OK, Im putting the Edelbrock Performer camshaft in my 82 Camaro 305. Now, Ive already begun the project, taken all the A/C and smog off, intake, carb and such, cleaning the engine bay up. I am going with the Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake manifold, Carter 625cfm carb, and stock heads and such. This is my first cam project, so do you know if I will have to replace the lifters or not, if so how hard is it? And is this cam worth it considering it is new, never used, and Im getting it from a good friend for 50 dollars, considering he only works on Hondas, Toyotas, and Nissans, he has no use for this camshaft. Or, is this cam that good that I should wait and use it late on down the road, say in March or so for a 350 project I may do for this car, or can this cam wake the little 305 up enough to be worth it? Im just inquiring and Im just in need of some help here, any help on cam swaps would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

Edelbrock cams are old technology. They have lazy ramp rates, they have monsterous advertised duration and very small (relative) .050" duration. The cam takes a long time to open the valve and doesn't spend near enough time at higher lifts where it should. But, in regards to the question you asked, yes, you will have to replace the lifters. Flat tappet lifters, with age, develop a very specific wear pattern. So specific that, when removed, they have to be matched up the exact lobe that they cam in contact with. I.e. the #1 exhaust lifter MUST be kept with the #1 exhaust cam lobe. However, If you are replacing the whole engine in March for a 350, then i guess it's ok. I still wouldn't run the Vic. Jr.

Don't run a Vic jr. intake on a street motor with a mild build like that. The single plane, 360° firing design does help top end power, at the expense of low end torque. Get a Performer RPM design intake instead. Especially on a 305.

I run a Comp Cams Xe256 camshaft with semi ported 416 heads (not modified for extra lift) and a ZZ4 intake. I am quite happy with it.

There's a cam swap thing in my sig.

 

Well, I understand the edelbrock cam is kinda crap, but is it worth 50 bucks? If not, ill stick with the stock one for now, just thought that it being an ftermarket cam could still do a little to help "wake the 305" up a bit. I had this same style intake on a previous LG4 and it did wonders with the motor. Never have been a big fan of the Performer intake, I have one of those as well but its going on my TBI car sometime in the near future. Thanks on the instructions on the cam swap, big help man. Any other words of wisdom, go aheadand share. thanks.

 

Holy crap is that a bad setup and combo. That is a total mismatch of parts and will make less power then a stock 305.

Get rid of everything and start over.