Thread: SBC cam question

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I have a gen 1 stock block...Dart iron eagle heads 64cc chambers 200cc runners (max .520 lift springs) 2.02/1.60. Weiand stealth intake.what would be a good cam for the street? From what i am told the car was pretty radical before the bottom end blew out..cannot talk to the former owner about what cam he ran in it. Also have 1.5 full rockers and a demon 650 carb. It does have a stall in it as well although im not sure what rpm so I'll probably replace it. So i'd like an idea as far as a good sized stall as well. Thanks!

Displacement and compression ratio would be helpful, along with weight of the car and gear ratio.


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350..3600 lbs...i'd say 9-1

Comp Cams has a free download called Cam Quest, I've been real pleased with it! The more accurate the information you put into the program the more accurate it's recommendation will be... With today's oil, I'd for sure be looking at a hydraulic roller, a bit more money but they work great!

This was a recommendation made some years ago on another site, and I have to admit that it is a pretty good idea. Have all of your specs handy and call each of the major cam companies: CompCams, Lunati, Crane, Crower, and Isky. See what each one recommends and choose the one that is the closest to the average of all the recommendations.

----------add .070 to a recommended lift, add 10 degrees to duration/overlap, etc, etc----------then you'll need headers that are about 1/4 in diameter larger, 3 inches shorter, larger or dual carbs--------------then converter--------------


I have on Aug 1 , 2014 edited this post to remove a couple of mis typed errors and comments about raising compression ratio and rear gears plus chassis and safty equipment

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

No----------get all those recommendations and then multiply by .10----------add .070 to a recommended lift, add 10% degrees to duration/overlap, etc, etc----------then you'll need headers that are about 1/4 in diameter larger, 3 inches shorter, one to one and a quarter more compression, bigger valves, larger or dual carbs--------------then converter, dual clutch , rear gears in the 5 or 6oos to 1,longer wheelie bars, stiffer springs, wider tire/wheels------chassis upgrades to meet required SPI specs, current dated safty equip-----

Where's this coming from, Jerry? The guy's asking a basic question about what cam would be good for his Buick for the street, which to me means a normal driver good for cruising around town as well as highway trips, with some decent power & torque to play a little when the mood hits. He said nothing about racing of any type, so where are you coming from or are you just jerking his chain?

80buickregal, I'd say that the info that Dave and RumRum gave you are on target, and know that the more accurate you are with the info you give, like static compression ratio, the better advice you'll get from the cam companies. Good luck with your chase, and hope you'll stick around and keep us in the loop with what you decide to run.

Sorry Roger--------But if his heads are set up for only .520 lift because of springs he needs to start there with mods to allow more cam to make up for some lack luster basics-------He also only has a 650 carb----he'll need bigger cfm------headers are probably 1 5/8 and maybe 1 7/8 would be better and shorter tubes to help higher rpm range


about only thing leading him away from street set up was 5 - 600 gears


he posted twice, hasn't been back??????

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

Sorry Roger--------But if his heads are set up for only .520 lift because of springs he needs to start there with mods to allow more cam to make up for some lack luster basics-------He also only has a 650 carb----he'll need bigger cfm------headers are probably 1 5/8 and maybe 1 7/8 would be better and shorter tubes to help higher rpm range


about only thing leading him away from street set up was 5 - 600 gears


he posted twice, hasn't been back??????

No, he posted twice, and then checked in again three days later on the 27th. He may have "lurked" without logging in since then, no way to know that I know of. Not sure how you know what headers he has from what he told us. I guess maybe you got Carson's Karnack crystal ball when he retired or something....

he said in first post from what he heard the car was pretty radical before it blew--------- and with Dart heads--probably had headers---long tubes and 1 1/2 or 1 5/8---------------lift limited to .520 -----------will need a much longer duration cam because he can't do higher lift-


on the 27 the only thing that had been posted was to download Comp cams program-----------


sooooooo--------fix the springs/guides/seals for more lift---------.070 will be right there with about 10* more duration/overlap-------650 carb not enough cfm--------go bigger or dual quads--------headers---increase to 1 7/8 (fit the dart heads better) shorten the tubes to increase rpm level( any time on any engine that you want more cam for higher revs should be accompanied by a shorter header tube for the exhaust scavange)

Come on guys, the guy asked about a cam for his engine!!! There are many that would give a moderate performance increase without going the full tilt boogie on the engine and spending thousands on the build!!!! No wonder this guy (and many others in the past) make a couple posts and leave!!!! Some want to make them feel like they are complete fools and failures if they don't have the big bucks to dump into their engine!!! Not everyone is going racing, just a cam change to "hop up" a mild engine is the same way a lot of us started out in Hot Rodding! Give the guys just starting out in Hot Rodding a break, it's ok to suggest what could be done if money and talent isn't a concern, but it certainly isn't the end of the world if somebody wants to just change out the cam for one that will give his engine an increase in power. If things don't turn out just right for the guy, it's all part of the learning process. Suggestions on what will or won't work are a lot less intimidating to someone new to Hot Rodding then a $5K list of parts that some "expert" tells him he has to have!!!!!

80BuickRegal--it would help if you would post your goals for this car. Is it going to be strictly a street thumper, occasional passes down the strip, daily driver or what? It seems we have two paths with the suggestions posed here. Some clarification would clear things up.

Originally Posted by 80buickregal

what would be a good cam for the street?

My motor is an old school ’66- 327 built to 350hp specs. Block is 30 over, 10-1 compression ratio. Heads are "camel humps" equipped with 2.02/1.60 valves, with 64cc spec chambers. Cam is Comp Cam #12-106-3. With Edelbrock dual quads and block hugger headers. Feeding a TH350 trans and 324/1 rear ratio, works real well for me as a street cruiser with plenty of getup and go.

12-106-3 - factory Muscle

36 sedan-footnote #2 on that cam says that requires machining on cylinder heads----------I said fix guides/seals/springs!!!!!!!
You said dual quads block hugger headers---I said go bigger or dual quads
You said block hugger headers---they are shorter than 36"? I said shorter headers-------


Kind of similar ????????????


Now for you others----------just some moderate economical mods---not full tilt-thousands of dollars or a $5000 list of parts-----------just simple cam/kit intake/exhaust headers------------no boring,stroking,decking,angle milling,porting,alloy heads,titanium valves, balancing,etc,etc and---------------has he been back

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

.................Kind of similar ????????????

When someone asks for the time, they're not looking for instructions on how to build a clock.