my sons mav (was mine) has a bone stock 302 2v. he wants to do a 4v and cam. already have a stealth manifold and 600 cfm edelbrock. would like to go as much lift as we can with out worrying about valve to piston clearance. i don't want to take motor apart to check clearances. and of corse he wants it to have some lope to it. he's 17 and thinks it sounds cool. his car is a 72 and date code on block says it's a 71. i think its the original. how much lift can i safely go? any cam suggestions would be helpful. thanks jack
In one of my flat tappet motors, I used a Crower 280dur/470lift cam. Ran real well, sounded awsome and made lots of power. Don't know if they still make it, but might be worth a look.
Never had it dyno'd, but car ran a 12.90 in the quarter with Holley 600, Ford 4bbl manifold, 4:62gears and a 4000rpm stall converter with a C4. Might check with Crower and see what it will do with your combination. That was with a '77 model engine in a '77 Mav.
I used a Crane H 260 2 #363901 cam with great results. Specs are .456/.484 lift 260/272 duration. I have two audio clips of it in my website under the exhuast link www.maverick75.tk
I can't say I know enough to recommend a cam but I would suggest you call or email several cam manufacturers, tell them what you have and want and listen to what they have to say. Usually to get a thumping cam you need heads, compression and carb to feed it to list just a couple of things and you need them to all work together. I remember the guys in high school that would come in on Monday morning after spending the weekend putting in what they called a 3/4 cam. Cars made some awesome potato potato potato sounds but wouldn't run worth a crap. lol Too much cam for an almost stock engine. lol I have a very mild comp cams 210-218, 514 lift cam in my 460 powered f100 and like it. I wish I had looked at the Voodoo cams more before I bought this one though clint
Who do? Voodoo, in a 302? You remind me of a man What man? Man with a power. What Power? Power of a voodoo in a 302. Voodoo in a 302? Who do? You do. I do? Do What? Remind me of a Man....... LOL i crack myself up
Its not so much valve clearance in stock form but the valve train. The press in rocker studs can only take so much pressure. The manufacturers know the product and application. It sure will wake it up.
Press in studs suck. Remove the heads. Take them to a shop and have the valve seats/guides checked. Examine the valve stems for wear. If you have factory rail rockers they wear out the stems and will drop a valve if left unchecked. Have the shop tap the heads for screw in studs. You will be glad you did! You will now have adjustible rockers which will mean the world to you with your new cam. Custom length pushrods are expensive!!! Buy a cam/springs/lifters kit. Have the shop install the springs. Do yourself a favor and check you valve to piston clearance. Less stress later!!!~
With a mild cam you can "get away" with the press in studs(under 220 duration and .470 lift)BUT...The stock guides/valve seats are going to wear out fast with the increased lift and spring pressures...Real fast if the engine has alot of miles on it.So do yourself a favor...If the valve train is questionable due to durability due to miles/problems stay mellow with the cam.
