72 350 7 heads speed pro flat tops I need a camshaft and rocker suggestions will do stall required and gear appropriately this car will not see a drag strip car shows and burnouts max speed I want to go is 90 I need a suggested parts list and some advice heads are on and machine work done stock valves need the rest of the parts any help is appreciated

 

What octane are you planning on? What kind of idle do you want? Compression will depend if you plan on zero decking the block and how much the heads need milled to straighten. Most people put W31 valves in high performance 350 build. A 2.07 intake does fit but the 2"/1.625" is the usual go to. Get the machine shop to open the bowels for the larger valves at minimum.

 

Don't go crazy with the cam. Put a reasonable unit in it and run new factory style rockers for ease of maintenance.

 

Keep it simple if you're not racing it

 

Automatic or manual transmission ?

 

He was asking about stall converter. Hmm

 

Ok, I missed that.

 

Your intended build doesn't sound too far off from mine - I had a roller cam 350 built for my '72 by CutlassEFI (Mark Remmel) from this site - he's a really well regarded Olds builder and part resource here.and I was very lucky to be local to his shop for my project.

My motor retains 7a heads with large valves and Harland Sharp roller rockers - roughly 9.5:1 CR and a custom grind Comp Cam which he spec'd to the build. - you can search prior threads to find past posts on my build (and other similar ones).

Might want to PM him for cam and other associated suggestions and he can likely provide the major parts you'd need for your build.

What rear end ratio will you be running? I have a 3.08 posi and 2200-2400 stall converter ahead of my TH350. - car idles well at about 750 and pulls strong all the way to at least 90 (which is about as much as I've pushed it). I'm also running Vintage Air a/c and power brakes, so that should give you some context of what you can do with the right combo.

 

it will be 93 fuel, noticeable idle preferred, car shows and flat cam are poop- it wont be 100% stock just the exterior and original color however the interior may need a different color me and white seats will not get along and where its at i know what pistons are in it otherwise id have to assume everything is stock i did not have it done 8 years ago i gave the car to my brother had massed parts then had to move he had a machine shop do the work i cant get them to call me back to get any more info they did put the speed pro flattops in it and nothing else is known other than it has arp everything and 7 not 7a heads on it apparently they told him they were cracked and gave him the 7 heads that had seats valves and gides already. the machine shop slip says cleaned line honed magnafluxed and polished crank and assembled the cam in it is a melling cl-soc-9 my brother tore the whole car appart and it sat for 3 years like that then last year i put the panels back on it and he told me he didnt want to fix the car so now i have it back after a very long trip from nh to az then back to nh so 90 mph max speed i need to go or want to mostly back road car shows and smoke shows really thats all im looking for i know it sounds boring but i will probably only drive it 15-20 times a year it snows alot here and we have a short nice season. just a great sounding healthy 350 car show burnout cruser i will build the trans and put a locker and gears in it and have the driveshaft done locally i have built chevy engines before no expert but oldsmobile are very different and it would seem parts are like hens teeth

 

Why would you spend $1800 to put a roller cam in that car? To each his own.

 

what are the downsides of a roller cam on an olds engine?

 

I'm not saying there is a downside. Cost is one and what are you truly gaining in a show/burnout car? PM me if you care to talk.

 

Budget permitting, why not?

I'm no longer a flat tappet cam fan and would never recommend one to anyone, though I'm but one opinion in a world of many...

Incidentally Mikey - since you mentioned driveshaft intentions, I put a locally-built aluminum driveshaft in my car and it really does free up a noticeable amount of drag due to the lighter weight. It's easily stronger than my 400hp 350 needed but absolutely worth the investment in my opinion. In my case, I brought my original to the local shop and just had them duplicate it in aluminum for a drop-in replacement.

 

that is awesome i will have to remember that when the time comes that part of the build is a ways off yet i know my intentions and how i am honestly going to use the car its a toy not a racecar lol

 

You really need to know the actual compression ratio before selecting a camshaft.

About 90 being the fastest you want to go - is that at max RPM? As in 4.88 or similar rear gears?

 

The downside is shitty hydraulic roller lifters. Most go solid roller lifters, even hydraulic grind. I have the Comp Evolution hydraulic roller lifters and a mild hydraulic roller cam to go in with new Edelbrock 68cc heads , if they get released before I die. You will need not only the larger valves, you need roller rocker arms, screw studs, 7/16" threads preferred, guide plates with upgraded valve springs to run a roller cam and custom length push rods and gaskets.

 

I was told there was 20tho off the heads nothing on the block and no info on the valves used

 

Then your pistons will be .025" in the hole at minimum. My block was decked .016". Even with the taller Mahle forged pistons, they were still .002" below deck. I would get as thin as possible Cometic gaskets to improve quench. With regular Felpro replacement head gaskets, you will have around .070" piston to head, you want around .040". You are probably mid 9'to 1 compression at best. The heads need pulled anyways and you can CC them as well to get a more accurate number along with the actual pistons in the hole measurements. Good luck.

 

Cost is the only downside.
Lifters are getting better, haven’t had an issues in the recent past.
And what people don’t realize, is an all roller valvetrain also reduces operating oil temps, sometimes by as much as 40*.
I’m a fan of using the latest tech available, all tucked under stock valve covers etc.

 

^^^ This!

 

I am all for modernization of old tec I know my plans are unorthodox I get it but my intentions are honest there's 6 back roads every direction that are 50mph max most 35 and tons of summer car shows just a toy and I want it to do burnouts the heads are on I'm not feeling the need to ck everything 100% to the thousands to squeeze every ounce of power out of it nice cruser nasty idle assuming nothing taken off the block and. 020 off of the heads speed pro flat tops bored 30 over average flow I could find at. 500 lift 190cfm I understand variations exist I will use whatever stall needed and gears and long tube headers I'm maby 9:5-1 if that ya know ****** thumper... With these lifters... And this stall... And probably this gear... And headers try these... With the 37111 intake and you should probably use these rockers and they'll require this spring pressure try these... I am not meeting at the strip unless I drive there and leave it in the parking lot and I am not going to throw out new parts out of curiosity there is 800 people on here smarter than me before breakfast that's why I'm asking how to get to my desired combination everyones intentions and use of thier car are different don't ask me to take the heads off to cc the heads and ck piston deck height can anyone help me out Ill build the next one with a micrometer and Lazer it'll be a 455 when it comes to that this combination has to exist that'll be a compromise of what I'd like it to do and the proper way to do it please

 

Add one more thing, the 2711/3711 Performer intake won't bolt on with roller lifters. Either the underside of the intake needs ground in a few places to clear or you have to use 7111 Performer RPM which better for what you want.

 

In a cruiser, it doesn't matter, nor lower oil temp by much if any. in a race engine turning 8000 rpm sure.
Roller cams, it is cost, hyd rollers that are HEAVY and bring on valve float and valvetrain stress because you now have to have stronger springs. Solid rollers are a headache , a race engine that you open up all the time to check on, fine, a street car, who wants to pull v/c's to check lash to make sure a lifter isn't failing or failed and is now taking out a lobe.
Only up side on a street car/cruiser is no need to hut down special oil for the flat tappet cam so it live if hotter cam lobe than the mild oem stuff.
350 chevy flat tap cam and oem rockers was 5 degrees hotter oil temp than a vortec 350 with roller ram jet cam and fully roller rockers. same oil gauge normal street driving and some spirited fun. 5 degrees oil temp difference. If you are seeing 40 degrees difference when cruising allong, something else is very very wrong in the engine.
Street use isn't the same as buzzing an engine to 7000 rpm+ And no street outlaws isn't "street use"

 

You're fitting poly locks under the stock v/c's?

 

It was done many times before. I had them on my "E" block 400 in 1967 with the "then" W-30 cam.

 

The short poly locks will fit under stock covers from what I have read, pretty sure Mark posted that info somewhere in the past.

 

The 350 full roller motor that CutlassEFI built for me needed the E-brock 7111 for reasons stated above - underside valve train clearance. All things considered, it's pretty stout for a small block and still maintains a perfectly streetable idle quality (but you still know it ain't stock when you hear it).

I cruise my ragtop where ever I can - beach runs, car shows, just out to be out, etc. It pulls 17-18* vacuum and runs 180-190* temps all day long in FL heat. It's carbureted with a Quick Fuel 780 and ignition via Pertronix Ignitor II distributor that I dialed in at 16* initial / 34* total timing and I run the Thornton shorty headers thru a 2.25" dual exhaust (no H pipe).

So the 350 I had in my car before this was built similar to what Mikey describes for his motor - 7a heads, Speedpro flat-tops, a Howards street performance hydraulic flat tappet cam, E-brock 2711 and a modified Qjet. It ran strong but even with decent oil the cam wasn't holding up and started exhibiting lobe failure after about 15k miles (albeit that mileage was accumulated over a 6 year period).

So now I'll take roller over hydraulic every time

 

Good thing there seems to be less issues with current hydraulic roller lifters in recent months. Even if I have plunger stick, the Comp Evolution has a replaceable catridge, a very nice feature. I had a custom Erson go flat from Mark that was pretty mild. I have a feeling a lobe may be heading south on this Edelbrock 204/214 flat tappet.

 

Yes, as said already. My engine has them with factory valve covers.

 

up to 40deg drop is incredible. I searched everywhere to find anything on that claim. couldn’t find a single thing on the up to 40deg drop

I did however find a few documented tests that roller lifter’s only marginally reduced bulk oil temps , which was negligible. even studies that had internal censors directly at the lifter/ lobe interface , only found a marginal reduction …that’s because the roller wheel does not actually roll along the lobe, it skids quite a bit.

 

I said ALL ROLLER RICHARD CRANIUM.
Do you think stamped steel non-roller rockers don’t create any heat? Bullshit.

 

yes exactly..just like Olds did it from the factory. show me anything that proves it’s up to 40 deg drop in oil temp.

I want to read and learn. what’s weird is GM and every other manufacturer didn’t go with full roller rocker arms for years ….many years after they went roller lifters.

 

Why do you think they went to roller lifters? Apparently you’re not remembering what happened there. The industry had to reduce the zinc in the oil because it was contaminating catalytic converters, they had no choice. They didn’t have to do that because of the rockers, the real potential issue was Cam and lifter wear, not the rocker wear.
Finally, I did two identical 455 short blocks a couple of summers ago that were dyno’d just a week apart. The only difference was the valve train, one was all roller, the other was a flat tappet with regular stamped steel, but roller tip rockers. In breaking in the engines, the flat tappet engine got to 180°+ oil temp pretty quickly and stayed there. The roller engine took forever just to get to 150, and pretty much stayed there. What I saw is what I saw. That’s what I stated.

 

what a load of bs. your claims are pretty wild as usual. nobody should ever trust any testing or data from you.

you couldn’t even get the afr correct on an intake manifold correct.

 

Easy for you to criticize tests that you’ve never done yourself.
How about quit bashing people who’ve done different tests, and do them yourself. We’d all LOVE to see your results.

 

Sorry Canadian, been “biting my fingers” for awhile.

Who ***** in your Cheerios each morning?

You are one of the most knowledgeable people on here, yet only rarely offer any help or constructive information, though it does occasionally happen. Why can’t you be helpful? What you’ve done for the Olds community pathetically pales compared to your favorite target for sucker shots. It’s a shame, you could offer so much more but just seem to prefer being a nearly useless, but full on, ******* *******.

The only complete, informative and frankly amazing thread I ever remember you posting was your Engine Masters project. That was what “we” should be able to get from someone with your knowledge and skill. But, you choose to post a scant few constructive or interesting things (the W31) or ever so rarely manage to decently ask for a clarification but usually swoop n like a buzzard with dysentery, time after time, year after year.

Cant you be a contributor instead of a detractor? You obviously have time to peruse the site and snipe at Cutlassefi, why not take some pics or video from your shop, or at least post something helpful or useful? What’s going on in your shop that’s of interest, Olds or not? What available products are working for you?



​​​​​​….

 

Don’t sugar coat it, tell us how you really feel! lol!😉
Thank you, you hit the nail on the head, except he ***** in everyone else’s Cheerios as well.
Again thank you.