cam for a 360?

-
74scamp360

74scamp360

Junior Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2009
Messages
1,032
Reaction score
9
Location
Elora, Ontario, Canada
Hey guys i'm looking for some advice on a cam to use in my 360. This car will see some track time but will live most of its life on the street so nothing too radical ( it needs to be able to idle at a stop light lol). The car is a 74 scamp so my best guess for weight is just under 3000 pounds. It will likely have a fairly built up 904 behind it with a slightly better torque convertor. 8/34 with either 3.55 gears or 3.91s (whichever i can get my hands on). Any suggestions?? If you need any more info. on specs i'll do my best to answer but since the cars not all put together yet it's hard to know what the build will be exactly. Thanks a lot, Greg
 
Well from the idle characteristics you want you will want something that will be a milder cam and it is also going to depend on what stall the converter for your tranny will be. That will play a big factor in it. Another big thing you are going to need to think about is how much money do you want to throw into it. If you have deep pockets which a lot of people don't then go with a full roller system. If you are looking for a normal hydraulic cam then something along these lines would probably work and wont set you back too much.

This one is a pretty mild one with a lower duration. You have to take into consideration when you are going with higher durations then you will have lower manifold vacuum which will come into play when running power brakes. If you have manual brakes then that is not a problem.

http://www.compperformancegroupstor...Product_Code=20-212-2&Category_Code=LACAMHFHE

I think this one here would probably be your best bet. There is a good combination of lift and duration. There is enough duration in this one that you will have a nice "Muscle Car" idle and it will have a nice snappy throttle response.

http://www.compperformancegroupstor...Product_Code=20-224-4&Category_Code=LACAMHFXE

There is also a company named Cam motion that will custom grind you any desired lift and duration that you want on any lobe seperation that you could want. They are pretty reasonable considering they are custom ground I am pretty positive that they charge $186 for any spec cam. So you can give them your specs and what you will be running and they can give you suggestions on a custom grind.

www.cammotion.com

Hope this helps some. There are vast amounts of possibilities that you can go with with camshafts so it is hard to pinpoint a specific one sometimes but hopefully this helps.


Jeff
 
Thanks, ya i know what you mean that it's hard to pick a cam when i don't know all the specs yet. I will likely have a 2200 or higher stall so that second one would likely work nicely for me. And ya i'd like that little bit of a rough idle so it sounds kinda nasty but like i said it'll need to be able to handle mostly street driving. My pockets are quite shallow i guess i'd say for now. I'm 16 and just bought this car not long ago. It's got a slant 6 right now and just won't cut it so i bought a stock 360 off a guy that i'll be swapping in in the spring (i'm in canada so she goes away for the winter). Thanks a lot for your help i think that those would both be a good choice. Has anyone bought a package deal for example. You know the ones that come with the cam, lifters, rods, etc. Are they a good deal or am i better to mix and match??
 
o and i fogot to mention the 360 is a smog motor so unfortunatly for now it is a low compression, i don't know exactly but i can't really see it being much better then 8:5:1. I hope in the future to get some head work done like porting and polishing and maybe machine them a little to get a bit better compression because i really don't have enough money to stroke it right now. any other suggestions?
 
I use a p4452992 purple shaft which is 280/.474,238 @.050" and p4120249 springs in my 360,it works well with a 2400 rpm convertor and a 3.91 gear, I have ran this combo for a few years now with little driveability issues and a decent idle.
 
decent idle meaning it sounds decent or it's not too ruff? I've heard some good stuff about the puple shafts, anyone else used them?? Thanks for the tip mechanicken.
 
And a 74 scamp, unless gutted isnt going to be 3000 lbs. More like 3300-3400. but that 280/.474 would be a good one anyway.
 
74scamp360 said:
Hey guys i'm looking for some advice on a cam to use in my 360. This car will see some track time but will live most of its life on the street so nothing too radical ( it needs to be able to idle at a stop light lol). The car is a 74 scamp so my best guess for weight is just under 3000 pounds. It will likely have a fairly built up 904 behind it with a slightly better torque convertor. 8/34 with either 3.55 gears or 3.91s (whichever i can get my hands on). Any suggestions?? If you need any more info. on specs i'll do my best to answer but since the cars not all put together yet it's hard to know what the build will be exactly. Thanks a lot, Greg
Click to expand...

I would suggest the comp 268 or the crane 272 powermax...the purple shaft needs a looser converter and more than 8.5 compression plus lower gears.
Just remember too small is much better than too big on the street...and when cold weather hits...its even worse.
 
I like Crackedbacks sugestion. If you build up the engine with some good comprsion and port the heads, the comp 274 would be a mean machine maker.
 
Camcraft cams will grind any thing you want. You can call Charles at 800-426-2261 or e-mail: [email protected]. He's real knowledgeable and after you have a conversation with him he'll suggest what you need for the best overall performance. I bought a new cam and solid lifters from him for a 273 I'm building for $200.00.
When you call the number you'll usually get Charles on the phone personally.
 
With 8.5 to 1 compression and only a 2200 stall converter I wouldn't go with anything bigger than the 268xe and to be honest I'd probably only go with the 262xe. I had a 274xe in my 360 with a 3000 stall and 4:11 gears and 9.8 to 1 comp. It ran good but I could tell it really needed the loose stall and low gears. Also does your car have power brakes? If so the 274xe probably won't pull enough vacuum to make them work properly. Only pulled 9 inches in my 360.

BTW: You might also consider either the Lunati 60402 or 60403 voodoo cam. I replaced the 274xe cam in my 360 with the Lunati 60404 and it has more low end grunt and idle is nearly identical. The 60402 is comparable to the comp 262xe. The 60403 is comparable to the 268xe.
 
My Duster 360 motor with 9 to 1 compression runs & idles great with a 280H comp cam. Rebuilt 587 heads, Performer RPM manifold, Edelbrock 750 cfm #1407 carb & Hooker header. Rebuilt 904 transmission with a Hughes 2600 stall convertor. Rearend is an 8-3/4 with 3.91 gears and a Powertrax Locker. I have manual disk brakes and manual steering.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top