ok check it out, as some of you know, i have a goodwrench 350 pn 10067353. it had the wimpy cam ( lift: 0.39"/0.41") duration @ .05": 195/202. the terrible heads (72cc, valves: 1.94"/1.6"). anyways, i sold the edelbrock performer cam and intake i had for what i paid for it new because i wasnt sure if i wanted to go a different route. what is the highest lift cam i can use with these heads? im guessing that as long as the cam lift was below 0.5"/0.5" it would be ok but im not sure. am i right? i know changing the heads would be the way that i would want to go but i dont have the $$ right now for all of that, but maybe later. If i could get a higher lift cam with a little bit of a lope at idle that would work for these heads and still would be a good cam for a set of sportsman II's or whatever that would be great. anyways, im back to square 1 and i am open for suggestions. IM not building a 12 sec machine or nothing so some slight corners can be cut. If you could help me get into 13's I would be grateful. thanks for your time.

 

well, forget about the head change for now, help me out getting a good setup with these heads. when i get dissatisfied with this setup, ill just redo the whole thing. im young and i have plenty of time.

 

What induction?

If it's carbed, go with a Comp XE262H.

 

sorry, its carbed. im probably like most people though, there are sooooo many choices. I might just go out and get the vortech heads. seems like a good option to me.

 

the xe262h? what is the lift/duration for that cam? i went to their site but i couldnt find any numbers for it. Why would you choose the xe262? What would happen if i used the xe268? Please remember i am asking for some numbers not just opinions. i want to LEARN all about this. All help is appreciated. I just want to learn a little, thats all. Thanks.

 

oops, i found the specs for the cam. anyways, my real question for this whole post is, how much lift can these heads take? btw, i can leave the stock springs in there, right?

 

Yes that cam will "work" with stock springs, but that doesn't mean you should use them. I would not recommend leaving the stock springs in if you upgrade the cam, no matter what cam you put in it. They are weenie. They will break, and cause valve float at high RPM, and pull out the rocker studs, and otherwise misbehave and cause trouble and cost you money in the long run.

Better springs (like all the ones every cam mfr recommends for use with entry-level cams like that one) are cheap. You can "rent" the tool to change them for free at Auto Zone and the CSK stores and lots of other places. Do not take a shortcut, replace them.

You won't have to do any kind of work to the heads themselves. The limit to the lift the heads will support as they now sit is around .500", because the spring pockets are 1.25" diameter, and the lift limit for springs of that size is pretty much .500". The reason for that lift limit is that at about that point, there is no space left in between the coils of the spring, and instead of a spring, you have a solid cylinder of metal. Translation: instant destruction of lots of parts. If you were to have those enlarged, the next limit you'd run into would be the retainer running into the valve guide; that occurs somewhere around .550" on most unmodified stock heads, except for Vortecs, which only have about .480" of clearance there.

I suggested that cam because it is near the limit of the highest lift that your engine configuration will support without either risk or extra machine work; duration that your stock computer and carb and all that will be happy with, again, near the limit; the fastest ramps available in the marketplace, meaning it will snap the valves open and closed as quickly as possible without destroying other parts around it (which is a further reason to upgrade the springs - they are what closes the valve, and with a cam with high "intensity", if the springs are weak the valve train will lose the ablity to follow the cam); a good price; lots of places to buy it from; a good warranty; and a whole list of other reasons, including that I have done some engineering work for Comp when I lived in Memphis and therefore know first-hand how much effort they put into developing their product.

 

thank you, that is the answer i was looking for. your time is greatly appreciated