Which heads are best

yellow rose said

I was with you until the idle part. Back when these cars were NEW, the idle speed was 750-800 RPM. Then, you add ANY cam and it went up from there. A 1200 RPM idle is nothing, unless you are concerned with CAFE standards, because that is why idle speeds have dropped. In fact, it can be argued (and I have to do it often) that lower idle speeds will do more to damage a SFT or HFT cam than almost anything else.

My new cam will idle no lower than 1200 RPM because I run enough spring pressure that I want the lifters sliding over the lobe with a purpose and have enough oil coming off the rods to keep the cam lubed.

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That's funny you mention CAFE. You sure you're referencing it right though? Many moons ago when they were required I used to raise idle speed on some carbureted engines to pass the state emissions. That was in the 80s. It had nothing to do with fuel economy standards, because those standards really were not important until after these cars were made.
I'd call the cam choice and resulting idle a personal choice on your part I disagree with. Not like it's a big deal- different strokes, you know?
To me, raising the idle is a lousy way to compensate for poor tuning or incorrect parts choices. I'd no sooner put mechanical injection or use gas ported pistons on a street car. Idles past 800 are not for me when it's got to idle in traffic or crawl through a mall parking lot and it sure pisses off any local cops where I live.