picking a good cam

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Doug213xrj

Royal Smart Person
Dec 30, 2011
1,529
131
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West Michigan
Hey, Whats a Good Cam for a 1984 305 H/O no computer ? I'm liking this one from Comp Cams.

Camshaft, Hydraulic Flat Tappet, Advertised Duration 262/270, Lift .462/.469, Chevy, Small Block.
Basic Operating RPM Range:1,300-5,600 .

Doug
 

Injectedcutty

G body LS mafia
Nov 24, 2014
6,060
22,820
113
Louisville, KY
Should be a decent cam. I have one new in box that's just 1 size larger on lift and designed for good vacuum manners. It's a comp 268xfi hydraulic flat tappet cam and lifters if you're interested....I'll let it go at a good price since I don't need it.
 
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Boglog

Apprentice
Mar 19, 2020
62
91
18
WA
That’s a good cam for a mostly stock setup. Cams with 0.5” lift (or more) look sexy on paper but will require head machining because your retainers will likely hit the valve guide boss. Even if you did the machine work for a larger cam it’d be kinda pointless cause they probably won’t flow enough to take advantage.
 
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1983calais

Master Mechanic
Feb 26, 2015
278
337
63
Tiffin, OH
I used that camshaft in my demo derby engine I built. 350 sbc, standard bore dish hyperutectic pistons, 186 double hump heads with 1.94 intake, 1.5 exhaust. The springs were changed and little machine work. Dart SHP air gap dual plane intake with a 500 cfm Edelbrock carb. I used to run derby trucks. That engine made me about $2500 the year I built it. ( I only ran it 3 times). I finished my first truck off the rest of the year. It got me about $8000 the next year and another $2500 the following year. I didn’t run as much that year. But that engine ran great with all kinds of power and I was not easy on it what so ever. It still runs great. That camshaft is a good one for driving around with a little extra too. The 268 injectedcutty has is a good one too. They aren’t race cams but for a driver, really nice. Little bit of a thumpy idle also. Not much though.
 
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Injectedcutty

G body LS mafia
Nov 24, 2014
6,060
22,820
113
Louisville, KY
I used that camshaft in my demo derby engine I built. 350 sbc, standard bore dish hyperutectic pistons, 186 double hump heads with 1.94 intake, 1.5 exhaust. The springs were changed and little machine work. Dart SHP air gap dual plane intake with a 500 cfm Edelbrock carb. I used to run derby trucks. That engine made me about $2500 the year I built it. ( I only ran it 3 times). I finished my first truck off the rest of the year. It got me about $8000 the next year and another $2500 the following year. I didn’t run as much that year. But that engine ran great with all kinds of power and I was not easy on it what so ever. It still runs great. That camshaft is a good one for driving around with a little extra too. The 268 injectedcutty has is a good one too. They aren’t race cams but for a driver, really nice. Little bit of a thumpy idle also. Not much though.
Yep. The old 355 I ran had a cam two steps larger than the 268xfi I'm trying to sell. However, it was not a real street friendly cam, horrible vacuum for the brakes, rough idle. It sounded good but wasn't happy below 3k rpm. I was young and listening to the wrong people.

When I was planning a new 355 I did ALOT of research on the best bang for the buck, and I kept coming back to the 268xfi. It's designed to be EFI friendly, but works really well with a carb too. Also, the specs on Comps site shows valve lift with a 1.6 rocker, but if running a 1.5 rocker the lift is street friendly.
Ultimately I ended up going LS, and the tech is soooo much more advanced with them. I'm running a spec'd hydraulic roller cam for my 5.3 that is super tame depending on the tune, but still has .613/.598 lift, huge powerband and it's snappy!!!!
 
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1983calais

Master Mechanic
Feb 26, 2015
278
337
63
Tiffin, OH
I believe the 268 is the biggest cam you can use with a stock torque converter also. Anything bigger takes a stall converter. One thing to consider for the op too. Unless you have a stick shift!!! I like the 262 and 268 for an all around cam. Easy on the wallet too!
 
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Rapidride2

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Apr 30, 2018
35
30
18
Hey, Whats a Good Cam for a 1984 305 H/O no computer ? I'm liking this one from Comp Cams.

Camshaft, Hydraulic Flat Tappet, Advertised Duration 262/270, Lift .462/.469, Chevy, Small Block.
Basic Operating RPM Range:1,300-5,600 .

Doug


Call Mike Jones of Jones cams. He will grind you a custom cam for YOUR application. He has made cams for ford, GM, Nissan factory and prototype cams. Everything from asphalt to Indy to greyhound bus. He even cammed all of the qualifying Chryslers in NASCAR one year. He learned from his father and he is the real deal.
 
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