non g-body 400 sbc cam question

[snotrocket71]

hey, i'm rebuilding the top end of a 400sbc i recently picked up for my truck. the motor was rebuilt but sat for an unknown amount of time and was in need of regasketing. upon tear down it was determined that the cam was wiped out, not to mention it was a crane 272 cam which is pretty damn big. the motor has a stock rebuilt bottom end with keith black stock 30 over pistons and good clean cylinder bores along with an edelbrock performer intake. the heads are stock style with comp roller tip rockers and manley valve guides. i figure compression to be 8.5-1 figuring a stock rebuild. i plan on regasketing, new cam lifters, timing chain, distributor, rebuilt q-jet, small tube headers, new bolts everywhere, new flywheel, and any other minor incidentals that may creep up along the way. i'm stumped as far as where to go with a cam choice. i'd prefer off the shelf grinds for ease and budget. i had in mind a few cams: lunati 60100lk or 60101lk or comp cams cl12-231-2 or 12-234-2. i know that with the extra cubic inches i can get away with a larger cam. this is going in my daily driven k5. the specs on the truck are: sm465 (6.55 low, 3.58 first gear), 2.73 rear gears, 32" tires, heat and ac. driveability are important considering its my main mode of transportation. any info is appreciated and if more info on my motor or set up is needed let me know, thanks -Josh.

 

[DRIVEN]

I have the identical engine setup in my El Camino. My gearing is 3.08 and I'm running an overdrive manual transmission (MY6). I went with an XE256H as an experiment. I was trying to make peak torque right at my cruise RPM since I use he vehicle primarily for towing and hauling. Using Dyno 2000, I just kept plugging cam specs in until I got the one I wanted. I will say that if I were doing it again I might go with the XE262H just to get a little more top-end. But even as it is -- the torque is INSANE and the throttle response is really nice too. It actually behaves more like a diesel than a typical SBC. There is no need to rev past 3500RPM because there's nothing up there. That's fine with me. The XE cams do have a reputation as being kind of noisy, though. Mine's a little clattery but not obnoxious. It still gets close to 20mpg on the freeway too at 2200RPM (70mph).

 

[snotrocket71]

thank you very much for the testament, i used comp cams camquest as a general guide. im heavily leaning towards the comp cl12-234-2 cam and lifters at this point. the damn truck makes so much noise that a little cam noise wouldnt be noticed while driving, hell a gear drive might go un noticed with the windows down top off and flowmasters purring.
i figure maybe one day i'll score a set of vortech heads which should match nicely with the previously mentioned comp cam. any other info and experiences are greatly appreciated, thanks again