Cam help

[theautomatics]

Well my 289 gets rebuilt this friday. I don't know what cam to get though. I've tried a summit cam before and it worked well with the 289 stock. I'm looking for a low to midrange powerband car now with the rebuild. I dont know what block I have. If its not a roller motor, should I still get a roller cam? Can you recommend a cam? The rebuild will be somewhat like this:

67' stang, 289 to a 302, edelbrock performer rpm intake, forged pistons, holley 600 carb vac secs, Canfield heads 170cc, 1.6" stud mounted roller rockers, Hooker long tube headers, 2.5" exhaust, 3.89 gears locking differential. I'm shooting for 360 hp at the flywheel.

Whats a good cam for lowend to midrange power? Whats worked for you?

 

[Cobain03]

why not get a performer RPM cam?

 

[rbohm]

the first thing to do is decide on the rpm range you want the cam to work in. since you have made this decision already, the low to mid range, this means 1000-4500 or so. you can fudge this a bit one way or another by about 500rpm with now problem. as for lifter type, stick with hydraulic lifters since this is a street engine. as for roller vs flat tappet, either one works fine, but the roller is going to be more expensive to buy into. comp cams and crane both have excellent retrofit roller cams, as do other manufacturers. i would however go with the crane link bar roller lifters to eliminate the dog bone and spider design the automakers used. the roller cam i selected for my 289(when it finally gets built) is from comp cams. it has 260 degree advertised duration, and .480 lift. i selected this cam for its heavy emphasis on low end and mid range power, and yet it will still pull strong to 6500rpm.

 

[S-Car-Go]

289, low to mid power, 360 hp? I think there is a contradiction there. Any two is very do-able.

I'd go XE256h or XE262h for a good street motor.

270S or 282S to hit 360 hp with a 289


BTW Like the heads. Sounds like a good motor. What trans?

 

[theautomatics]

thanks/ that gives me cams for thought.

For a trans I was going to go with a TCI streetfighter. My original C4 has gotta go. 4 speed auto would be nice.

 

[SoCalCruising]

With good heads like those, you'll have trouble keeping your peak hp under 5000RPM, I think, even with a modest aftermarket cam. It sounds like you're building around a 289 block, stuffing in a 302 crank and rods. You probably do not have a roller block, but unless you're thr original owner, it's not 100% (just 99%). Assuming it isn't, stick with a flat tappet cam, unless you DO have the $$ to pop for link bar lifters. Then, by all means go roller cam. If the springs will handle it, the XE166HR cam would make great low-midrange power and peak under 5500RPM. Awesome street combo. You would make your hp goal, no problem, and still make enough vacum for power brakes and a near-stock converter. Otherwise (flat tappet cam), the XE 262 would be fine.

 

[ratio411]

To get both HP and torque figures high, you need to stroke the engine.

Build it to 331 or 347 cubes. Then you can have a little of both HP and TQ.
To get that kind of HP out of a 289, it'll be a high winding engine.

Also, I have seen Summit cams and Edelbrock cams both listed in this thread.
Remember they are both made by the same company! Save money and buy the Summit box rather than the Edelbrock box.

 

[SoCalCruising]

Let's be clear: he is stroking a 289 to 302. Given that, he wants cam advice.

 

[D.Hearne]

The cam he has now could be just the ticket with better heads. I'd do the engine first, reuse the Summit cam (which one is it anyway?) and see how it does with the Canfield heads before doing another cam. Just make sure the lifters don't get mixed up while the overhaul's being done.

 

[theautomatics]

Yea It'll be stroked to a 302. I was thinking of even going 306 but it's not worth the money.

The cam I have now is a summit cam, 2000-4500, 218/228 int/ex at .050, with .471/.471 of lift.

I called comp cams today and they recommended the 31-432-8 hydraulic roller cam.
220/220 281/281 duration .512 lift. Now I need to call back and find a hydraulic flat tappet cam as my block may not be a roller motor. I guess the engine code is by the starter but I suppose it's too costly to convert to a roller motor.

Socalcruising- "With good heads like those, you'll have trouble keeping your peak hp under 5000RPM, I think, even with a modest aftermarket cam"

Why? 170cc's too much?

 

[D.Hearne]

With those heads and the cam you have now, you'll have a strong low and mid range. Only thing you might want to do is go with 1.7 rockers to bump the lift specs up to .500.