ok I know this guy who has a sbc 400 in his 86 TA. he has no cumputer controls and so on. he has the following... old style hei dis., eldbrock 700 carb., eldbrock performer intake, 1 3/4 shorty headers W/ a flow master (no cat). it has 2.77 gears for now, and a 2000 stall converter may be higher? my question is what cam will work well with this eng. he would love to get one with a real lope. but would go for a happy med.(performance vs sound) also the eng. came from a 76 chevy P/U so I guess it has the smog cam and 76cc 1.94 valve heads. the eng. was rebuilt about a year ago but, was kept stock no special cam or anything.

 

With no computer and that many cubes he should go BIG!

Oh wait, only 2.77 gears and only 2000 stall..can't go too big!

You're going to have to choose a happy medium. Probably something in the 220ish @.050 range. Something similar to summits K1105 cam.

 

With the intake , converter. rear gear and heads/ compression ratio you have , a big lumpy cam will sound great but won't perform. You'll soon tire of it.
I'd use a cam with 210 to 216 deg@.050 and about .450"
lift in your near stock 400 with a 2.77 gear.

Woverine Blue racer Pn#WG-1159 fits the bill nicely.

Specs are 214/224 @.050
.442/.465 lift
112* lsa
Lots of street power to 5500 rpm ,,easy on the wallet.
will work fine with your stock chevy valvetrain too.

http://www.blueracer.cranecams.com/

 

Yeah, keep 'er around or under 220* duration @ .050. The big 'ol 400 will take more duration than a 350 without getting mushy down low but even the mighty super mouse will start to lose torque if you get over ~225* @ .050.

A Comp Cams 268 High Energy cam would be an excellent choice. I've used them in MANY mild street motors and they always work well. Don't cost much, either.

 

thanks alot it looks like you are all pointing close to the same area just differant lift. I will have to do alittle thinking maybe use the desk top dyno with all those cams. do you guys have any idea what cam it may stock or at least the lift .3??
well, thanks for the help