So I've finally gotten around to starting the build up of my engine. First step is to port my 416s, which come back from the hot tank on monday. It's gonna be a long slow one, but hopefully it'll pay off. The block is a 87 roller, 4 bolt main. Heads will be home ported 416s. Still a little undecided as to what induction I'll use, but that is also dependant on whether the engine will be going into a smog exempt vehicle or not... Regardless of that, according to my math, the small chamber heads paired with LT1 pistsons produces about 10.5 :1 compression. I know that's pretty good for making power, but will I have problems running it on pump gas, or any other concerns? I have an LG4 right now, that at 9.5:1 is perfectly happy on 87 octane.

However, I'm not decided on what cam I should use. I already have a brand new (and free) Crane Powermax, grind 2032. I plugged it into desktop dyno, and makes some pretty sweet power on the bottom end. However, the LT4 Hotcam seems to makes more power at 5500+ RPM. I don't really need this car to be super fast, but I just want to get some more opinions on camshafts before I make any final decisions. So, feel free to chime in with your likes/dislikes and opinions on camshafts, because I have no experience with them except for the peanut cam in my LG4!

350 Build:
87 Roller block, 4 bolt main, 1 pc rear main
LT1 rods and pistons
416 casting heads, ported by me in the near future
cam to be determined

PS. Would that powermax be a good cam for an LG4, if I decide not to use in it my 350?

Thanks everyone!

 

Dont use that crappy cam. Get one of comps extreme roller cams you wont be sorry.

 

Hope resurrecting this doesn't bother anyone, but I'm getting ready to move, so I'm kind of cleaning out things I don't want/need. I figured that this would be a good time to get rid of some car parts. Anyone else agreed with IROCaholic that the cam I have is crap? Would it be worth keeping to put in a stock LG4 later for a backup engine or for a 2nd car? Any cam recommendations other than comp cams xtreme roller? Also, the above engine will be fed by a Q-Jet on a Edelbrock Performer (smog legal, sadly).
Thanks!

 

2032 will work good in that combination. I have run both the 2030 and 2040 in TBI engines. You have a carbed engine which the 2032 will run fine in.

For a street car that is driven daily I don't really care what happens above 4,500 that much, knowing that my engine is going to spend most of its time under 2,000 rpm anyway. I seldom go over 2,000 except to get on the highway or when at the track. My 305 lays over at 4,500 from lack of airflow due to the small stock 350 TBI cam. It has gobs of torque even at 1,000 rpm though which is good.

I would unshroud the chamber some to get the head CC up some to lower compression a little. With the right DCR you should be able to run full timing with 93 octane.

 

Yeah, that was one of my worries, was getting too high of compression with that setup. I was kind of thinking about even getting new pistons to lower compression a bit. Thanks for your input about the cam, the more opinions the better.

 

I went with 10cc dish Speed Pro hypereutectics. With the pistons .026" down in the hole, .020" compressed thickness head gaskets (Victor Renz metal shim), 64cc chambers verified, that calculates to 9.7:1.

Have you considered a ZZ4 cam? Worked with the HO 350 Camaro Conversion kit. You can get the cams on eBay for less than the typical aftermarket roller.