New engine may have too big of cam

[Judge Mills]

I traded my 71' Duster for some cash and a 350 that has been freshened up. New bearings, "different" heads, "different" intake, new cam.

it's a 4 bolt main, 3970010 block number.

intake, which i'll probably sell, is an aluminum 14014432 casting.

This block has smog era 462624 heads.

I got the cam specs today, and they are even *bigger* than I thought, which is probably not a good thing. The engine has never been turned over, so I have that going for me, at least.

The cam is a Lunati VooDoo, cam #60104. http://www.lunatipower.com/CamSpecCa...rtNumber=60104

Lift: .504 intake, .524 exhaust. Duration: 276 intake, 284 exhaust. 110 lobe seperation. 2200-6400 RPM range.

Thoughts? Ideas? The poor reputation of these heads is making me consider changing them for something else before installing it. BUT, should I bother keeping the cam, or try to sell it? It appears to be too big for normal driving and possibly the occasional 1 autocross event a year, if that. I'm setting this El Camino up to show up at an autocross event, but it's not being built to be competitive or a race car. 99% of the time it'll be driven on the street.

 

[81Regal]

That cam is not even a close match to the heads and intake. I would run the cam with a good pair of heads and single plane intake. Do you know if it has stock pistons or not?

 

[crotchss]

Yes, the cam is way too big. Even with a good set of heads and single plane intake, it will be pretty "hairy" for a daily driver 350, especially if you have dish pistons. The 624 heads don't flow that good and are crack prone. A cam in the low to mid 2teens @0.050 would be a better match for the current engine. Plus I wonder if matching springs are on the heads to handle that cam anyways?

 

[Judge Mills]

Yes, the cam is way too big. Even with a good set of heads and single plane intake, it will be pretty "hairy" for a daily driver 350, especially if you have dish pistons. The 624 heads don't flow that good and are crack prone. A cam in the low to mid 2teens @0.050 would be a better match for the current engine. Plus I wonder if matching springs are on the heads to handle that cam anyways?

It appears to me that these heads/valvtrain are completely stock. I believe it's the stock pistons as well. Unfortunately I didn't get a lot of info with this engine.

I think I may be better off taking the cam out and getting a different one to start with.

Is there a certain head you would recommend to be on the lookout for? I'm trying to stay with OE heads for now to keep costs down, I'm not trying to win races here.

Something along the lines of this would work for now?
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/lun-10120701lk/overview/make/chevrolet

 

[Yav8]

Easy choice for the best bang for the buck are a set of Vortecs. A little porting with a grinder on the exhaust side and some smoothing on the intake and a set of Comp Beehive springs and retainers. This will handle the cam you have and with a small converter you will be very happy. You will need a new or used intake. Check ebay for a used one and they can be had for around $100 or check around.

 

[Judge Mills]

Easy choice for the best bang for the buck are a set of Vortecs. A little porting with a grinder on the exhaust side and some smoothing on the intake and a set of Comp Beehive springs and retainers. This will handle the cam you have and with a small converter you will be very happy. You will need a new or used intake. Check ebay for a used one and they can be had for around $100 or check around.

Thanks for the info. Are there any specific Vortec heads I should be looking for? Intakes seem to be pretty easy to find for the Vortecs...

 

[81_El_Homewrecker]

I got the vortec heads from summit. Supposedly they are made for summit by dart? They were $600 for a pair and have been excellent. Changed out the springs and retainers to handle a comp xe274 roller cam.