Camshaft reccomendation for a 350

[FMG CAMARO]

I am currently in the process of swapping the heads and cam on my car. I need help with a selecting a camshaft. I have no clue about cam selection. Are the thumper cams any good? I do like the choppy idle. It is for a 1968 camaro with a tremec tko 600. The car has a 12bolt rear with 3:73 gears. The engine is a 350 bored 60 over with a 2 piece rear main seal. Stock crank and rods. Pistons are forged flat tops with valve reliefs? The heads I will be using are the Patriot Performance 185cc PN 2168 with 64cc chambers. These heads can acmodate a 575 lift cam. I have a edelbrock RPM performer intake and a HEI distributor with a MSD box. The car is street driven. I would like to get 400-425hp at the crank if possible with the parts I already have? Car craft magazine made 420 hp with these heads in the sept 2012 issue but did not specify the camshaft they used. Only said it was a mild summit camshaft with 1.6 roller rockers. Also any idea were my compression will be with these heads. Thanks.

[SkinsandJrfan]

I have a 383 with iron heads. It's bored 40 over. I'm running a comp cam 305h. It has a 525 lift. It's got a heat lope to it and I think the rpm range is up to about 6600 or 7000 but don't quote me on that. I think that would do well with your motor.

[CanyonKiller]

I personally do not like the thumper cams because they use a lot of overlap to get the sound everyone likes and sacrifice low to mid range torque. I also wouldn't use the comp 305H cam as that is way too big for the heads and compression you are using. The first thing you need to decide is how you are going to use this vehicle, don't lie to yourself either as you will end up with a cam you may not be happy with. Going to the track every other year does not count as a street/race engine.

[kmdracer]

Best bet is to pick a Cam manufacturer, call them, give them your vehicle info, and goals.
What may be a good cam for me, might not be for you.

[TheJDMan]

I recently installed an Edelbrock 22015 roller cam in my 327 sbc on the advice of a mechanic friend and I have to say this is a very nice street cam that will really scoot when needed. It will fit any sbc block even if the block was not set up for rollers. It has an unmistakeable lope at idle but is very drivable on the street.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-22015/

[FMG CAMARO]

I contacted Lunati and they recommnded voodoo 282/290 cam which is a hydraulic retrofit rolloer camshaft. Specs are:

Advertised duration 282/290
Duration @ .050 ( int/ exh) 231/239
Gross valve lift int/ exh .535/.550
LSA/ ICL 110/106
Rpmrange 2400 - 6200

TheJDMan this one seems very similar to the cam you recommended. Glad to hear it is good on the street.

Quick question. When taking off timing cover to remove cam do i have to remove the oil pan or just drop a little bit to slip cover off?

Thanks!

[clayton25]

Best bet is to pick a Cam manufacturer, call them, give them your vehicle info, and goals.
What may be a good cam for me, might not be for you.

+1 this is your best bet!

[Rod]

Rpmrange 2400 - 6200



I think the RPM range is way to high for autocross, I build our motors to run from Idle or at the most 1200-1500 RPM start range then up, on SCCA and Goodguys tracks your coming out of the corners at just above idle, not up around 2500 to 3000 RPMs, just my opinion, 2500-3000 is really great for drag racing our alcohol race truck runs a cam that starts at 3000 and up

[TheJDMan]

Quick question. When taking off timing cover to remove cam do i have to remove the oil pan or just drop a little bit to slip cover off?

Thanks!

It is possible to remove the SBC timing cover without removing the pan but it is a major PITA to reinstall and resealing it is problematic at best. I don't recommend it. Personally, I would pull the engine and drop the pan. It is less hassle in the long run.

[SLO_Z28]

I was looking at those exact heads as a possibility, after a lot of time playing with it the best combo for an autocross car would be something like : http://www.compcams.com/v002/Pages/390/XE284H-10.aspx . The heads are very similar in flow to the ones used on that dyno, except they fall off at 5500, so expect it to drop off hard at that point.

[FMG CAMARO]

I think the RPM range is way to high for autocross,

I dont disagree with you but I need my car to wear many hats. It is a street car that will see a few drag strips. I have no plans at least for a 5 years for any autocross. I want a car that can handle well on highways and backroads and hold its own in the 1/4 mile.