's through early 70's era and he and my Mother both were big into the hobby. I talked about getting bigger heads that would work better with my build but he talked me into some high dome pistons,I questioned him on it lol but he said I would be fine and since he has been a mechanic and does alt his stuff I took his word for it.
After some time and looking at my catalog and stuff and picking up on some stuff here and there talking with other folks who had some decent builds but nothing radical with folks I worked with. I did not like it from the start with the piston choice and had a bad feeling about it before the engine was done that I would not like something about it and worried about the compression but yet I was still so new to things.
Long story short the engine was a 355 with some bigger 200cc heads and using high dome Hyper pistons and re used my comp cam 292H Magnum cam and this time with a 3000 plus stall convertor and after it was all put together it sounded the same but with bigger heads and way more compression by two points and a right sized stall convertor, it ran a night and day difference and I loved the engine on how it ran but I hated the fact the compression was just to high as I had iron heads from World Products the old sportsman 2's. I had to many problems with detonation with this thing to where I had to slow back my timing that I did not like dealing with this build anymore.
So there was another build I was not happy with and not matched to what I do with my driving habits. For a weekend warrior with track time and race fuel it would have been fine but that is not what I did. I wanted to start fresh again and this time brand new on everything.
I was talked in to doing a stroker build which was a brand new block and I knew more this time and wanted to watch the compression part of things and also have something similar to the comp cam 292H which has 244/[email protected] with 510/510 lift and a 110 lsa. The cam I ended up with was a Crane cam which was slightly bigger in duration but not much but had a way tighter lobe separation angle. It spec was 302/302 246/[email protected] 501/501 lift with a 106 lsa.
This stroker motor with it being a 4.00 new bore was only a "377" but is mostly known as a 383 stroker which is done by replacing the stock 3.48 crankshaft with a 3.750 crankshaft and getting the required pistons to go with the change of stroke and most of the time folks have already done an overbore of .030 so that is there the 383 cubic inches comes from. The heads were changed to better Dart Iron eagle 200cc and were ported and bowl blended for the best flow possible.
This build was a really radical build for the sound and put out a good bit of power and was a lot more torque since the bigger stroke. The kit I got was a new block but the rotating assembly was an old stock 400 small block crankshaft and 5.565 400 small block rods. When I first got the kit I looked at those rods and the crank being used ones and did not like that tiny looking rod with what I had into that motor. I ran it for about three years before I started to read up on folks having flat tappet cam failures and stuff and I was not having much fun driving such a raspy rump rump big time engine around town and on the occasional highway trips.
I decided to go with a hydraulic roller setup and this time put everything brand new from top to bottom. I initially was going to do a 383 build but I started to do my homework and wanted to know more about these engines and how they work and other factors and wanted to make sure I was putting something together that I would like and no be aggravated with it. I decided to run just a 350 again since I learned about needing a rod bolt clearance job done on the rods if using some rods as stock type ones the bolts would not clear without grinding things and I just wanted things to be able to be put together.
There are a lot more options nowadays compared to many years back. I got this 350 put together and this time I decided to go with a slightly smaller cam with a bit of less duration while trying to keep a racy idle sound. This is where it once again has caught up with me about that racy idle part. I went with a Crane hydraulic roller and it was similar to the previous cams but it had a wider lobe separation angle of 112 and I was used to the previous stroker build with a very tight 106 which affects the choppy sound of a camshaft as the tighter the lobe separation angle the more rough of an idle it will have.
This build was all matched up front to back and ran good and strong but once again the "racy idle thing" I drove it to work one day and a guy who worked with me said "wow that sounds nothing like your old one, this almost sounds like stock" I made once again a big mistake that cost me a bunch of time and wasted money way back.
I ended up buying a "Comp cams big mutha thumpr hydraulic roller cam" I knew a bit of stuff by this time but yet still not enough to know what the heck I was doing with things but you have to sometimes learn the hard way.That cam was a massive 243/[email protected] and a 107 lsa. I had my Father put that cam in for me and I loved the sound that it gave and drive it back to work when it was done and the guy heard it and said "now that sounds good" I let what somebody else said about my build get the best of me and also I liked the more rumpy rump sound I could get.
This build was more them matched up well with the proper amount of compression minus a hair and the proper stall convertor and all things being equal sounded like a mean engine and even ran well but the previous Crane cam which was made for performance and not sound still did a way better job and gave me better driving though it was still not a cruiser build. I after only of three months had enough of the nice sound but everything else just being a pain in the back type of a deal and only having 6 inches of vacuum in park.
I then decided its time to know everything about rebuilding a small block chevy and also how to tune a carburetor and other stuff. So right there was another big mistake of getting into the I want a rough idle camshaft thing so I can get peoples attention and have that smile on my face until I start to drive it and tune the thing and being very soggy until you get on the highway.
I then did my first cam swap myself and got a way smaller Lunati Voodoo hydraulic roller cam which was even smaller then my very first Crane hydraulic roller camshaft. It was a 231/[email protected] with a 110 lsa. It gave me about 12 inches of vacuum in park which was still not much and does not do well with brakes and that lower amount of vacuum. It was at this time I had two trucks one which I still have and the more radical one that I have been talking about in this whole post I ended up selling back in 2018 do to finical and health reasons.
That truck was setup about as good as it could get with the Dart iron eagle 200cc ported heads and with the lunati voodoo hydraulic roller cam it ran really strong and was a lot nicer of a ride compared to all of my previous builds when comparing power and handling and the over all feel of things. It was not something in my opinion that is an everyday driver type of a deal but opinions vary among fellow hotrodders out there on what is streetable and what is not.
I am sorry about this long post but I wanted to give you a glimpse of how just one poor choice or parts or making a wrong choice of a certain part can make or break a build and make you wished you did something else instead. Basically one build mismatched parts, another build not the right situation for what I did for such high compression at was almost 11:1 with iron heads and pump gas.
Another build with a nice setup but really radical for the street wise camshaft wise and got a rotating assembly that I was not fond of but did not know about stuff enough at the time until looking more into things after it was already done. Another build I let some guys comment and also that liking the racy sound bug keep biting at me and ended up with a waist of time and effort with a slightly used Comp cams big mother thumper cam going up on ebay as fast as I could get it sold and was so happy to see it shipped off to never see it again.
I was going to keep one of my trucks for the more radical way and my other truck which I currently got more for the milder side and I have a slightly shorter story about its history but trust me I have made mistakes and changes with it as well. Bottom line don't put an engine together to get the biggest most racy idle nor just for getting peoples attention and also for big numbers to brad about. Also when it comes to getting peoples opinions that is a good thing but I have also learned over the years at the end of the day it will be "you" that has to make the final decision on what your going to do with your build and its good to learn the ins and outs of how an engine works and is built and know your parts and the different types and materials of them and the pros and cons of using either one such as piston material and crankshaft material such as being a cast steel vs a forged crankshaft.
There is so much more I could say and I might have already scared you away by now but trust me its not that confusing once you have a basic understanding of the tech aspect of things across the board such as knowing the way a camshaft functions and what the numbers such as duration and lobe separation angle mean and what your looking at. You also need to factor into things such as if your using an automatic transmission the amount of stall speed you will need for a torque convertor to run with whatever camshaft you choose to use and also make sure your rear end gearing will get you into the proper rpm range that you build will need to go with the camshaft you choose. It has to be matched from front to back.
If your going to use a carburetor setup then you need to know what style your going to use and learn the inside and out of how they work and function and then ask the more knowledgeable people questions if needed to help steer you in the right direction but also do as much research as needed and get as many books as you can on carburetor turning so you can know how to adjust them and set them up.
Also take peoples opinions seriously but also you will have some critics along the way who might hurt your feelings or might not give you the answer you want to hear but sometimes folks give answers that even they might sound harsh at first but it can actually help you as there just looking out for you which is why I am writing a book here almost as I don't want you to walk down the same road I did over a twenty year period and just wrong move after another and more time wasted and lost then enjoyed.
I now with my current truck stay with a camshaft that is only 268/272 220/[email protected] with 510/510 lift with a 114 lobe separation angle and I have around 17 inches of vacuum in park and have plenty of good brakes and I also have things matched front to back and even though it does not sound racy at all and really does not have any lope to the idle I am finally happy with this build as I have been with a few in the past with this truck that has been on the milder side and have always been more happy with that as I don't race or go to the track so you have to be honest what are you going to do with your ride and how are you going to drive and use it.
There is a lot to learn once you go from a daily driver to want to make a performance build and so many choices can be made that can make or break you.Take your time and don't jump into things like I did and also make sure to not cut corners on your build as well as you want to do it right the first time and if it takes more time to get what you want then give it more. We all can give you choices but it will be up to you to make the final one and make sure its a good one and not the wrong one like i have done one to many times just for that racy idle. Just be careful of what you read on the marketing stuff wise about cams as comp cams sold me on the terms such as "Thumpr Cams from COMP Cams maximize your engine's nasty-idling characteristics without negatively impacting streetability. "
That is just a phrase to catch your attention and make it sell. Trust me your better off with so many other options. The best time I had with that cam was when it was cruising away in the mail to somebody else to have its so called streetability without negatively affecting things.
First time I made one of many mistakes and poor choices in my lifetime was starting off like you are now and I ended up with a very poor match up of parts and a horrible ride that only sounded good more then it ran. I had a stock 350 with smogger heads and only 8.5 compression ratio and a th350 with a stock stall convertor. The rear gearing was fine with 3:73 rear gears in my old truck I used to own. I heard a racy idle one day on a chevy Monty Carlo that my Father was working on and I asked what made it sound like that and he told me the cam.
I asked more about it and I was at the time getting a rebuild planed for my engine as it needed it as it had leaks all over the place. This was about 1999 so flat tappet cams could still be used with out all the issues that plague many old time hotrodders nowadays. I had the engine built back together but it was all stock except the intake manifold and with a new set of smogger heads, the famous 882 ones. I bought me a Comp cams 292H Magnum Flat tappet cam and lifter set. Well long story short. The engine sounded nice and racy and loved the rump rump part and I thought it ran nice but I was just a rookie and did not even know how to adjust an idle on a carburetor let alone know anything about motors.
I just knew I love the sound of the racy idle. The motor sounded good but that was the end of it. Needing a 1200 rpm idle to keep it running with a band aid of a tune for a carb and a very to small of a convertor to where every time I put it into drive it would chirp my back tires, some of my former work friends thought that was cool and said "wow that must make a lot of power". I loved the attention at 21 years old a it was rare where I live to see anything like that even back then.
Long story short I knew things were just not right as time went on and hated driving the thing as it was so soggy compared to when it was just bone stock with just an RV type cam and it ran so much better and I started to catch on about things. My Father did not have time right off to teach me and put me in the right direction on these things but I over time started to get interested in wanting to know more about stuff and learn. That is where you need to head to if you want to travel down this road as knowledge is power and will help you out in your journey to old school hotrodding.
I over time learned about engine setups and stuff and eventually got more into things and this build with all stock and a big cam got old really quick. I then still did not know enough yet but was starting to catch on things while working with my Father who grew up in the old days of old school muscle cars from the late 60's through early 70's era and he and my Mother both were big into the hobby. I talked about getting bigger heads that would work better with my build but he talked me into some high dome pistons,I questioned him on it lol but he said I would be fine and since he has been a mechanic and does alt his stuff I took his word for it.
After some time and looking at my catalog and stuff and picking up on some stuff here and there talking with other folks who had some decent builds but nothing radical with folks I worked with. I did not like it from the start with the piston choice and had a bad feeling about it before the engine was done that I would not like something about it and worried about the compression but yet I was still so new to things.
Long story short the engine was a 355 with some bigger 200cc heads and using high dome Hyper pistons and re used my comp cam 292H Magnum cam and this time with a 3000 plus stall convertor and after it was all put together it sounded the same but with bigger heads and way more compression by two points and a right sized stall convertor, it ran a night and day difference and I loved the engine on how it ran but I hated the fact the compression was just to high as I had iron heads from World Products the old sportsman 2's. I had to many problems with detonation with this thing to where I had to slow back my timing that I did not like dealing with this build anymore.
So there was another build I was not happy with and not matched to what I do with my driving habits. For a weekend warrior with track time and race fuel it would have been fine but that is not what I did. I wanted to start fresh again and this time brand new on everything.
I was talked in to doing a stroker build which was a brand new block and I knew more this time and wanted to watch the compression part of things and also have something similar to the comp cam 292H which has 244/[email protected] with 510/510 lift and a 110 lsa. The cam I ended up with was a Crane cam which was slightly bigger in duration but not much but had a way tighter lobe separation angle. It spec was 302/302 246/[email protected] 501/501 lift with a 106 lsa.
This stroker motor with it being a 4.00 new bore was only a "377" but is mostly known as a 383 stroker which is done by replacing the stock 3.48 crankshaft with a 3.750 crankshaft and getting the required pistons to go with the change of stroke and most of the time folks have already done an overbore of .030 so that is there the 383 cubic inches comes from. The heads were changed to better Dart Iron eagle 200cc and were ported and bowl blended for the best flow possible.
This build was a really radical build for the sound and put out a good bit of power and was a lot more torque since the bigger stroke. The kit I got was a new block but the rotating assembly was an old stock 400 small block crankshaft and 5.565 400 small block rods. When I first got the kit I looked at those rods and the crank being used ones and did not like that tiny looking rod with what I had into that motor. I ran it for about three years before I started to read up on folks having flat tappet cam failures and stuff and I was not having much fun driving such a raspy rump rump big time engine around town and on the occasional highway trips.
I decided to go with a hydraulic roller setup and this time put everything brand new from top to bottom. I initially was going to do a 383 build but I started to do my homework and wanted to know more about these engines and how they work and other factors and wanted to make sure I was putting something together that I would like and no be aggravated with it. I decided to run just a 350 again since I learned about needing a rod bolt clearance job done on the rods if using some rods as stock type ones the bolts would not clear without grinding things and I just wanted things to be able to be put together.
There are a lot more options nowadays compared to many years back. I got this 350 put together and this time I decided to go with a slightly smaller cam with a bit of less duration while trying to keep a racy idle sound. This is where it once again has caught up with me about that racy idle part. I went with a Crane hydraulic roller and it was similar to the previous cams but it had a wider lobe separation angle of 112 and I was used to the previous stroker build with a very tight 106 which affects the choppy sound of a camshaft as the tighter the lobe separation angle the more rough of an idle it will have.
This build was all matched up front to back and ran good and strong but once again the "racy idle thing" I drove it to work one day and a guy who worked with me said "wow that sounds nothing like your old one, this almost sounds like stock" I made once again a big mistake that cost me a bunch of time and wasted money way back.
I ended up buying a "Comp cams big mutha thumpr hydraulic roller cam" I knew a bit of stuff by this time but yet still not enough to know what the heck I was doing with things but you have to sometimes learn the hard way.That cam was a massive 243/[email protected] and a 107 lsa. I had my Father put that cam in for me and I loved the sound that it gave and drive it back to work when it was done and the guy heard it and said "now that sounds good" I let what somebody else said about my build get the best of me and also I liked the more rumpy rump sound I could get.
This build was more them matched up well with the proper amount of compression minus a hair and the proper stall convertor and all things being equal sounded like a mean engine and even ran well but the previous Crane cam which was made for performance and not sound still did a way better job and gave me better driving though it was still not a cruiser build. I after only of three months had enough of the nice sound but everything else just being a pain in the back type of a deal and only having 6 inches of vacuum in park.
I then decided its time to know everything about rebuilding a small block chevy and also how to tune a carburetor and other stuff. So right there was another big mistake of getting into the I want a rough idle camshaft thing so I can get peoples attention and have that smile on my face until I start to drive it and tune the thing and being very soggy until you get on the highway.
I then did my first cam swap myself and got a way smaller Lunati Voodoo hydraulic roller cam which was even smaller then my very first Crane hydraulic roller camshaft. It was a 231/[email protected] with a 110 lsa. It gave me about 12 inches of vacuum in park which was still not much and does not do well with brakes and that lower amount of vacuum. It was at this time I had two trucks one which I still have and the more radical one that I have been talking about in this whole post I ended up selling back in 2018 do to finical and health reasons.
That truck was setup about as good as it could get with the Dart iron eagle 200cc ported heads and with the lunati voodoo hydraulic roller cam it ran really strong and was a lot nicer of a ride compared to all of my previous builds when comparing power and handling and the over all feel of things. It was not something in my opinion that is an everyday driver type of a deal but opinions vary among fellow hotrodders out there on what is streetable and what is not.
I am sorry about this long post but I wanted to give you a glimpse of how just one poor choice or parts or making a wrong choice of a certain part can make or break a build and make you wished you did something else instead. Basically one build mismatched parts, another build not the right situation for what I did for such high compression at was almost 11:1 with iron heads and pump gas.
Another build with a nice setup but really radical for the street wise camshaft wise and got a rotating assembly that I was not fond of but did not know about stuff enough at the time until looking more into things after it was already done. Another build I let some guys comment and also that liking the racy sound bug keep biting at me and ended up with a waist of time and effort with a slightly used Comp cams big mother thumper cam going up on ebay as fast as I could get it sold and was so happy to see it shipped off to never see it again.
I was going to keep one of my trucks for the more radical way and my other truck which I currently got more for the milder side and I have a slightly shorter story about its history but trust me I have made mistakes and changes with it as well. Bottom line don't put an engine together to get the biggest most racy idle nor just for getting peoples attention and also for big numbers to brad about. Also when it comes to getting peoples opinions that is a good thing but I have also learned over the years at the end of the day it will be "you" that has to make the final decision on what your going to do with your build and its good to learn the ins and outs of how an engine works and is built and know your parts and the different types and materials of them and the pros and cons of using either one such as piston material and crankshaft material such as being a cast steel vs a forged crankshaft.
There is so much more I could say and I might have already scared you away by now but trust me its not that confusing once you have a basic understanding of the tech aspect of things across the board such as knowing the way a camshaft functions and what the numbers such as duration and lobe separation angle mean and what your looking at. You also need to factor into things such as if your using an automatic transmission the amount of stall speed you will need for a torque convertor to run with whatever camshaft you choose to use and also make sure your rear end gearing will get you into the proper rpm range that you build will need to go with the camshaft you choose. It has to be matched from front to back.
If your going to use a carburetor setup then you need to know what style your going to use and learn the inside and out of how they work and function and then ask the more knowledgeable people questions if needed to help steer you in the right direction but also do as much research as needed and get as many books as you can on carburetor turning so you can know how to adjust them and set them up.
Also take peoples opinions seriously but also you will have some critics along the way who might hurt your feelings or might not give you the answer you want to hear but sometimes folks give answers that even they might sound harsh at first but it can actually help you as there just looking out for you which is why I am writing a book here almost as I don't want you to walk down the same road I did over a twenty year period and just wrong move after another and more time wasted and lost then enjoyed.
I now with my current truck stay with a camshaft that is only 268/272 220/[email protected] with 510/510 lift with a 114 lobe separation angle and I have around 17 inches of vacuum in park and have plenty of good brakes and I also have things matched front to back and even though it does not sound racy at all and really does not have any lope to the idle I am finally happy with this build as I have been with a few in the past with this truck that has been on the milder side and have always been more happy with that as I don't race or go to the track so you have to be honest what are you going to do with your ride and how are you going to drive and use it.
There is a lot to learn once you go from a daily driver to want to make a performance build and so many choices can be made that can make or break you.Take your time and don't jump into things like I did and also make sure to not cut corners on your build as well as you want to do it right the first time and if it takes more time to get what you want then give it more. We all can give you choices but it will be up to you to make the final one and make sure its a good one and not the wrong one like i have done one to many times just for that racy idle. Just be careful of what you read on the marketing stuff wise about cams as comp cams sold me on the terms such as "Thumpr Cams from COMP Cams maximize your engine's nasty-idling characteristics without negatively impacting streetability. "
That is just a phrase to catch your attention and make it sell. Trust me your better off with so many other options. The best time I had with that cam was when it was cruising away in the mail to somebody else to have its so called streetability without negatively affecting things.
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So what would you recommend? Im on a budget build. I know i want to change to a performer intake and ad a carb maybe a 600/650 holly
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Wow thanks for that info and experience you went threw. Im staying way from those type but think im going to go with the compcams 270H
The comp cams 270H is a good cam to use for a mild build and a daily driver build and though it will not have a rough idle like the upper cams, it will not sound stock by any means and will cruise all day long if you have a decent set of gears in the rear such as a 3.23 ratio or higher numerical wise. As far as your build on a budget goes I would use the performer intake or if your hood allows for the space and depending on what cylinder heads your using, the performer rpm would be better and also depending on what carburetor your going to use.
If your choosing to use a Holley carb I recommend a Quick Fuel slayer 600 vacuum secondary which will be calibrated out of the box slightly more on the richer side for a more performance bigger sized cam 350 build. If you want something different and cheaper you can go the Holley route of buying a good used Holley 600 vacuum secondary off of ebay for around a $100 bucks or so and then get a rebuild kit and a few items to add to the carb and it might need modified some but its an easy trick to do but won't get into all that right now but its what I currently run and its either a model 1850 which is a manual choke or an 80457 which is the electric choke style.
There is also the Quick fuel brawler carburetors that are also available but they cost a lot more. Sometimes Holley has some good deals on like new factory refurbished carburetors in there ebay store and you have to look around but thanks to covid they don't have as much as they normally do thanks to shortages and stuff. Look also into a Holley 600 Street warrior carburetor but the Quick fuel slayer 600 will have more advance tuning options along with the brawler carburetors vs the Holley ones mentioned and are better made in some aspects which I won't get into right now.
If you decide on an Edelbrock carburetor I recommend the AVS 2 650 which has annular boosters in the front and does a better job compared to the older AVS carburetors and they are pretty easy to tune as well but a Holley style will give you a lot more overall performance and can be fine tuned a little bit more then an Edelbrock carb can but since your build is not very radical at all and similar to mine with a camshaft size you can make a 600 vacuum secondary 1850 or 80457 work really easy with just a few upgrades which I can post for you and give you advice on what to do wise.
My engine is a 350 Dart SHP build along with having Dart pro 1 200cc aluminum heads and an edelbrock rpm air gap intake (which I don't recommend for your build) and I have a Scat rotating assembly with flat top pistons. My engine is not overly radical by any means and I am running like stated a streetable mild custom hydraulic roller cam with only [email protected] 510/510 lift with a 114 lsa and just a regular HEI distributor and a th350 with a 2200 rpm stall convetor and 3.42 rear gears and I have several carburetors at the side which are Holley and Quick Fuel ones.
On my truck during the winter time I use a used Holley 600 vacuum secondary I got off ebay for like $100 bucks shipped and then I got a secondary metering block kit for it from a carburetor shop called allcarbs, for around $45 bucks and it comes with a longer transfer tube for the side hung float fuel bowls and then I put rear jets on the rear and just a few other mods to the carb and she runs like a charm and really strong all over the place and fires up at the flip of a switch and is not to hard to tune for a build of what your looking for.
The only thing compared between the Quick Fuel ones mentioned above and the Holley brand ones is the Quick fuel ones will be a bit to rich out of the box on the idle circuit and the Holley will be kind of on the slightly lean side but depending on some factors on what heads you will be using and the intake it can vary on how different. On my Holley 600 all I had to do was just every so lightly enrichen up my idle circuit just a hair and it was ready along with tuning got the correct jet size needed.
That is all part of carb tuning there and every engine will vary so I can't say what yours would need but the stuff above is just a ballpark starting point. Tuning and adjustment will vary as well even though cam wise of what your shooting for is similar to mine.
If your choosing to use a Holley carb I recommend a Quick Fuel slayer 600 vacuum secondary which will be calibrated out of the box slightly more on the richer side for a more performance bigger sized cam 350 build. If you want something different and cheaper you can go the Holley route of buying a good used Holley 600 vacuum secondary off of ebay for around a $100 bucks or so and then get a rebuild kit and a few items to add to the carb and it might need modified some but its an easy trick to do but won't get into all that right now but its what I currently run and its either a model 1850 which is a manual choke or an 80457 which is the electric choke style.
There is also the Quick fuel brawler carburetors that are also available but they cost a lot more. Sometimes Holley has some good deals on like new factory refurbished carburetors in there ebay store and you have to look around but thanks to covid they don't have as much as they normally do thanks to shortages and stuff. Look also into a Holley 600 Street warrior carburetor but the Quick fuel slayer 600 will have more advance tuning options along with the brawler carburetors vs the Holley ones mentioned and are better made in some aspects which I won't get into right now.
If you decide on an Edelbrock carburetor I recommend the AVS 2 650 which has annular boosters in the front and does a better job compared to the older AVS carburetors and they are pretty easy to tune as well but a Holley style will give you a lot more overall performance and can be fine tuned a little bit more then an Edelbrock carb can but since your build is not very radical at all and similar to mine with a camshaft size you can make a 600 vacuum secondary 1850 or 80457 work really easy with just a few upgrades which I can post for you and give you advice on what to do wise.
My engine is a 350 Dart SHP build along with having Dart pro 1 200cc aluminum heads and an edelbrock rpm air gap intake (which I don't recommend for your build) and I have a Scat rotating assembly with flat top pistons. My engine is not overly radical by any means and I am running like stated a streetable mild custom hydraulic roller cam with only [email protected] 510/510 lift with a 114 lsa and just a regular HEI distributor and a th350 with a 2200 rpm stall convetor and 3.42 rear gears and I have several carburetors at the side which are Holley and Quick Fuel ones.
On my truck during the winter time I use a used Holley 600 vacuum secondary I got off ebay for like $100 bucks shipped and then I got a secondary metering block kit for it from a carburetor shop called allcarbs, for around $45 bucks and it comes with a longer transfer tube for the side hung float fuel bowls and then I put rear jets on the rear and just a few other mods to the carb and she runs like a charm and really strong all over the place and fires up at the flip of a switch and is not to hard to tune for a build of what your looking for.
The only thing compared between the Quick Fuel ones mentioned above and the Holley brand ones is the Quick fuel ones will be a bit to rich out of the box on the idle circuit and the Holley will be kind of on the slightly lean side but depending on some factors on what heads you will be using and the intake it can vary on how different. On my Holley 600 all I had to do was just every so lightly enrichen up my idle circuit just a hair and it was ready along with tuning got the correct jet size needed.
That is all part of carb tuning there and every engine will vary so I can't say what yours would need but the stuff above is just a ballpark starting point. Tuning and adjustment will vary as well even though cam wise of what your shooting for is similar to mine.
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