this has probably been asked a few times but, I want to put a cam in my 305 its a bone stock 84 LE9 out of a old truck, it has 601 heads if that matters, my question is whats the biggest cam(eg:duration,lift) I can use with out doing any machining to the heads? and I am sure a few people have done this before so what are some good cam choices?

 

The general "rule" is .480 lift with SBC heads but check to make sure.

Different locks and retainers can make more room though. You'll want to replace them anyway if you ask me.

To choose a good cam you need to list the induction, exhaust, transmission and rear end.

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HRS-112741-06/

Install advanced (99 deg in C/L) lock out the timing curve and run full locked advance at idle. 36deg

4000+ stall 8" 9" race converter 4.56's++ if you want it to rev, replace the stock valve springs with stock diameter racing. You'll have one bad *** "take no prisoners" sounding 305. Wether thats a good idea is another story.

 

ask and you shall receive eh? if sound is what you want you just got sorted out.

And don't forget to add that he will want to shift at around 8000rpm too. Take stock in petro too because you will be getting 5mpg on good days around town.

I think that's FBIRD's way of saying you don't pick cams based on sound.

 

I don't care about sound, I just want a little more go!!

it has a Edelbrock EPS intake and 600cfm carb, for exhaust it has headers and 3" single with a flowmaster super 40, ST-10 4-speed trans with 3.23 rear gears.

I was thinking one of these three
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-2102/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/LUN-60101LK/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-12-210-2/

 

choice 2 is best of you have lame gearing. choice 3 is best if you have serious gearing. lame would be a TH350 and a 2.73:1 axle, serious would be a 700R-4 with 3.73:1

 

Sounds like you have a decent base to work with. The only downfall will be if have the dished piston LG4, and I think you do. It's not "game breaking" or anything but you are going to be missing out on a bit of HP. The cam is so very bad from the factory it's going to make a huge difference given what you've already done to the car.

Out of those 3 looks good for what you have. It would probably peak around 5700 RPM with your setup.

DO NOT buy cams from Edelbrock. They are old cam lobe designs that 5 (probably more) different companies grind and you can get it for half the cost from SpeedPro, Melling, ect. Same exact cam, they probably bought them from SpeedPro and stamped their logo on it.

 

you think this cam would be to much for stock heads
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/LUN-07101/

 

Sorry I forgot that you said you have a motor out of a truck. Disregard the comments about the LG4.

If I can find some flow data on those 601 heads I can give you some more accurate suggestions. If they flow like 416's (eg. most 305 heads) they will like a dual pattern cam better then a single (cams with matching intake and exhaust lobes are single pattern). The reason is because the exhaust flows poorly so if you keep the valve open longer it compensates for it a bit, this makes a big difference in the upper RPM's.

Most will tell you that cam is too much, they are probably right too. It is suited for making the power band peak around 6200rpm given correct flow from the heads. Most stock heads don't flow enough to take advantage of that. I need to find some flow data on these heads, I've heard a bit about them but nothing that I can use to give solid suggestions with.

 

from what I've heard there the same as the 416's the only difference is 601's came in trucks and 416 came in cars but I could be way wrong.
that would be great if you could make some suggestions, I don't know much about this stuff..

 

The only information I can find is about them in ported form. From what they flowed it looks like you are right, they are a lot like 416's in that respect. The chamber looks completely different, much better on the 601 and it's smaller too. My 416's measure at 55cc combustion chambers. These one's you have are a reported 53cc. That means more compression given everything else equal between the two. That combined with a chamber that looks like it would promote better burn is all the better.

The biggest I would go given your setup is the comp cams XE268-HR. That's pushing it a bit too, street manners will suffer(think hills!). It will feel like less power then the old motor at 2000-2700rpm but after that it's going to start pulling much harder.

A more realistic street-able 305 with decent gears and stick would be comp cams XE262-HR. The difference between the two is you are trading 10ftlbs @ 2000rpm for 10hp @ peak (XE268 peaks higher).



XE268 ---> http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-12-242-2/
XE262 ---> http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-12-238-2/

 

601s fall right between 081s and 416s, but 601s are more difficult to find.
I still haven't seen your gearing, but even if you have what I'd call serious, stop looking bigger. The Lunati VooDoo 256 would feel the best in heavy traffic, the COMP HighEnergy 268H10 would feel best racing or out on the open roads.

 

Here you go Atilla it was in post #5

 

That's not a whole lot of helpful, since there have been 7 different gear sets for the Super T-10. 2.43/1.61/1.23/1.00, 2.64/1.60/1.23/1.00, 2.64/1.75/1.34/1.00, 2.85/2.02/1.35/1.00, 2.88/1.74/1.33/1.00, 2.88/1.91/1.33/1.00, and 3.42/2.28/1.46/1.00.

 

trans: 3.42/2.28/1.46/1.00
rear end gears: 3.23
rear tires: 245/60r14

what else do you wanna know?

 

I didn't realize they put 7 different gear sets in Thirdgen T-10's. Learn something new every day though.

If you look at all the "fast" 305 cars on TGO they all have bigger cams then what most people would suggest (except for FAST355's that magically produced 75hp more then it should). Now this doesn't mean they are the best cars for city traffic driving, but since you have a manual you have full control of RPM.

I would personally go with the XE262HR in your situation because I don't get groceries or lend the car to grandma on the weekends. If you enjoy hearing the motor spin up go bigger and spin 500-600rpm more at cruise and before you shift.

With the 305 if you try to find a balance between low-end and high-end power you are going to left with a mediocre motor IMO. Build it for high end power, drive it till it goes and build a bigger motor that can do both well.

 

KingTorquer, that's some fine research there, but only 2 of those 7 were used in third gens. The 2.28 second, which was used with 2.73:1 gears, and the 1.91:1 second, which was used with 3.23:1 gears. AFAIK
RK82, you have plenty of gear to use the HighEnergy 268, and it will feel great!
I do understand wanting to go even bigger, but I also understand when even bigger becomes too much.
The 2.28-second was introduced for the '80 Z28. The 1.61 second was introduced for the old 455 trans Am, I'm not clear what year, but was used with a 3.23:1 axle and GR70-15 tires, which are 225/70R15s.
The 1.75 second was most common in the '77.5-'79 Z28, with 3.73:1 and GR70-15.
Current Richmond Gear torque ratings on the 6 versions of the sT-10 still in production are according to first gear ratio. If memory serves, the 2.43 first is rated 375 ft-lbs, the 2.64 first is rated 325 ft-lbs, the 2.88 first is rated 300 ft-lbs, and the 3.42 first is 286 ft-lbs.
The 2.88 first is stronger than any production T5, however.

 

this threads kinda old but, I've decided on the comp XE268H-10 http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-12-242-2/.