Thread: Camshaft advice (again...)

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I have a stock 1984 454 oval port. Standard trans 4 speed (with OD) and a 3.08 rear end.

Parts ready to go onto this motor are:
1)Edelbrock performer 2.0 dual plane intake
2)Edelbrock 750 carb (1411)
3)Headers

I am looking at this cam:
Melling 22214 camshaft - Duration at .050, Int. 214, Exh. 214, Adv. duration Int. 292, Exh. 292. Valve lift Int. .502. Exh. .502, Center lobe Int. 109 Exh. 119. Characteristics-class 11-may not be computer compatible. Fair idle, good low to mid-range torque. Power range 1700-5200 RPM-HYD.

Look ok? I am just looking to freshen this engine up a bit. Street driven with the occassional holeshot or test and tune run at the track. I am thinking 5500 rpm max..? How are Melling cams and lifters?

Any advice would be great. thx guys

oops, Messed up this reply....see below please.

Gus, Which vehichle? A bit "punchy" for normal use. Probably not a bad choice for playing with the wannabees. Edlebrock choice is not one of my favorites. I know there are lots of users of this carb here, I feel in my personal use, they are not as sensitive to tuning for bigger than stock camshafts as they used to be when they were the real Carter carb. Gearing and tranny specs could help.

thx Nitro, I am wheeling and dealing parts for this car and the edelbrock stuff fell in my lap. The melling cam is available to me cheap. I really don't have the luxury to shop and buy exactly what I need but rather make due with what I can find. What do you mean by "punchy"?

I am running a New Process 4 speed (A-833 RPO code MY6) it has the exact same gear ratios as a 700R4 but its a standard. The rear end is a 3.08 (open), but I plan to find a posi drop in unit eventually with a higher ratio if need be.

My car is a 60 Bel Air boat, I don't think of myself as a 'wannabe', but looking to put together a low budget ride for me and the kids, with a little oomph for the stop lights...

Tech Inspector should be along soon,.....You need to know ,cumbustion chamber size /bore size/and piston size /in order to determine you static compression.This will tell you what cam to use by what it makes your dynamic compression come out to.
This will regulate which cams will work and how they perform.Some time spent on this step can make or break a motors performance and it costs no different to get it right.
I understand this ,but not well enuff to exsplain it well.
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tec...ics/index.html

Thx Shawn, I will dig into your article and do more research. Since my motor is a stock 1984 truck motor with oval heads, I can pretty much assume my static compression will be low. My motor came out of a wrecker and I am geussing this thing is cam'd from the factory for all torque at low rpm's. Id like to bring that up a bit, but I am definitely not going to be reving this thing out.

Somewhere in between would be nice...

Id bet your compression ration is somewhere in the 8.0-8.75:1 range; probably the lower than higher, so cam needs to stay conservative.

I like the dual pattern cams better for a mild build myself to especailly when talk bone stock heads to let the exhause side breath a little better, You can get a Summit brand or other cam and lifter combo cheap and just stick with figures that operate with the intake and carb you have...the Edelrbrock perfromer manifold is an idel to 5,500 rpm intake and most mild cams should get you there. You could even look to Edelbrocks performer cam specs and find a cheaper brand with close to idenitcal specs. If your gonna freshen up a motor...for me anyway, I would definately do all crank & rod bearings,a dn if you have the $$$ get the block to amchine shop to a cleaning and some new cam bearings minimum. Get yourself a hball hone for some new rings....Id do an oil pump and timimg chain set...for the cost since your doing new cam and lifters you can get new stamped rocker and pushrods for not much at all. Thats just my list of basics..to each his own. Good luck

My 454 has had a recent rebuild, so I do not want to get into the guts of this thing, plus I cannot afford to. I figured, that since I have it out of the car, I might as well slide a new cam into it (as well as an oil pump and timing chain)

This melling cam doesn't look to be far off from the recommended cam by Edelbrock (which is the 2162). I may be missing key figures here though...

The Edel 2162 is listed as:
Duration at .006 Lift: Intake 292° Exhaust 302° Centerlines
Duration at .050 Lift: Intake 218° Exhaust 228° Lobe Separation: 114°
Lift at Cam: Intake .295 Exhaust .295 Intake Centerline: 109°
Lift at Valve: Intake .500 Exhaust .500
Timing at .050 Lift Open Close
Intake 0° ATDC 38° ABDC
Exhaust 53° BBDC 5° BTDC

Gus, "punchy" is a term I use to descirbe a "bit aggressive". It does sound a bit too much for your app. I would back it down on cam size. Melling still has some good ones that will get done what you want at a good price. The "wanabees" I was refering to are the "kiddies" or the "credit card over the limit and pay for it" dudes that you meet at the light hoping you'll be impressed by their ride. 3:08 gears are too tall for the cam or any serious launching you wanna do. Higher stall on the converter is a must to move your cruiser. Some things will have to be changed for your selection. I recommend taming down the cam, degree it, tune it and SLOWLY creep up on the other ideas you are milling around. P.S. I was in no way refer to you as a "wanabee". You wouldn't be here asking the good questions if you were.

Thx Nitro,i am looking at some tamer cams as we speak. I know cam selection is tough and important. I am hoping to turn this into less of guessing game by asking here. You guys are probably tired of this question by now...

Do you think Edelbrocks proposed cam for my app is too aggresive as well? I called them and they told me to use the 2162 cam (as specified above)
thx again

This first link will get you close to the static compression...it pretty manditory you know approxamatly what it is..Any thing you do not know to put into the converter ask here and I am sure some one will have a answer.
http://www.wallaceracing.com/cr_test2.php
This second link will use the info from the first link + your cam specs to determine your dynamic compression.
http://www.wallaceracing.com/dynamic-cr.php
This is the info you want to use to make a cam choice on your engine based on your specific engine components.
1...lower rpm ,5500 and down
2 ...heavy vehichle
3 ...trans type
4.... rear gear
5... intended use of vehichle
This last link is to all the converters and calculators to determine what effects changes will have on most parts of the entire ride,from tire size and rpm to weight to power ratios required to run a certain speed.
http://www.wallaceracing.com/Calculators.htm

If you have any more questions at all about these links or what info you need to utilize them ,feel free to ask.

Good going Shawnlee. All the info Gus can get is to his benefit. Gus, off the top of my head and what little I know for now, you're gonna keep gearing and stuff the same, Go down to a 480-493 lift range, chop the 050 duration to 211 or down to 205 (rounded out) and see if your choice can hold the lobe seperation to about 112-114. It will produce a fairly quick ramp speed for torque and still be managable for the car as it sits.

Thx for the CAM 101 guys, I am going to crunch some numbers now...

results are in (using 120cc heads at sea level):
Your engine summary is as follows:
Bore - 4.25 inches
Stroke - 4 inches
Rod c-c length - 6.135 inches
With a static compression ratio of 7.83:1.
Your camshaft specifications call for an inlet valve closing of 38 degrees ABDC (after bottom dead center).
Your chamber volume is 136.15 cc's. With this camshaft your dynamic, or effective stroke is 3.70 inches.
Your dynamic compression ratio is 7.32 :1 corrected for cam timing, altitude, and rod length.
Your dynamic cranking pressure, corrected for cam timing, rod length and altitude is 141.59 PSI.
Your dynamic boost compression ratio, reflecting static c.r., cam timing, altitude, and boost of 0 PSI is 7.32 :1.

These numbers look sad

Now start playing with the cams to get the dynamic up into the 8 to 8.5 range.

If you don't like the static 7.83:1 and dynamic 7.32:1 and don't want to use different pistons you can use a thinner head gasket and shave the heads some,,,,just about your only alternatives with out a tear down and decking or pistons.
That CR does limit the cam selection 'some' but for what your wanting performance wise it will still produce plenty of torque with a cam like nitrowarrior is suggesting.