I've been looking for a while now, and I cant decide on a specific cam shaft to use. I don't like much if a chop, and I'm not too worried about gaining power from the cam. I've got a bone stock 1984 305 I'm working with and want to make it a good daily driver with some extra power for fun and sound factors. What would you guys recommend for my build?

 

The cheeeeeeep Summit 204/214 would work. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-k1102 You have to change the lifters anyway, might as well get em this way.

Put new valve springs, seals. etc. in at the same time. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-174000

Be aware that "sound" and "fun" are POLAR OPPOSITES in a 305. Above all, "sound" ERASES "fun". Not so much the other way, butt DO NOT fall for the "sound" fallacy.

 

I would prefer to go for a Comp Cam. I work at oreillys so I'm able to get Hella discounts on everything.

 

Another good option is this:
https://www.compcams.com/xtreme-ener...all-block.html

 

Back in the early 90's, I used that exact cam in my '83 LG4 TA. On a totally stock engine, that cam ONLY (well, lifters, and a $12 timing chain set) knocked a full second off my 1/4 mile time. 16.2 to 15.3. I thought it was a value win to have that kind of gain for ~$100 bucks.

I can't believe that cam and lifters is $260 now days! Geezus.

 

I ran both the 204/214 and a 218/218 on a 106 LSA in the same 305. The 218/218 had a nice choppy idle, still made enough idle vacuum for power brakes and made more power everywhere than the 204/214. The 305 really likes a single pattern cam and a tighter LSA if it has headers on it.

 

I think i paid $89 for the last Summit K1105 cam kit, wow! Been a while

 

Had a flat tappet cam K1104 or 1105 IIRC in an LG4, headers and performer intake with Holley 650 DP. Only mustered a 14.88 My 91 Z28 auto TPI car bone stock other than a performance chip and cat-delete w/ 3in exhaust turned 14.76 The roller cam setup in those later 305 TPI cars( 91-92) were the same as the L98 cam and they really ran strong.

 

Yep, that's about what I paid also. $260 or whatever, is nuts. I'd convert to roller.


Interesting on the 14.88. I mean...anything in the 14's was pretty wicked back on "the day"...especially for a 305 and extra especially for a LG4. A buddy of mine did cam/intake/headers/Y/cat back on his '86 Camaro LG4, and IIRC he ran 14.7 ish's too -on mediocre driving. We thought it was fast as F-for the time.

My 83 CFI car went 14.5/95 with headers/exhaust, no fan, free mods and a 5 speed. I was wicked stoked about that back then!

 

So do you guys think a 1994 suburbans sbc 350 valve train would just carry over? Cam, lifters, and everything.

 

Depends on your definition of "carry over".

Yes it will "fit".

OTOH I can't think of anything STUUUUUUUUPIDER, in 2025, than attempting to put a USED flat-tappet cam & lifters that are over 30 years old - WELL into "antique" vintage - into a motor other than the one they came out of and are broken into the quirks (lifter bore variations etc.) of the block they've been in for the last 30 some-odd years. I sat here in utter disbelief after reading that and tried to think of ANYTHING that tempts fate any more BRAZENLY than that, short of jumping out of a plane at 10,000 feet without a parachute, and came up short.

We all know you're so tight it'd take a sledge hammer to drive a straight pin up your ... anus. You've already exposed that aspect of your ... personality. Just buy the cheapass damn Scummit cam and be done with it, if you just GOTTA put a cam in that thing.

As said, "fun" and "sound" are 2 POLAR OPPOSITE goals. You might as well have asked what cam you can put in it that will make it run with the No-Prep Kings and at the same time get better gas mileage around town than what it came with. Go for the "fun" and EFFFFFFF the "sound".

 

Got it.
don't cut corners.
New is better
"Fun" over "sound"
I'm only trying to explore options because money is a bit tight right now. I have all this hardware, why not try and salvage parts I've already got?

 

You have a functional 1994 350? Maybe just put that in? Just a thought. Doing a cam will require a touch less work but not by much. 94 block would bolt in an and you could just bolt up all your current pulleys/parts. I think 94 truck cams are rollers (I may be wrong). Your intake wouldn't bolt up but that wouldn't be hard or expensive to deal with. The car would be pretty fun. I think those engines were 215-230 hp and good torque.

just a thought.

 

I did swap it in, just to find out it has rod knock. It also has over 200k miles on it so, now thay i think about it, the internals might not be in the best shape. Mean while, the 305 has less than 63k miles on it since '84. But ive been told the internals in these engines from the 80s don't hold up for long and wear out early. Which is the only reason I'm looking into a new cam. So either I take the 350 out and get it rebored, which is expensive and I have no way of getting it to a shop, or I spruce up the 305 and swap it back in.

 

The '94 350 "truck" engine is an L05 and has a terrible cam. That cam would be a down grade...even if it were brand new. That 350 -before it developed a rod knock, made 190 or 210 hp depending on the optioning. Either way, it's terrible.

Since flat tappet cam & lifters are up to $260 now days, I think I'd just buy a roller set up. Even a used set up for a "value" upgrade like it seem like you might be looking for.

 

I think the roller conversions for the pre roller blocks aren't that cheap. I'm all for rollers, don't get me wrong.

If the 350 has issues, I wouldn't waste my time w anything less a full rebuild. If the 84 engine is out and the bottom end is good I'd do some stuff to it. Just a thought, if you can find a set of heads that will give you some more compression and then do a cam you could have a fun little setup. The lg4 was 150Ish hp but the ho cars were 190hp. The pistons in those cars were different but if you could get up to that 190hp area it would be cool. Those HO cars were pretty fun and quick back in the day.

 

If spending a few hundred dollars for a new cam and lifters is too much for you then you have chosen the wrong hobby. Better to just drive your car as-is and enjoy it for what it is, a cool piece of 1980s history. Truth hurts sometimes. Sometimes we just have to be content with what we have. Always been an unpopular notion though. Here come the flames....