Hey guys , Project RSS is still in the works but, I your help. RSS came with a modified cam from Federal Mogul: Pro-3000 (cs 179r). I don't know how to read the specs so I have know idea what to start working with as far as i know everything else is stock. Can anyone help out, i'll be doing some research on all the message boards so i'll be here for a while. Thanks

 

Pull that cam out and toss it in the trash. It is the old 350 HP 327 cam. Its design is over 40 yrs old! There are much better choices, that make more HP, more TQ, have better idle vacuum, better street manners, give better fuel mileage, and run cleaner. I ran the L82 cam which is the newer design of the same cam, it ran well, but left alot to be desired.

 

I looked on their website and the cam you have #CS-179R (made by sealed power and speed pro) has the following specs.

In lift = .298
Ex Lift = .298
Dur = 222 (not sure at what lift point)
LSA = 114°


With 1.5's your lift will be .447. This cam is a single pattern cam and as Fast said is not really desireable.

Speed-Pro Cam

 

Are you serious is there no way to work with it?

 

Yes, they are serious. Fast & Shifty wouldn't mislead you.

 

You can make it run and get you back and forth to work, etc. But it will never run the way it should or could. The cam is single pattern and single pattern IS desireable from a swirl port head stand point, but the cam is very lazy action which bleeds off cylinder pressure. Lazy action=BAD. Reduced cylinder pressure kills low speed torque and fuel mileage, giving you a lazy, gas slurping slug!

This is a much better cam for what you are wanting to do.

CraneCams

Then again, WHY did the PO have to ditch the roller cam setup?

EDIT- My definition of lazy action is the farther the advertised and .050" specs are apart, the lazier the cam. Closer togather is good, it means the ramps are steeper and the valve opens quicker and closes quicker. The trick is to do it fast, but not so fast as to hurt valvetrain components. ALWAYS use the recomeended springs!

The crane line of cams above have explosive torque from just off idle, yet have the lift/duration to turn some good RPMs.

 

Oh okay well i guess i have work from the inside out what a good cam power package that will start me on the road to SS status.

 

What are your goals for the car? I would start with the basics before you swap cams. You need at least a full exhaust, posi rear, and the ability to burn your own chips. A cam swap will require chip work without exception.

 

The way I read it, it is already in the car? If so, I am suprised that your car will even start, run, idle, drive, etc atleast with TBI on it.

 

Hey Fast355 those are the exact problems that i have bee trying to correct.
Hey Shifty my goals is to have strenght comparable to an 4th Gen SS.
Talk to me fellas!
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Hey Fast355 those are the exact problems that i have bee trying to correct.
Hey Shifty my goals is to have strenght comparable to an 4th Gen SS.
Talk to me fellas!

 

That is the result of trying to run the stock chip with your cam. It will never run, until you either swap the cam, or burn the appropriate chip.

My suggestion is to return the engine to a state that it will run on the stock tune. To do that pick up a new Federal Mogul CS1014R or Mellings MTC1. It is actually a slightly hotter cam than the regular L03 roller but in my experience is very computer compatible with the stock chip. If you are looking for a near stock replacement and do not have the roller cam setup, go with the 350 TBI cam from a truck. It is nearly identical to the regular L03 roller, just hydraulic flat-tapet. I ran a Federal Mogul CS1014R combined with a pair of stock 601s for a while(Put the TBI in place of a carb on my existing van engine at the time). I bumped the base timing to 6* (slower burn from the non-swirl port heads) and pushed the fuel pressure to 14.5 PSI. I had headers/duals on it at the time as well. The stock Caprice L03 ECM got me to work and back just fine, no hesitation, no bogs, a good clean idle, better fuel mileage than the Q-Jet/ Holley/Edelbrock that preceeded it, cleaner emissions, etc..

After getting it to where you can drive it to work and back on a daily basis, remember that it may not be perfect. Research and get into chip burning. Once you are able to get a near stock engine running well, go for your head/cam swap, etc.

 

Hey would the cams that you recommended first help me get my LO3 to 4th Gen SS status?

 

We are still working on that. Currently there aren't any LO3 cars running high 12's/low 13's (at sea level). I would focus on LT1 cars before you go LS1 hunting. The best times with TBI have yet to be seen. Your goals are lofty right now so don't be dissapointed. You can have a solid 250hp LO3 that will run your car in the mid to low 14's. It takes a tremendous amount of planning and chip work to get an LO3 deep into the 13's. Stay tuned. Some of us are getting close .

 

Ahh... memories.

This is the same sort of brush with reality I got when I first arrived on the TGO scene.

Say it with me: "Chip work, chip work, chip work!"

 

Transfer my traction-less 15.2 @ 96 (2.18s 60' time) over to a much lighter F-Body and my 312 should have been in the low 13s/high 12s. 300 RWHP through cut-outs. More hours than I care to admit in swapping parts, tuning, swapping parts, computer modeling, burning computer chips, dataloging, running at the track, dynos, etc.

 

Thanks for the insight guys. Its back to the shop for me. Since I am going to start over, if there are any ideas that you guys did not get to attempt with your LO3 let me know and i'll try it & report back.

 

I use your set-up as motivation. I agree with you and use your combo as an example all the time in defense of TBI systems. However, until we get a combo like that in a f-bod and down the track we can only extrapolate potential "should" ET's. I maintain that our best LO3 times are yet to be seen. IE Get an F-body Fast!!!!

I don't mean to limit your goals by any means, and based on Fast355's and dewey's recent results the fastest TBI ET's are right around the corner (it could be you!). However, for a first time TBI modder you must go through all the growing pains of learning these systems. Both Dewey and Fast had numerous combos and learning periods before they mastered the set-ups they currently run. Therefore, it is only realistic to think that you will go through a few combos before your ET's start to shock you/us. I am not exempt from this and I too have a long way to go (been at it off and on for six years now) before I can mirror their results.