Just picked up a 70 Cutlass S for my next project. I am building the engine like a W31 but the car has A/C, power brakes, auto trans. is there a similar cam to the 308 I can use that won't kill the power brakes?

 

I had the 280h cam from comp which is similar to the w31 cam and i ran power brakes no issues. But there is better cams out there .

 

I'm not the most knowledgeable cam guy on here by a long stretch, but when one replies the first question he'll ask is, "What's the intended use of the car?"


He might also wonder what characteristics of the W31 cam did you want to emulate for your application.

 

I simply ran the 280h because it worked for my desired rpm range , compression it just fit the build , it sounded really nice at idle ran great on the street .

 

I'm looking to make this car a nice street car. I'd like to keep the A/C, power brakes and auto trans. I'm replacing the 2:78 open rear end with a 3:23 posi. I'm planning on keeping the stock appearance under the hood. I'd like to get as close to the engine performance of a W31 as possible. I do understand I will have to sacrifice some performance for the things I want to keep.

 

Car is all original, has had 1 repaint a long time ago. From all the paperwork I got with the car, the car was ordered with OAI hood, buckets, console and sport wheel. I'm going to repaint the car, fix up the interior and give it a little more power.

 

An Erson Viking 100H would be perfect. 222/222@.050, .478 lift on both. It'll work nicely with a stock valvetrain and still give you good tone, idle characteristics and power.

 

Nice pictures. Good lookin' car.


You might be happy with something similar to the Comp Cams 262H I have in my 400G -- 218/224 @ 0.050, 0.462/0.469 lift, LS 110. This is a bit milder than the W31, and a dual pattern besides, but gives great overall performance with a nice lumpy (but controlled) idle.


A lot of folks on here are down on CC as being kind of Chevy-centric, but I've had no complaints about this cam. Let's see what other suggestions you get. If cutlassefi chimes in, you should listen -- he knows his stuff.


EDIT: Well, speak of the devil -- see above.

 

I'm planning on opening up the heads and big valves just like a W31, would you still feel the same about either cam with that being done?

 

I would. You might want to go one step wilder to take advantage of the 350's great bore/stroke ratio and higher RPM capability. My 400, with its long stroke, is more of a "cooking" engine and isn't g0ing over 5500 under any circumstances so I need to stay more conservative.


But then you're going to have to look at the whole package and decide if you've got enough carburetion and ignition and compression to support a big cam. You know, you can't change only one thing!

 

carburetion is easy, Greg (Sparkys Carburetor) is a friend of mine and happen to live in the same city. He can make a carburetor do anything I need to keep stock appearance. Distributer is easy to change. Planned on replacing Pistons, willing to put flat tops in if needed. Basically I'm looking to build the entire engine just like a W31 except I want to use a cam that will allow me to keep power brakes and A/C. I even have spare W31 balancer I got for my 68 that I'm willing to use.

 

Wasn't there a specific cam for w cars that came fully loaded with all accessories ?

 

I know they made cams for W30's with all the options but I'm pretty sure all the W31's came with the 308 cam, auto cars had a stall converter. I don't think they made any with power brakes and A/C. One of the W30 cams might work nice in a small block, has anyone used any of them?

 

The W31 was not available with those options, (a/c and power brakes). I would go with 3:42 gears. Keep the distributor, just get it re curved.

 

I didnt know that about the w31. I know it was mentioned for a 455 sometime back about the different cams i belive.

 

What Cutlassefi said..

 

You might be thinking of the W32. It was essentially the standard cam used in manual transmission 442 applications installed on an automatic-equipped car, then they topped it off with Force-Air induction.


You probably want to stay away from the old factory high-performance grinds of the '60s if you're planning on running A/C and power brakes. They were pretty single-minded -- usually intended for racing applications and little else. Technology has improved since then to the extent that you can have your performance without sacrificing your accessories.