i found a roller 350 short block for $100. i'm probably going to just swich everything from my 283 to it. it will have 041 heads, i don't know what pistons it has in it yet so i don't know what the compression will be. i'm going to try to get it to about 9.5-10:1. i have a performer intake and 600cfm performer carb. it will also have hedman shorty headers with a 3" catback. i havn't decided what cam to get yet. i want it to have good performance but it will be a daily driver so it will need to have decent fuel milage. what cam would you recomend and how much power should i be making?

 

It seems like you ought to find out what the CR is before you make a cam selection. Flattops with those heads will give you about 10.25/1 CR and if that's the case it seems like a cam of anywhere between maybe 212 and 220 intake duration might be what you want. Smaller cams than that with 10.25/1 CR would cause your engine to be detonation prone, with iron heads. These aren't exact figures, keep in mind ...many variables here. With dished pistons and 041 heads you can use a real small cam. I just got a vortec roller cam from Competition Products and I haven't put it in yet. But I have 041 heads on a roller block with dished pistons, and it has a stock cam in it now, no ping, 87 octane. The vortec cam is 202 intake duration, It's good also because it has some pretty low lift for a roller which means there's no need to change springs or rework the heads, and a new one is only $50!
Does that help?

 

So someone finally bought that cam. :rockon:

Report back and let us know how it works out. I have confidence in it (for a 305 that is ).

It should perform OK in a 350, but I'd use it more with an '88tbi4x4 more than I would an F-body.

 

Yeah, it should be a good truck cam. Viper was looking for an econo cam, seems like it should be good for that too. I like it cause it makes it affordable to ease into the roller setup, no head mods needed. Ive got all the parts needed to switch from flat tappet to roller for less than $200. Later I'll do head work and get a bigger cam. AJ, I PMed youto tell you thanks for that link, didn't you get that?

 

Yea, now I remember. My memory is as short as my...
nevermind.

I didn't know you actually bought it though. Congrats. Keep us posted.

I guess I should have elaborated a little more...
That would also be a cam that would be good for economy if you're looking to keep a high gear (low numerically) in the rear end.

It would be a lateral step for someone that already had an L98 though.

BTW Viper,
What casting number is it?

 

I probably would have gone for a used Lt1 or L98 cam or something but I didn't want to take the heads off. Yeah I'll let you know how it goes, I'm expecting about another 200 rpm on the top and a bit more torque throughout.
I'm chompin' at the bit to get into it.
I've been wanting to do this for years!

 

i was thinking something like a comp XR264HR or the XR270HR. the intake duration is 212 for the 264 and 218 for the 270. it dosn't have to be an "economy" cam, just nothing huge that will suck up a ton of gas. i'l just be driving it to school and work mostly.

as far as the block, i havnt realy looked at it yet. i was just at the junk yard looking for some other parts and i found it. in 89 the blocks out of vans were machined for roller cams but just didn't have them right?

 

Thats what they say. My truck motor was flat tappet, and machined for roller tho, I found all the stuff on ebay for a good price. The truck blocks will have dished pistons.

 

That's why I asked you the casting number. Not all of them were. Go to www.mortec.com and read through the listings before or after you get the block. If you haven't bought it yet, write down the casting number(s) you want to make sure you get. If the block isn't one of those, don't expect to use a factory style roller cam.