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Help me select a cam for the first time.


otazup

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Hey guys

Im at the stage of ordering a new camshaft and lifter set. I dont understand too much about lift, duration etc. there is an edelbrock cam i have my eye on so i can advise of those specs if youd like. but first a rundown of my engine specs.

Ford Cleveland V8

351 factory crankshaft

302 6" Rods

ACL shortdeck pistons

compression ratio expected to be about 9.6-9.8:1 with 62cc chamber heads

stock valve sizes, can post sizes up if need be.

Crane roller tip rockers. ported cast heads for now.

Im building what they call a long stroke 351 motor, long rods and short pistons, therefore im going to have more dwell at tdc apparently, this is where i get stuck. do i need a cam with more duration to handle the longer tdc dwell? or is this where my lift comes in, or is that due to roller ratio etc.

I know google would be a help here but there are so many pages i dont know where to start. so i thought id try old faithful first.

cheers guys

Jason

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I wouldn't worry too much about the longer rod giving more dwell at TDC, there are more crucial things to worry about first.

What gearbox are you running? (if auto, does it have a high-stall converter?) What car is it going in and what is the intended purpose?

I can likely grind you a cam after work and get you a good price.

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cheers k-trips and thanks voldo. ill be running manual no matter what. at this stage im 3 speed, but thatll either change to 4 or 5 speed once motor is done. my diff is 3.8. i want to have good manifold vacuum and also a lumpy idle. if i can have my cake and eat it too?. i have thought about getting one ground to suit, but also i thought an off the shelf item could be better since edelbrock would of done all the r and d. their kits are $300 for cam and lifters and are stocked in auckland. do you havea ballpark figure price for cam and lifters voldo? cheers guys

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If its manual you can get away with a decent cam (also mk4 zephyr's aren't too heavy). I'd go with a 130-E if it were mine. http://www.camshaftshop.com/products.php?productid=836#specs

Doubt we can beat $300 including lifters to be honest. I think lifters are ~$8 each, and the cam retails for $375. The Edelbrock cam will be mass produced in USA, we can't drop prices to compete with them unfortunately. I can however say that our cam will be better than the Edelbrock camshaft - the Americans are fairly behind with profile design and our street extreme range of profiles (used on the 130-E) have modern ramp designs that kick arse.

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thanks for the link man, ill have a look shortly. will this cam be sweet for the dwell?, i would prefer to buy from a reputable company as in yourselves. and do you guys do cam brgs etc as well? id be keen for a price for cam,lifters and brgs. or should i call the branch tomorrow if its easier? cheers jason

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sweet i will do, i just done some more research into the edelbrock performers and they have 204/214 duration @.50, which looks to be about your 130-b cam. which i doubt will give me the lumpy idle. so the 130-e sounds pretty good. thanks again for your help ill see how i go

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i might jump on in this discusion, for a long time ive been planning on running a performance cam in my 18r engine. but really have no clue where to start with it all.

ive got a 2nd camshaft which i always intended to get re ground, its just a single cam 2000cc engine so not ever going to be going to huge figures. just keen for some well priced gains.

currently runs a weber 32/36, but could look at upgrading from this as i always wanted to run bike carbs.

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Cams are definitely worth doing, stock cams are always super lame! V8's and single cam regrinds are cheap, its when you start getting into DOHC and quad cam billet cam sets that things start getting expensive...

Fliboi - Why not get an 18r-g? They are pretty cheap and way cooler than the SOHC ones.

MRWEST - do it, our SBC billet cams are only $275 retail and will make a big difference, even if it is a cruiser.

KK - can do champ. But you'll have to re-shim the heads if you want regrinds? $1650 retail for new billet cams for them...Ouch!

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have considered the 18r-g. but im already pushing it with having an 18r uncerted, its meant to be a 6r.

also i have a weird soft spot for it that probably only i understand. and i havnt really seen any 18r-g come up in good condition for less than about 1000, which is way too pricey.

roughly whats a regrind cost some someting like the 18r? and are there any other parts i will need to buy?

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That's cool man, certainly can understand tuning up shitters (its more fun that way). Regrinds are normally around $175+gst for a 8v 4cylinder. You may need valve springs depending on how wild you want to get (and if you can get anything to fit) - if it's just a mild cam you won't need them though. Also, depending on how worn the rockers you may want to get them refaced which is about $8 each I think.

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Oooh, let me also hijack this thread.

Do you guys have any cam profiles on file for a 1256cc Vauxhall motor (Viva, Chevette, etc - lame huh)? Had a good Kelford grind on a 2300 Bedford cam once which still had a spec sheet on file.

Have read some old tuning books about those engines and they reckon increase cam overlap by 10 degrees and add about 0.02in lift - how much could you get out of a stock single cam in terms in increased lift/duration/overlap? I would think you could only get lift and duration on a stock cam by changing profile of the lobe and decreasing base circle?

Sad how I have 2x 4AGE and 1x 2JZ twin cam powered cars but want to play with tuning Vauxhalls :(

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