ok so i have a 350 , block # 10054727 stock. I just bought a set of fully assembled 186 castings double hump heads that have been ported and freshened up. im wanting to do a heads an cam swap i have a holley aluminum projection4 intake. im putting new lifters, timing chain, valve springs, and oil pump. here is what i have so far. i need help on picking a cam out.
http://www.competitionproducts.com/H...uctinfo/98111/

http://www.competitionproducts.com/C...ctinfo/C3023X/

http://www.competitionproducts.com/M...ductinfo/M55A/

and here is a list of the cams im looking at
http://www.competitionproducts.com/E...products/2119/

 

Why are you considering ONLY the cheeeeeeeeeeeeepest of the cheeeeeeeep generic copied copies of generically copied generic copies of copied generic cam copies of cam-shaped objects from the Stone Age, or copies of the crappiest stock cam-shaped objects EVER like the 929 and the 151?

Why not a roller?

Why not a MODERN cam, that takes advantage of all we've learned about cams in the last 40 or 50 years? Ones that work like MODERN cars are expected to work? Ones made to work with MODERN fuel that you can actually BUY at the pump?

Why are you looking at cam & lifter kits if you already have lifters?

Seems to me like you need to zero in on what you want the car to do, and then go look for THE BEST cam for that purpose that you can get, instead of THE CHEEEEEEEPEST thing you can buy that da gummint allows to have the word "cam" printed on the side of the box.

 

what do you reccommand then for about 800$??

 

First question is what valve springs are in those heads? You need to know how much lift they can handle then I would look for a cam in the 220-230 range. Just me.

 

whats wrong with the parts ive listed?

 

Your car should have a hyd roller in it, I would use a hyd roller not a hyd flat tappet.

 

what do i have to do to make my 350 support a roller cam?

 

Look at it and see if it has the roller provisions. (3 little nubs on top of the center oil passage under the intake with screw holes drilled & tapped in them, machined "cutouts" in the water jackets next to the lifter bores, top of th elifter bores machined off flat and not just as-cast, 2 little screw holes beside the front cam bearing) If it has those things, go to the junkyard and get the spider, the figure-8s, the cam retainer plate, and the hardware, off of a blow-up 96-2000 truck motor.

 

How about saving some more money??

 

You know that saying "Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?" Well, your not going to go very fast.

A roller cam allows for less friction, hence less parasitic drag for one. Two, it also allows for faster opening and closing ramps. Basically we want the valves open or closed. The process there of is undesireable, so the quicker the valves are where we want them, the more power we make.

Older cams are a compromise, the ramps have to be slow and gradual to prevent the flat tappet from digging into the side of the lobe. This also keeps the valve open when we don't want it open.

Another factor is valvetrain weight. Newer valvetrain technology allows for us to open and close the valves faster because there's less weight on the valves. Try flopping your arm in front of you as fast as you can. Now try it with a 5lb weight in your hand. Get it? Which one can you control more precisely? If you close the heavy stock valves too fast, things take a beating. If you rev the motor too high, the heavy valves, and weak springs might float. If you tighten up the springs to contol things, now you again have more parasitic loss and more strain on your components. Guess what? They used to run flat cams with very tight springs to achieve high lift at hi rpm. We don't have to do that so much anymore.

 

i know my block isnt a roller, its the tbi 350 block that came out of a early 90s truck. its a 2 bolt. honestly the more i think about it the vortec 350s are looking like a better choice for me. i can find them cheap in wreaked trucks.

 

If it's a one piece rear seal block, it should at least still have the machined bosses for the lifter retainer and cam thrust plate. If the block isn't drilled for them, any competent machine shop should be able to drill and tap the holes for you. A simple salvage yard run should affordably net you the required cam retainer, lifters, and lifter retainer (spider). Roller lifters can be reused without issue as they don't form a wear pattern. Just make sure they're not galled. Flat tappet lifters cannot be reused.

It's well worth a little extra cash in the long run and will even last longer.

Being a 2 bolt block doesn't effect anything, unless your winding it pretty tight.