Is there such a thing as Cams for Dummies

[SquareRoot]

Carbs? lol. Maybe they'll throw in some drum brakes for free.

 

[TotalyHucked]

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[ChuckN]

You won't get flamed from me on that comment. I completely agree. I still believe the Q-jet is the best carb for these engine in our trucks, but yea, the Edlebrock is second to none in terms of ease in custom tuning, or even ease of initial setup. For me with my stock 305 I'd love to have the Q-jet, but the PO installed an Edelbrock, and all the bracketry that was for the 700R4 with the Q-jet is gone. All I had to do the edelbrock was change the metering rods to get it where it needed to be. So $10 and 10 minutes of time. And that is why I'm still running the PO installed edelbrock, because it works fine. Now in the 5 years and nearly 80K I've put on the truck I have had to replace the choke coil twice and freeup the fast idle cam a few times. Which isn't bad, but if I compare that to the Q-jet on my 77 Cadillac, which if it's ever been rebuild it was before I bought it which was 15 years ago or so and it didn't look new then.

Sorry to the OP I did not mean to derail the thread.

Agree, sorry to the OP, I didn’t mean to hijack. I agree with others sentiments about calling cam makers and getting their direct input. And I also agree that it’s a mistake to over cam a heavier truck- I saw it happen in a parking lot at Costco. This poor square was beautiful, but it sounded like a truck-pull truck from the 80s it was so radical and the guy looked miserable just navigating through the traffic there. It must’ve loaded up and gotten too much fuel because it died and he couldn’t get it started and people had to push him into a parking spot. But it could’ve been very poorly tuned as well. Either way, it was lifted, completely redone with big tires, and it sounded like it belonged on a drag strip.

 

[SquareRoot]

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LOL, I literally just pissed myself. My apologies to the OP. I'll stop now.

 

[Bullet Bob]

LOL, I literally just pissed myself. My apologies to the OP. I'll stop now.

It’s all good I got my questions answered and everyone is having a good time. Doesn’t bother me one bit, some times going off topic turns into the best threads.

 

[sidschev]

buy prebuilt engine and be done.........

 

[AKguy]

So does anyone have a source for a place that explains how to chose a cam and whatever needs to be changed with it, possibly in crayon? Got a good ways to go before I’m at the stage of doing motor work on my grandfather’s truck. But I am thinking about swapping cams eventually. Always been told that they put a mild cam for pulling in the 50 year old 454 but have no idea of its specs. As much as I would love to put one in there that would sound like Vinnie Paul Abbot banging it out on the double bass. Probably need to go back with something mild but maybe with a little more spice. Figure by the time I get to that point I’ll have done enough research/learning to make a good choice.

Check this guy out at Myvintageiron7512 on YouTube. He has some good stuff.

 

[1lejohn]

For mild builds I like to stick with GM parts. I did that with several LS builds and on a couple of mild Gen 1 350's. The GM cams are very easy on valve springs , make good torque, don't require high stall torque convertors, and are emission compliant. The biggest question you have to ask yourself is how are you going to use the truck. That determines everything about your build.

 

[rich weyand]

Couple things to bear in mind.

You drive torque, you race horsepower. Racing engines always have 'a lot of cam', which is to say, they're cammed for high RPMs, because they don't race them at low RPM. They put the throttle down and keep it there.

Driving, you use torque. You're usually at low RPMs, even cruising at speed. Lots of stops and starts. Different use entirely.

Racing-cammed engines lope at idle because they don't like to run at low RPMs, including idle. An engine cammed for torque will idle silky smooth. It's running at low RPMs, has a ton of torque available from start, and is happy idling.

I put a marine cam on my 350. Maybe 275 hp, but 420 lbft of torque. Result? Gets off the line like a scalded dog, but runs out of air earlier than a normal cam. I rejiggered the TH350 to shift earlier, because the torque curve was so beefy in the bottom.

So decide what you want, and know that a lope is not what you want from a driver.

 

[Travlr]

So does anyone have a source for a place that explains how to chose a cam and whatever needs to be changed with it, possibly in crayon? Got a good ways to go before I’m at the stage of doing motor work on my grandfather’s truck. But I am thinking about swapping cams eventually. Always been told that they put a mild cam for pulling in the 50 year old 454 but have no idea of its specs. As much as I would love to put one in there that would sound like Vinnie Paul Abbot banging it out on the double bass. Probably need to go back with something mild but maybe with a little more spice. Figure by the time I get to that point I’ll have done enough research/learning to make a good choice.

You can overthink anything. Unless you are anal and OCD and building a competitive racing truck... you can go into any decent auto parts store or online source and buy a generic "RV" cam that will get you more torque and better fuel mileage. They are good for trucks you want to drive on the road. And you don't need to know the specific particulars of height/duration/whatever as though it will really make some kind of difference.

A cam like this and a good set of headers are the best bang for the buck you can spend money on. Everything else is expensive by comparison for the amount of benefit you will get.

 

[potent rodent]

if u do change cams make sure its not to big other wise u will have to change converters

 

[potent rodent]

Check this guy out at Myvintageiron7512 on YouTube. He has some good stuff.

yes he explaines how to pic a cam along with head flow that is matching cam to your heads

 

[potent rodent]

torque get u going horsepower keeps u going

 

[84c10Tony]

Way back when, looking into same stuff, Comp Cams had an interactive chart, some gearing info, matching stuff up for which ever the job required. Called tech support and learned some stuff. Something to compare with when shopping or learning. Have fun, enjoy the ride!
Had a super duper old guy redo the Quad, went from 14 to 18/22mpg, smooth as silk driving.
He retired, truck went down, injury brought me down, had to be sold due to Gov'ment requirements.
Life happens.
Found a shop out in Palmdale CA. that rebuilds quads, and rebuilds distributors too.
If I had it to do all over again, I would like to do Rich Weyands original rv cam/long tubes idea for simplicity, reliability, and cost.
Robert Thomas in Hesperia CA did great on the Detroit Tru trac n 3.73 gears for gettin' down the road.

Oops, Escuzie', need coffee...

 

[peats]

With all of the monkey business of flat tappet cams and lifters these days, I would be inclined to use a roller cam. The extra $ spent will still be cheaper than wasting an engine on a failed cam or lifter.