Is it safe to use on a fresh engine? All I have is a 305 cam and I need to get a 350 cam. It's a daily driver that doesn't need a $200+ cam. Also keeping the manifolds.

 

Mic all the lobes to measure net lift, and inspect teh lobe surfaces for scuffing wear.

Mic the journals to verify size and inspect them closely for wear, galling, pits, etc.

Inspect the distributor drive gear for abnormal wear (poor contact patterns or any wear more than polishing).

Make sure it is straight and and true, and hasn't been dropped, cracked, or bent.

If all that checks out, there should be no problem reusing a roller cam.

 

You can use the 305 cam. I'm telling you that you can, but you may not be happy with it. The camshaft is one of the most important, if not the most important, part of your engine. Don't skimp on it now if you'll want power later.

A used lt1 or zz4 cam can be had for cheap, you may want to check those out.

 

Thanks so far for the info.
One other thing I should add....I have freshly rebuilt 350 heads that I got from Jefferson. AFAIK they are a stock rebuild. So I need a cam that won't need any head work. That pretty much keeps me down to a stock cam unless somebody knows of some other cam.
Comp cams told me that the XR258HR would be good cam for my engine. I'm just cringing at the price. This is going to be the wife's daily driver. The money for this project is coming out of her pocket. So far we're looking at ~2 grand for this engine. 305 to a 355.
I'm even debating on switching to flat tappet.

 

Go to http://www.competitionproducts.com/page51.html and pick up the NEW Vortec cam for ~$50.

The lift is well under what stock springs can do, and the duration is just short of the LT1 cam(s). The duration is 202*/207* at .050" with 115* LSA. The LT1 cam I have is 203*/208* with 116* LSA.

For a mild build up/rebuild, it seems like a pretty good choice.

 

Thanks A LOT Vader!!!

Now my neck hurts from watching that!!!

 

Ah-HA! Dropped soem green at the swap meet, eh?

A lot of cam profiles will enhance the flow of factory heads. I believe a dual pattern grind is what you will want, and the smallish valves and ports will likely survive the higher lifts and durations with fewer ill effects on the street than some prepped heads might exhibit.

You might want to consider changing the springs, retainers, and studs while the heads are off, however.

 

Dropped $400 at Jefferson. Too bad there was so much crap there. It made it hard to find anything I was looking for.

AJ - If I'm reading everything right wouldn't an L98 cam be better suited to my 355 than the vortec cam on that link you posted?

 

Uh... as far as I can tell, they're VERY close to each other.

Here's the cam specs from our home page for the L98 in 1987...
.404"/.415", 202*/207* @ .050", 114.5* LSA

The cam I listed above specs are...
.410"/.424", 202*/207* @ .050", 115* LSA


So yea...
If you could find one for less than $50... It'd be better.

There is the 'newer' L98 cam that has a little more duration (207*/213* with 117 LSA) that may be "better suited", but good luck finding one for ~$50. I'm not saying it's not gonna happen, but...

 

In what years would I find this 'newer' cam?

 

Go to www.thirdgen.com under "Tech Data". Toward the bottom of the page is a list called "Camshaft Data" that has all the cam specs for all years/engine codes.

 

Never knew that was all the way down there. Thanks!
So the cam I'm looking at is out of a 91 L98. According to the spec list it has:
413/428 202/207 114.5

whereas the Vortec cam is at:
410/424 202/207 115 lsa.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the L98 cam in this specific year would be better suited?
Just wanting to double check before I purchase.

 

To sum it up in one word...

NO!!!

Looking at the specs of the two cams they're virtually brothers. I'm tellin' ya' man... for $50 for a BRAND NEW roller cam is beyond the relm of reality (even if it is as lame as the Vortec stock cam).

Your original question was...
What I'm trying to show you is that you can get a NEW cam for about the price of what a used one is going to cost you. I paid $50 for a used LT1 cam, only to find out that it's no better than the one I'm showing you.

If I could go back in time and know then what I know now, do you think I would have bought the used cam?