Thread: 350 issues

Tweet

Rgr that Pat .... Thanks for the info

I would like to thank all of you for your tremendous ideas! I have not had the chance to take her out for a test spin yet, however do to the numerous directions given here and the helpful information about my cam; she lives! The cam is a solid. after setting lash to .018 she cranked rt up! Scared the bejeezuz out of me as I still had the idle speed set pretty high and it hit 3500 rpm before I turned it off. I did a lil jig in the garage from utter joy that it started so quickly. Out of daylight and tired after work today, so tomorrow I will readjust the Carb to its out of the box settings (well as close as I can get) start her up and hopefully get a test drive in, barring any more issues. Will let you know how the Vac pressure and such is once I get the rest of it straight. Started ripping out the interior this weekend as well, thats the next part of the project.

Little update here. Got the camaro running pretty well and have been driving it regularly. Took it to a friend of mine that builds some pretty nice cars himself to gain further insight on the cam. Turns out it is one hell of a cam and is better off on the strip than for the mild street driving I want. Turns out the cam comes close to Duration 285/295, Lift .532/.555 and sounds like it a beast. car runs well with it; aside from the fuel eating me alive it does do well in takeoff but really seems to enjoy the higher rpm's. Took it out in the boonies and ripped it open and once the rpms hit about 5500 she woke up like a completely different car. At this stage in the game I am ordering a new cam and lifter set to get a lot milder and better gas mileage as well. Unbelievable that the car actually passed inspection (emissions) with this cam but it did take a bit of tweaking with a machine to get PPM's way down. I would like to say thank you once again for all the help and support I have received here.

Originally Posted by JonBoll

Great question, if I knew the answer it would be even better There are no markings on the cam, and no color of any kind either. I would not know the nuances of one versus the other to know the difference. Its funny though now that you mention it, It ran a little better initially , but I heard tapping from the #2,4and 8 cylinder's valves the first time I ran her. At that time it idled better , but the pressure was still low. I could not take the tapping, so I pulled the valve covers and commenced to do the ol twist and tighten method. the first time I knew I was over tight as I had oil blowby, I readjusted again and got rid of the blowby. Now it definitely struggles to run. I had half a mind a few days ago to throw on the 305 heads I have that I know were fine when I pulled them. I decided against it because they are the nasty GM swirl heads and although they were ported about a year ago, I did not honestly feel I would get much benefit from them as the valves are 1.84 / 1.5. Not knowing my cam has left me uneasy to begin with, throwing a different set of heads on could further worsen my dilemma.
Is there a way to tell via casting what the cam type may be? like cranks?

Hi People,
This sounds like you might have to go back to Basics if you want to have
a streetable motor.I have made the same mistakes as these and paid very
dearly.I shall be brief..[I had an 350cu in/250 hp pollution motor.]
This is What I would Do which is in line with some of the other suggestions.
Your low vacuum does not surprise.
Find out your camshaft specs with a qualified Mechanic.
Take a compression test.
Swap that inlet manifold until All else works O.K..Performer??
Fit a 2.5 O.D Exhaust System throughout..Bigger is Not Better.
Set your fuel regulator at 8lbs max.
Know where your float levels reach in height.
If you are using a 360* Torker with what may be 270*/280* + cam
and you are in the real hills then with this combo you are in for
dramas that you need not have with Timing and
fuel supply and over extraction exhaust dramas.Changing heads wont
help one bit until this lot is sorted out. This is what I ended doing with
a similar problem that I created
GM222/222 cam or similar.180* manifold/650carb/10*/12* timing..
Work from there with other advice and good luck..Skyeking

Hi People,
Read the wrong page..See you next time...Skyeking