Picked out a cam

fastmustangII said:

Well we went to the store yesterday and talked to a sales person and decided on the cam I'm getting. We picked a crane with 272. We were going to go with 278 but I didn't think my engine compression was high enough. It's 130052 on summit. I can't wait til my b'day next week!

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That the one i'm running check the sig you won't be dissappointed.

Good choice, I got the 278, and I think its a little too hot for the street. Im having some problems tuning the whole setup, and I think its (partly) to blame.

Birthday, huh?? That means your 18 now....

JonDawg said:

Birthday, huh?? That means your 18 now....

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I remember you had your II dyno'd once before. Do you plan on doing it again after the cam?

fastmustangII said:

Well we went to the store yesterday and talked to a sales person and decided on the cam I'm getting. We picked a crane with 272. We were going to go with 278 but I didn't think my engine compression was high enough. It's 130052 on summit. I can't wait til my b'day next week!

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Eh- when you're talking Advertised Duration, you're talking Greek to me... and most other professional engine buiders. Stick to the .050 duration figures and you'll become more familiar with cams in general. The problem is, every cam manufacturer measures their advertised duraton at different lift points. For example:
Say Crane has a 280 cam... better yet, we'll use your 272 cam for example. Crane's 272 adv. Duration cam lists as 216* duration at .050 lift. Also having a 110 lobe separation and probably a 108 intake centerline. NOW- we look at Lunati who shows a 282 advertised cam. Think it will be a bigger cam??? Not at all. Matter of fact it's considerably smaller. Lunati lists the 282 as 208* at .050 lift. with a 112 lobe sep and 107 intake centerline. Obviously two totally different animals! But- if you were to follow the advertised duration you would have though you had a bigger cam! i learned my lesson when i was about your age ordering my 1st cam for my '67 Ranchero and being UTTERLY disappointed when I installed the Crane Fireball II the moron counterman suggested for me. I had asked for a cam with the larget possible duration in under .500 valve lift.... and what he gave me DEFINATELY wasn't it, and in reality the cam I WAS asking for was really trouble anyways! After that I dedicated myself to learning as much as possible about cams. And that I have, and am still learning.
To explain the difference in why these two cams advertise the way they do but are much different lead to how they were measured. You see, there is no standard as to which the cam manufacturer measures their advertised duration. One company may measures at .004 lifter rise wheras another will measure theirs at .007 lifter rise. So advertised duration is really a loose subject with alot of professional engine builders. The best comparison is the .050 figure. Sometimes the advertised figure is helpful in determining how steep of a ramp the lobe has which is really only a necessity for pro-race engines.
Another fault i see is the fact that you have chosen a single pattern cam (meaning the duration for the exh and intake are the same) to use in a stock and non-ported head application. Yes, they do work, but it's been proven that the single pattern cam paired up with Ford's cruddy exh port flow actually chokes the cam's performance. And..... single pattern cams tend to have a later and narrow powerband making them kinda a nusience when you want the power. Dual pattern cams are more broad and are typically better tailored to the engine it's designed for. (like a SBF with crappy exh port flow)

Another term loosely used is 'streetable' as in "that's a streetable cam". Well, everyone's perception of a steetable cam is different. Some think that a lopey cam isn't streetable. I've got a .496/.512 lift 224/234 @.050 cam in my Mustang II and, to me, it's very streetable. But again, it depends on what you're willing to put up with sitting in traffic...

Long story short, don't listen to the idiot at the counter. The days are long gone when parts houses acutally kept knowlegeable staff on the payroll. (though there are damn few that still are) Talk to an engine builder or the best yet, call the cam manufacturer direct. Comp, Crane, Lunati, etc.. have hotlines where you can contact them for your specific application.

Personally I'd choose a 214/224 @ .050 duration with .472/.496 lift and 112 Centerline to run in your II. Summit use to carry this cam but no longer does. PAW (Performance Automotive Warehouse) however does carry this cam and it's p/n is 11326 and can be had as a cam/lifter combo for under a Ben Franklin. I've been running PAW's SSI cams for years and have not had a single problem. I've used this particular cam in a frw friends' cars aswell as my brother's daily driver '70 Maverick.

I hope I have been of some help.

Dano78 said:

Personally I'd choose a 214/224 @ .050 duration with .472/.496 lift and 112 Centerline to run in your II. Summit use to carry this cam but no longer does. PAW (Performance Automotive Warehouse) however does carry this cam and it's p/n is 11326 and can be had as a cam/lifter combo for under a Ben Franklin.

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These specs are identical to the Edelbrock Torker-Plus Cam also. I've had good experience with SSI cams also I ran their .448/.472 cam in a 351W 15 years ago, and now have plans on installing the same cam in my 302 but with the addition of 1.7RR.

With the stock Ford heads, I think you would be happier with the following cam:
Crane Cam

It has the exact same intake lobe as the one you selected above, BUT, it has a larger exhaust lobe profile (aka dual pattern cam) to help with the restrictive exhaust port flow. The cam you have selected has a 110 Lobe seperation angle while the one in the link has a 112 LSA. The wider 112 LSA will give you a broader powerband than the tighter 110 LSA. Have fun with whatever you choose. Picking the correct cam for your driving preference, intended use, and desired power range can be frustrating at times. Far too many choices. I have seen the cam I've listed used in numerous street small blocks with stock heads and the owners were quite happy with the results.

Dano78 said:

Another term loosely used is 'streetable' as in "that's a streetable cam". Well, everyone's perception of a steetable cam is different. Some think that a lopey cam isn't streetable. I've got a .496/.512 lift 224/234 @.050 cam in my Mustang II and, to me, it's very streetable. But again, it depends on what you're willing to put up with sitting in traffic...

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Anything with lights and license plates is streetable for me.

90lx said:

With the stock Ford heads, I think you would be happier with the following cam:
Crane Cam

It has the exact same intake lobe as the one you selected above, BUT, it has a larger exhaust lobe profile (aka dual pattern cam) to help with the restrictive exhaust port flow. The cam you have selected has a 110 Lobe seperation angle while the one in the link has a 112 LSA. The wider 112 LSA will give you a broader powerband than the tighter 110 LSA. Have fun with whatever you choose. Picking the correct cam for your driving preference, intended use, and desired power range can be frustrating at times. Far too many choices. I have seen the cam I've listed used in numerous street small blocks with stock heads and the owners were quite happy with the results.

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I agree, that's a good cam aswell. Only one drawback... anytime you cross the .500 threshold on a SBF stock springs are no longer useful. To run this cam she'll have to ante up more coin for a hotter set of valve springs to help prevent valvefloat and other problems. Add to that more coin to go to the stronger 1 piece valvespring retainers too. So you'll be at least another $100 or so into springs and retainers alone. NOW- in my young and stupid days, I use to run these large cams on stock springs, cause I was a cheap, or better yet a poor bastid. I did this but i did it with severe caution and kept strictly to lower speed operation (kinda pointles then....but it sounded cool!!).... I won't lie I floated those suckers every now and again. Like 90lx said, it's all up to your driving preferance too.

Blue Thunder-- AMEN to that bro-tha!

fastmustangII said:

I think I'll just stick with the cam I have picked out. My boyf thinks its a good choice and he's the one putting the cam in, and he knows alot about this sort of thing. I'm getting the cam for my b'day so I cant ask for much more in the "price department" If this cam can tide me over for the next couple of years until I get heads and such then I'll be happy with it.

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Now Megan read your sig who is the authority here us or your BF what the guys are saying is the extra duration on the exhaust makes up for the losses in poor scavenging of the stock II head and exhaust system.

were just trying to help

ps besure you replace the lifters also-- they normally come in cam/lifter kits

Hey Z, all I can do it try. If she wants to learn the hard way and burn excess money doing it, so be it. I was alrady down that path and like to help people from taking the 'learn the hard way' path. He's right, the cam will work, any cam will for that matter. It's just getting the bast bang! for the buck. Besides, her BF may be knowlegeable, but I bet he's a Chevy guru. That particular grind (cam profile) is somewhat popular in SBCs.

Good luck with the swap. Let us know how it pans out.