redbaron442455

I'm thinking of replacing the cam in my 455, can someone recommend a brand/grind that would go well with my set up?

72 olds cutlass,
68 Toro 455, .030 over, l2323 pistons 18cc dish, 9:25:1 compression,
big valve C heads, fully ported, polished,
crosswind intake, 4781 Holley do
1 3/4" headers, 3" exhaust
currently have th400 with 3200 stall,
plan on 700r4 with 3000 stall,
3.73 rear, possibly lower in the future,
power brakes, power steering,
current cam is solid flat tappet 520/520 lift 292/292 adv 240/240 at 50 108 lsa installed at 106*
Harland sharp adjustable rail type roller rockers, 1.6

I feel like my current cam is a bit too big for my compression (9.25:1) cranking pressure is 155 cold, 22*initial 36* total timing, 91 octane, never heard a ping ever, never tried 87.
I would definitely like to switch to a hydraulic flat tappet or roller if it's worth it, maybe a step or 2 down from what I currently have, any input is much appreciated, thanks

cutlassefi

shiftbyear

You can get a recommendation from Mike Jones by filling out the attached form. He's probably the best cam designer in the US. Good luck.
http://jonescams.com/street-performance/

redbaron442455

Roller would be preferred but not if I have to change the springs, hydraulic flat tappet would be fine, thanks

redbaron442455

thanks I'll try that out too

cutlassefi

Gerald Nickels

I like the Isky cams. Mine is a Isky 292 Dur. and 540 lift. runs my car 115 MPH in 1/4 mile at 12.00
1964 F-85 Post with 4.33 and slicks.

redbaron442455

ill see if I can dig up the paperwork on the heads

redbaron442455

that's sounds about what's in it now,
292/292 adv
240/240 @ 50
520/520 lift
it's a clay Smith cam

what's your compression?

cutlassefi

Ok. You really need another full point of compression to make any real amount of cam work the way it should. You have a bit of mismatched combination.

redbaron442455

that's what I was thinking, do you think the cam I have would work well if say I put a set of aluminum heads? What CR should I shoot for?

cutlassefi

dragline

2X on Mike Jones, I'll never put anything else in my cars.

83hurstguy

With a solid cam in there currently, you'll probably be disappointed going to a hydraulic flat tappet... a nominal 240/240@0.050" duration decreases when you start factoring valve lash (maybe 8-10 degrees less). Are you trying to go with an overdrive and numerically lower gear to drive it on the highway and do more cruising? No doubt a milder cam would help with that.

redbaron442455

I built the motor about 10 years ago with the idea of taking it the drag strips on weekends and driving it around town, now I'm more about just cruising around, i would definatly like to gear It more for the highway, either a over drive transmission, lower the rear gear or both.
I feel like it doesn't have the power it once had, I've done a compression check, every cylinder is between 153-158 psi, set the valve lash to .018 cold, set the ignition timing, it was at 16* initial, 34 total, I have bumped it as high as 22 - 40 with no pinging at all, currently it's at 22-36 and runs well besides the lack of power.
my next step is to try and advance the cam some more, thinking maybe the cam or timing chain might be worn, I degreed it when I built it, installed it at 106. 108 lsa.
I'm thinking I should just replace it if I'm that far into it and go with a known good oldsmobile grind to match my 9.25:1 compression.

redbaron442455

I'm looking at the lunati street master 285/285

Hydraulic Flat Tappet. Good cam for high performance street or Pro Street applications. Needs 2000- 2500 RPM stall converter, headers, 9.5:1 compression ratio and 3.73 gearing. Rough idle.

• Advertised Duration (Int/Exh): 285/285
• Duration @ .050 (Int/Exh): 235/235
• Gross Valve Lift (Int/Exh): .540/.540
• LSA/ICL: 108
• Valve Lash (Int/Exh): Hyd/Hyd
• RPM Range: 2000-6000

Does anyone have any Input on these?
Could i really run a 2000 stall on this?
thanks,

83hurstguy

I don't think that Lunati cam will help you much. It's going to likely have larger duration than your current one because your solid cam has lash. You could advance your current cam 4* if you wanted more cranking compression. You could also try backing off the lash a bit and see if that does anything since it will make the cam act smaller. The advantage of your current flat tappet is that provided the lifters are in good shape, you aren't risking another flat tappet break in process.

If you were going to make an actual cam change, I'd spend the money on a hydraulic roller from Mark.

redbaron442455

thanks for the input, I think I will try to advance my current cam, that 2000 stall the lunati cam listed sounded good to me since I'm wanting to make it more streetable.

I plan on swapping the th400 for a 700r4, what do you think the lowest stall I can have with that cam be? I'm open to lowering the rear gear as well, I understand a 3.08 rear would be similar to my 3.73 rear with the 700r4 3.06 1st vs my 2.48 1st.
I think the roller cam would be best but that's going to mean different heads as well since I need the higher compression and I doubt my shallow spring C heads can take the lift. Does anything need to be done to the block to run roller lifters?