i think th previos owner may have put a mild performance cam in my 88 350. It was faster than any stock thirdgen 350 i have ever driven. When i first bought it it appeared to be all stock minus the catalytic. My question is -is there any way to tell what cam i have without taking apart the engine?

 

It is possible to find out some of the specs on the cam,but it requires a few special tools and some time and skill.You would
probably be better off trying to track down the previous owner.

 

The butt-dyno can be deceiving, ask yourself if its really worth the time and effort when it may just be a stock cam. Do you have any ETs?

 

I forgot to say that-The main reason i think it may be an aftermarket cam is the idle, with no muffler it sounded awfully lopey for a stock cam. Also it ran 13.8 with the only mods being no cat, flowmaster muffler, and some weight reduction. I would like to find out what cam it is because if it be the the stocker, i will replace with a good cam. If theres already a decent cam in there- it will save me time and money.

 

Don't think that a muffler and no cat would cut off a whole second in the quarter. You must have some kind of cam but if it is lopey like you say then I can't think of how it is running that good with the stock tune ,computer, and TPI. I have an LT4 HOT cam, the biggest GM makes for a comutper controlled car, and the idle is still pretty good. Maybe someone put a flat tappet can in, then it might lope and still work. Maybe you have one of the old compucam's from crane.