hartsmike

When I spoke with my builder originally, he said the cost for a RV cam was the same as a factory cam. Looking at things differently now with the inclusion of vortec heads. With increased compression and a more lopey cam to bring it down, do more lopey cams cost more than factory and RV cams or are they all priced the same? Also, to rework vortec heads cost the same as older heads?

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-1102 The "RV Cam"
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-1105 The "Mild Cam"
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-1107 "The RPM Cam"

You do the math...

Now on the other hand,

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-12-238-2
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-12-242-2
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-12-246-3
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-12-254-3

as some typical-ish examples of taking the same mfr's equivalent product line from mild to wild.

Or, you could buy a factory replica cam:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/crn-968711/overview/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-12-105-3

You can probably get it ALOT cheeeeeeeeper some other way, but W/E.

Do the math again.

I think you probably get the point by now.

There's more of a premium to get a GOOD cam, than there is to get a "bigger" one of the same quality grade. R&D, testing, development, etc. costs money. But once that's done, a cam core plus an instance of grinding, is all the same. I think you'll find that there's no "economy" in a "cheeeeep" cam: you get, AT BEST, what you pay for. Meaning, you pay the least, you get, AT BEST, .... do a bit more math.

Moral of the story: buy THE BEST cam you can find, at the performance level (RPM range, parts breakage, etc.) for your situation. About 3 tanks of gas will TOTALLY SWAMP the difference in the cost of the cam.

For the individual steps that must be taken, Vortecs cost no different from any other heads. Costs the same on either to grind valves, cut down guides, open up spring pockets (subject to what the specific castings allow), drill for screw-in studs, open up push rod holes, upgrade to bronze-wall guide inserts, etc. Vortecs require certain things for specific applications, and that costs what it costs. Same as other heads in that regard.

hartsmike

I have a set cost for builder to rebuild an old iron block back to basic. Doing my research and talking to some posters on here it is beneficial to upgrade to the vortecs. So, when I go back to builder with the heads I want to make sure that he doesn't increase build cost unless it's justified.

hartsmike

With the help of night rider I think this may be the cam I go with 204/214@.050" cam, or 214/224 @.050" cam.. Is that type of cam much more expensive than a factory or RV cam? As for the heads (and I don't know much about building engines) but it'll be just a basic working.

Night rider327

iTrader: (13)

Hey hartsmike, glad I could help.

If you look around, you will see that mild cams are cheap, if you stay away from billion dollar marketing... Meaning look at brands like elgin, howards, speed pro/sealed power, melling, summit, jegs, etc.

Elgin cam and lifter set... 202/214@.050 $95
http://www.competitionproducts.com/E.../#.VkfT0tKrTDc

Elgin cam and lifter set...214/224@.050 $103
http://www.competitionproducts.com/E.../#.VkfX_dKrTDc

Sealed power cam and lifter set...204/214@.050 $100
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sl...make/chevrolet

Lunati cam and lifter set.. 204/214 @ .050 $108
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/lu...make/chevrolet

Lunati cam and lifter set... 214/224 $108
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/lu...make/chevrolet

Summit cam and lifter set... 204/214 $104
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/su...make/chevrolet

Summit cam and lifter set... 214/224 $104
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/su...make/chevrolet

Melling cam and lifter set...

hartsmike

sofakingdom, thanks for the links.. I didn't know there was that much discrepency in the price of cams. Out of curiosity, are those latter cams u posted for high compression race cars?

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

No; the last 2 are replicas of the factory 70s smogger cam.

The first one, labeled "The RV Cam", is the "The RV Cam", the 204/214 POS you mention; the 2nd is the 214/224 one.

Every one of the cams nightrider posted there is IDENTICAL IN EVERY WAY to the first 2 I posted. In fact he posted acoupla the same ones, just, the kit w lifters where I posted the naked cam.

I'm not sure how there's a big "discrepancy" in their price... you're BUILDING A MOTOR, and a tank of gas - ONE TANK OF GAS - is less than the difference between the most expensive and the least. In other words, whatever you "save" on the cam, will COMPLETELY DISAPPEAR within about a week of driving the car. On the other hand, the consequences of making a poor choice, will linger ... indefinitely.

They're all CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP in the grand scheme. Why base your cam choice on the sale price of the cam?

Get the cam that fits your motor the best; ignore the price. Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeep ones are cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep for a reason. And that reason ISN'T, because they've spent lots of money making em better in the 50 yrs or so since those grinds were introduced.

hartsmike

Thanks for the help guys!

hartsmike

Is this what the 214/224 cam sounds like:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe2sLeRMvMk ?

Night rider327

iTrader: (13)

Here is mine when I had a crane powermax 272-2 which was a 216/228@.050" cam

You can hear mine (1988 camaro, 4" cowl hood) the best starting at the 3:05 point to about 3:28 My dad's twin turbo'ed 337 firebird kinda over powers the sound of mine until then.



Here is another one of my car, same engine/cam just open headers in this one, where the other was dual 2.25" pipes and 2 flowmaster mufflers.

hartsmike

Man, that sounds good!

jokerZ71

Since you're considering used Vortecs, be sure they are crack free before spending any money on them.Just becuz they came from a running vehicle with no apparent leaks, doesn't mean they aren't cracked.Having them magged is the only sure way to know.
Choose your cam before sending the heads to the shop, so, all work needed & springs, etc can be done at 1 time & no hidden costs come up.If you are staying below .500 lift & not using a fast ramp cam like an Extreme, or, VooDoo, you shouldn't need screw in studs, but, it definitely wouldn't hurt.
The cams you are considering are relatively mild, so, for a flat tappet cam & today's oils, you want to use the lightest spring that will work with your cam.Be sure you follow to a. T, the cam's breakin procedure if you want it to live.If your planning on keeping this motor around for awhile, I highly recommend a roller conversion kit, or, possibly finding a roller block as a foundation for your build.Howard's Cams has about the best & budget friendly kit that I know of which will include everything needed, including the timing set & roller cam.It'll cost approx $350 more after taking off the costs of all the flat tappet parts.It adds alot of benefits tho, including better performance & reliability.
You may find that once you buy the heads & have them reworked& necessary work done, buy an intake & self aligning rockers, valve covers, etc, you will be pretty close to a budget aluminum head.
I would get all the pricing & look around, then do the math, to see which would be the better deal.