I have a 350 TPI with 1.6 roller rockers, stiffer springs (magnum), 1800 stall, and edelbrock headers in my 1986 camaro.

I have the money to get a cam shaft, but I'm not sure which one to get. I am not conserned with making any more power, as I don't race (on the track, or the street). I just drive

I want something thats going to give a nice lumpidy lumpidy, but I don't want to have to much lope and vacume loss that I have to start upgrading other components just to handle the cam. (I dont' have A/C)

What cam would be best for a nice lumpy idle?

The engine is not original, and I'm not sure what year it is (or if it's a crate). the valve covers are side bolt, and someone told me that means the engine is older than 1986? Will that effect the type of camshaft the engine needs? (Hydraulic Flat Tappet, Hydraulic Roller, Solid Flat Tappet, or Solid Roller). I have no clue what I need for my engine.

What cam kit would be best for me? and will I need to upgrade the computer?

Thanks so much!

Daniel

 

TPI and "lumpidy lumpidy" don't play well together.

You really need to know what type of valve train you have now. Heads can be put on most any block, so unless the engine has never been opened up, the type of valve covers is pretty much meaningless.

Most likely you have a flat-tappet cam. In that case, a cam/lifter set is a good start. With TPI, you want to limit max RPMs to about 5000, so a Crane CompuCam 2040 ( http://store.summitracing.com/partde...4132&view=1024 ) would be about right.

 

I dunno that cam has a fairly high power band for a driver, not to say it wouldent work well in most applications.

Id say what you would look for would probably be an RV cam for a tad of sound and better low end tq which usually = better fuel economy. Melling MTC-1 had proven to work well for TBI trucks and probably would work for your TPI Fbody. Comp makes a 242 252 thats supposed to improve power and dramaticly increase fuel economy.

 

hope you don't mind a thread hijack. ..

i'm looking to get more power, but i don't want to sacrifice drivability at all with a rough/lopey idle or to make any comp. changes, etc. just a mild cam to change my sound & get more power basically.

what cam would y'all suggest?
do i need to upgrade anything else at the same time, how much can i gain from this in whatever measurement you might have to offer? thanks!

 

The lumpity lump idle of a long duration cam is inefficient.
the lumpity lump idle is caused by the exhaust gas returning into
the motor and diluting the next incomeing airfuel charge at low engine speeds. creating missfires. And slower combustion.
Sort of like EGR with an attitude.

The gas mileage will be less. the drivability will be less.
the TPI fuel injection cannot adapt to the lower vacuum signal
of these ams well. (without computer programing mods)

You're really opening a can of worms by installing a too big cam in a motor like yours.

The idle sound may sound cool but the inefficient motor will drain your wallet.

Just for reference a cam with 222 or more duration @.050 will have a broken idle. A cam with 230 or more will be quite a bit rough(er) and the power brakes will be affected by the lack of vacuum. A cam with 240+ deg at .050" will have a race idle.
The tighter the Lobe separation like 105 as opposed to say 114
the more overlap where both the intake and exhaust valve are open at the same time. The more overlap the choppy the idle .
The extra duration and overlap of these cams increases top end power and reduces low end power, throttle response and idle quality. We won't even get into the effect on exhaust emissions.

TPI motors really run like du duu with these types of cams.
I'd really give this one a second thought.
The coolness and novality will get old sooner than you think.

You'll just end up with a rough running, gas hog, turd.
The resale valve of your car will be less.
If you want the racey idle of a big cammed high compression race motored 60's muscle car, build another car like that and keep your efficient TPI car for normal street driving.
Get an old Small block Nova or Chevelle and go nuts.

But.... If ya must Farqk it up. I'd try a old L-46 327/350hp cam from the sixties.
Spects are 222 duration @.050: .447" lift ground on 114 LSA.

generic copyies of this famous 60 muscle car "151" cam can be bought for quite
reasonable prices.
look here:

Accelerated motion cams
they are great quality and will ship COD.

A good source for this cam among others.
it will have a nice shakey idle but good drivability A TPI motor may not be too good but they idle fine with a carbed motor.and the brakes will work fine. It works with a stock valve train too.
this is as far as I'd go without getting carried away.

You want to buy a Cam and lifter set.
A new timing chain and timing gear set is a good thing to replace while your installing the cam.
Follow the instructions.

 

Looking at the melling MTC-1, it says "Good idle" what does that mean? How much different will the idle change with the MTC-1?

I see that the CompuCam 2040 requires an adjustable fuel preasure regulator, will I need to get one of these with the MTC-1?

So, now that I'm possibly in the market for an RV/truck camshaft, what are some other good RV/Truck cams (just to have some options)


(edit) I didn't see your post F-BIRD'88 , sorry. So if a somewhat large cam is out of the question, can I put ANY cam that will give me a some what choppy idle, even just a little choppy? Or do I need to swap my TPI for a carb.

As for the resale value of the car, it's a 4-5 hand salvage title I doubt there is much I can do to lower the value

 

Try the old 327/350hp cam. it has a cool idle.

the Amotion PN is 19811-21844

Melling Cams makes this cam too look for a reference to the
327/350hp L-79 cam. its 222* .447" lift on 114 centers.
Both crane and comp make "blueprint" copies of this cam too.

 

I have the Melling version in my car now it doesent sound any different then a healthy stocker. Its crappy for city driving with a sane rear end and would need a 2500 stall for an auto to get you moving 3k+ it pulls like a **** and gets killer fuel economy on the hyw.

MTC1 shouldent need an AFPR or anything special. Melling tends to over look the idle in thier catalog, its one of the few RV cams that sounds like you have a mild camshaft.

 

I assume you have good reason for trying to change my mind, (I respect that, and I appreciate you letting me know the effects of putting a nice cam in a TPI engine) maybe I should be looking for just a slight chop, rather than a nice lope?



Hm... thats not what I want then, my stall is only 1800


What do you mean by "over look the idle", they under/over state what the idle will be? I'm interested in this cam, I did a bit of looking, and saw that a few older chevelle guys are running this cam. they are classifying this cam as "mild", which is probably what I'm looking for

I guess the first thing I need to do is to find out for sure what type of cam I can run in my car, if an older chevelle is running this RV cam, what are the chances of this cam fitting my engine?

How do I tell if I need Flat tappet, Hydraulic Roller, or what not I REALLY wish the bum that broke into my car wouldn't have taken all the reciepts a week after I purchased the car

Thanks again for any info

 

who is going to do the cam swap?

 

if nobody in the club will help me (i.e. do most of the major work for me, as I don't know crap about that!) then I'll probably take it to AZAutomasters or somewhere

 

well. i was going to haev mike do it.. but he wants a good chunk of change to do it. im thinkng i may have the guys help me since i dont know how and jsut buy pizza and sodas. id rather save $500-700 for a $150 cam but from what i understand more of the cost is gaskets.. cuase u have to take the TPI of.. and the water pump and timing chain.. ect.

 

your gonna put a new cam in as well? maybe we should make a weekend out of it how soon you ordering? I'm going to order here in a few days. I'm going to ask around some more, and make sure this MTC-1 cam is what I want, and make sure that it's the right TYPE of cam for my engine.

Yea, I think valve cover gaskets as well.

Yea, Mike quoted me $700 I believe. and I believe drew and some of the others said they would help. They got at least one install under their belt, I know that

So, how do I find out what type of cam I need? Flat tappet, Hydraulic Roller, or what not.

 

i havent decided what one i want yet.. ill prob talk to mike and see which 1 i can get. i may just take it to mike cause after the cam ill need a new chip and other **** done.