I recently bought a nice pile of BBB engine parts consisting of a 68 400 (complete minus pistons and rods) and a 70 455 SF code that someone had hopped up and spund a rod bearing. Turns out the cam installed was a Lunati with the following stamp: SP1.230.242.113 I e-mailed Lunati about this cam as I couldn't find any published info on it. Got a quick response from Jim Cook who stated this: "You have the cam that was ground exclusively for the Buick Club, it was not distributed as a Lunati cam, and was only available thru the club. Lift is something like .507/.540", lobe sep is 113, duration @.050" is 230/242. That's all I can tell you. The specs are private, and only available to club members thru the club." All right then! Do I have a Hemi Killer cam? Anyone have any experience with this specific cam? I have a stock 430 in my 69 Electra that runs terrible. The exhaust manifold gaskets are shot and the bolts have become one with the surrounding iron. Not only is it obnoxiously loud but it feels as if it runs a few cylinders short. My plan is to replace just the top end of this motor if I can get away with it. It's just temporary until I can get the above SF code 455 built right. I have a set of stock 69 430 heads that have been cleaned, surface, valve jobbed, and hardened seats installed that I'm going to slap on top. I'm afraid the original cam and lifters need replacing as well, so I'm considering putting the used Super Top Secret Buick Club cam in at the same time. My machinist took a look at it and it appears in great shape with no abnormal wear or damage. He recommended installing the lifters from the motor it was in since they already were broken in together. Will this cam work well with stock springs, non stage 1 valves, and rockers? Should I replace the timing chain and gears also? Is degreeing this cam necessary or can it be installed at 0 degrees without degreeing? Am I making a mistake installing this cam and not installing new cam bearings? Should I install the TA oil pump booster plate now while I have it apart? I'm just not ready or finanicially able to get into the bottom end yet. I hope to be able to confirm the condition of the pistons and rings with a compression tester before I make the final decision. If they are sloppy I'm probably wasting my time. And I plan on removing the pan and cleaning out the crap in the bottom end before it all goes back together. Am I missing anything? Any and all help greatly appreciated. And wish me luck - I've disassembled a Buick motor before but never had the experience putting it back together and making it run. Thanks in advance.
That's a big cam. Will make crappy vacuum. It should work fairly well with the earlier motors higher compression though. Stock springs will not do the job. And on a big car you'll need a different torque converter to be able to enjoy it at all. You should indeed replace the timing set and be sure that it's indexable, you really will need to degree this cam to make a more streetable. If your existing cam bearings look good and you have good oil pressure then you can give it try. Oil pump booster plate and adjustable regulator are a must. I personally would wait and use it (big cam)with the SF your building later on, you can get stock replacement cam's for almost nothing to keep your existing engine going.
Thanks for the advice lcac_man. Know any "cheap" ways to up to stall speed? I don't even know what the stock stall is on a Big Buick TH400, but I imagine when you say "different torque converter" you're talking 1500-2000 RPM at least? I know on my Dad's 70 Monte Carlo he cheated a few hundred RPM's higher by putting a TH350 converter into the TH400, IIRC. It made a noticeable difference off the line. 87GN_70GS: I understood "streetable lope" and "not crappy" but I'm not sure what you mean by the rest of your statement. Can you elaborate? Thanks guys!
it is a real common cam profile for BBB, i run a 113A from Postons, it has 232 intake, and 246 exhaust duraton,you should have at least 9.5 to 1 comp and get some stage 1 springs,you really need a stall i would go with at least a 2000 stall, you can run the stock stall, but you will not injoy driving the car.i would also have at least 2.23 geas, if you dont want to do these things, go with a smaller cam,that will work with your stock set up,it will make life alot easyer ,and your car will run better,to much cam without the right stall and gears makes for a slower car, then a car with a matched combo.
That cam seems like the same one I'm running now although mines is labeled as the sp2. I got it from a speed shop but the cam card specs matched the specs in the gs club catalog. Its not a bad cam, slight lope but plenty of vacuum. With my 2:73 gears the car ran a 13.5 at the track with lots of wheel spin. My only complaint was it didn't pull as hard as the poston gs113 cam I previously ran. It did on occasion with the right tuning pull real hard. It did shatter my 10 bolt rear after a fresh tune up. Allen
Torque Tech had a grind from Lunati VERY similar to those specs. I had bought one years ago, but sold it to another board member. Keith's grind was the SP 300M......the GSCA had a very similar cam too. It was advertised as needing a vacuum reserve cannister, to help with power brakes (if you use them). As mentioned above, a better converter and gears would compliment that cam quite well.
