Well, I want to put in a cam. Basically I'm shooting for an awesome sound with a lope and one that shakes the car a little bit. Something that pushes the cool factor through the roof. So far its a stock 302 with a little over 30k and a performer intake with a 600 holley vac. seconds. and headers and all that. I want it to sound cool and shake the car like i said. What would be the right cam to get that sound and feel??? Also I'd like to learn what about the cam itself gives the sound and makes the car shake? I am not too keen on what all the numbers mean. I have a relative idea, but not 100% clear. Just 17 and looking to learn more about my car. -Todd
Todd, just put a fat guy in the back seat and have him bounce up in down, that should take care of the shake for ya. As for the the cool factor make him wear a mask of Steve McQueen. That should cover it. Russ
Comp Cams makes a 268 High Energy that has a noticable lope and can be used with stock stall converter if you are running an automatic. The sound comes from increased intake to exhaust overlap. I had an old Cam Dynamics grind similar to this my 1980 cougar with 2.73 gears and stock converter and it ran good. It really woke up when I switched to 3.55 gears though. Cleaver
crane 363941 powermax hydraulic did it for me. not extreme, but sounds nice. 272/284 adv duration, 216/228 at .050 with 484/512 lift. has an easy lope, but might not shake as much as you want. best power is 2000 to 5000 but mine seems to like 5500 shift for quickest times
I had a Comp268 in one of my old Mustangs, and it was far too tame for me. I could BARELY hear any lope at all. I had an e-303 roller in my 5.0 and even it was a little tame. It had a slight lope, but nothing to really grab attention IMO. Putting a cam with enough duration to have a choppy idle in your car may not be the best choice as far as performance. A cam that you can hear generally has alot of duration and the lift to go with it. It will come alive just as your heads are signing off. Itll sound cool though, until you break a spring or drop a valve... If you really want to get a cool sounding cam, find one with alot of duration but without a rediculous lift. I would say at or below .480 lift with a stock springs. Anything over 220° of duration(@.050 lift....look for this in the specs) and you will really start to hear the lope. AC
sound file of mine http://home.columbus.rr.com/maverickgrabber/maverick(1).wma Comp cams-35-427-8.was a custom grind cam Hedman Elite Hedders 1-5/8''Tubes 3" coll to a flowmaster Venturi power cone 3" to 2 1/2" pipe all the back with 2" H pipe ......flowmaster 40s mufflers
Look for something in the 230*@.050 on a fairly tight center. Watch out for too much lift. I'm not sure what the stock springs can handle, but I do remember having an Edelbrock performer cam in an otherwise stock '68 302 with no trouble. One trick I have used in the past to make a little cam sound a bit bigger is to go for the lowest possible idle rpm. It can take a while to achieve messing with your carburetor, but a one or two hundred rpm drop in your idle makes it sound all the tougher. Also seems to get the converter to flash a bit higher off idle, but that part might be in my head.
Hey STOCKHATCH, Could hey use a bigger cam with the little larger lift & change the rockers to a 1.5 to shorten the lift? Just a thought. I'm thinking about CompCams XE274 might do the job. But it will not shake the car. Hey MaverickGrabber, 35-427-8 cam is a 351 cam I think. If so than he will have to change the fireing order, Right?
Oh, the XE274 CompCam calls for a 2500 stall. Do you have to use a stall? I have no idea on this. Can you drive with a 2500 stall on the street if the car is an automatic?
I suppose he COULD use less rocker, but it will reduce lift AND duration. Its really pointless IMHO to put a huge cam in a stock headed car. I have made the same mistake myself. All it does is move the power to where it does you less good, effect drivability(depending on HOW radical the cam) and break parts(valvetrain). As far as the firing order, Im really not sure. I have never known anyone to use a 351w cam(flat tappet) in a 302, just the roller 5.0s. AC
I would not go with too big a cam with stcok heads either. Mismatching of parts beats the purpose IMO. I run a small E cam and windsor SR/Roush 200 Heads. I need to step up to a bigger cam but like the steetable nature of the E cam. Some Rumpity Rump but at idle is hard to tell whats really there. Been thinking about the X cam more or the F cam with the 1.7 roller lifters by Harland. Its a toss up really. Sometimes what you think will work does not and the stuff you say no way ends up being a screamer. Good Luck
A guy I know just took a set of GT-40 cast iron heads off a newer Cobra. He said that the heads will fit a any 302. Is he right? He has about 50,000 miles on the car. I sneaked a peak. Will they work on my 302? Will the 2500 stall work for driveing on the street with an auto?
I didn't see the rockers. He might have put them on the new heads, there AFR light weight. I will have to get 1.7 rockers. How much lift can I go? What about the stall?
Well, you dont have to run 1.7's if its not coming with them. As far as lift goes, it all depends on your pistons, if you plan on milling the heads any, and what your springs can take. Youre asking the wrong person about stall speeds(I'm a stick guy from way back ) AC
