If you want to keep the motor setup....which I dont blame you ( its alot of fun !! ) best off to get a different converter......If I had that motor again I would use a 3000 stall or better. My motor now uses alot more cam than that and gets by with a 2800 stall converter but it also has more compression to make up for the loss.
Thanks Sean, I do enjoy off the line grunt and low end torque. Sorry to keep bugging with the questions but how much less power on the high end compared to how much more on the low? I'm not looking for the biggest cam, just the right one.. and you all are helping a bunch!
The converter ??....Much better that you would think. Almost like having higher gears...keeps the motor in the power band alot better. You will find yourself buzzing around town at 3000 rpm alot more. And the launch is great.
as sean was saying....really is going to depend on what your looking for..... if your looking for a longsmooth power band then the smaller cam is the right choice. If your looking for that either on or off motor then go with the bigger cam and the looser converter
I'm running that cam and love it on the street!! It has enough vacuum to run my power brakes and pulls really good right up through 5600rpm, which is where I usually shift. My setup is rejetted quadrajet, stock intake, recurved points ignition, machine shop ported heads, TA headers with X pipe and 2 1/2" exhaust, 10.1 forged pistons, one step above stock DAACO converter, and 8.5" posi 10bolt with 3.23 gears. P215-70-14 Cooper Cobra radials put the power to the pavement. I wish I had a little more converter at the track and a set of sticky tires. It runs high 13s all day at 99mph, but I'd like to see 100! I think you'll be happy with the cam, it was the cam that Jim Weise said was about the biggest he would run in a mostly street car setup.
I ran that cam in my 350 GS a couple summers ago. I had a 310 cam in it, went to the 290-94, it seemed I lost a bit of my low end with the 290-94, dont know why, my low end was explosive with the 310, no traction thru second gear. I replaced the 290-94 with a 413 cam from TA, my low end is back, kinda strange, a bigger cam has better low end in my car. The 290-94 cam idled ok, about 600 in gear, 850 or so out of gear. The 310 and 413 cam idle around the same in and out of gear. The 310 and 413 cam have a bit more lope to 'em.
Thanks for the replies Ken and Mark, it is goo to hear from members who are running the setup similar to mine. It will be a mostly street setup, I have upgraded the suspension with boxed upper and lower trailing arms and 1 inch sway bar in the rear and 1.25 sway bar in the front, big girl handles pretty nice in the corners :laugh: but I am not setting it up for drag racing only. High 13s sound great!! I think I may go with the 290, when everything gets put together I will be sure to do a youtube video and post the link up here.
I think the 290-94 cam will run well in your car. Remember to run at least 14 deg. initial timing, just make sure you check your total timing. Changing to a 3.42 gear will help, I see you plan on that too! Also, a convertor with a stall around 2400 rpm would be a good thing, it will keep the engine from laboring when in gear, it will act like a stock type convertor when driving, plus it will let the engine rev quicker initially when accelerating from a stand still, letting the cam do its thing, so to speak.
Ya the check for 3.42s has been mailed to monzaz, looking forward to them! Upon initial start up and break in I will be following Larrys timing thread word by word.ill give updates on how it ends up. I am going to stick with the 2200 converter for now to see how it does, I have a few other items that need my $ attention. The anticipation is killing me, I can't wait to mash the skinny pedal!
Cam is still in the car, sounds great and runs ok. The low end isn't quite what I was expecting, but my engine also ended up with 8.83:1 static compression once it was all together. I've actually been debating on going to a smaller cam to see if it would fit my needs a bit better. I was running a 750 edelbroch and ran a best of 14.3, on street tires. I spent a few months learning how to build a q-jet and the motor responded much better then with the eddy. No track proof yet, but hopefully get some numbers with the new set up this year. Sounds wicked at idle, and pulls great when in the upper rpm range or when passing. Low rpm drags some, I can spin the tires but can't make super smoke shows. Also running a 3.42 gear and th-350 for now. Car weighs 3615 without me in it. Vacuum is a tad low and erratic but I'm thinking there is another problem associated with that. But still plenty of vacuum to run power brakes. I can't think of any other info. But on a personal note I don't think I have enough compression to get the most out of this cam. The dynamic is also really low, it was installed on a 111* centerline.
I ran the TA 290 cam in my 350 GS for a year, to me, it didnt have the same pull as the 310 cam. So I replaced it with the 413 cam, my power came back, tons of low end, plus alot of pull thru the rpm range, BUT, I have almost zero deck (.005) and my heads were shaved .030, so my compression is a bit more than yours, my converter is a TCI, I think its about 1000 more than stock. For your combo, I would stay a bit more conservative in your cam choice.
I think that's what killed my compression, I have .078 deck, and my piston relief is 10.18 cc. My thinking is to try and get a thinner head gasket then the .047 to hopefully a .020 to bump up my static to 9.4. Then TA212, adv 4* would raise my dynamic from 6.46 to 7.22. I'm fine with loosing some top end, when my 2004R is complete I calculated about 1800rpm at 65mph. I would rather gain some low end grunt. I'd love to give more input on the 290-94H but I don't think I have the proper setup. This being my 1st Buick build I was bound to make some mistakes on part decisions. Should have listend to Sean and Larry 2 years ago.. ---------- Post added at 09:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:28 PM ---------- Found the youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5bE8yBeomc
According to my calculations, putting that cam at 4* advance and running 10.5:1 compression will yield almost 8:1 DCR (7.96:1), where it needs to be. If you could accomplish this, you'd be gaining a lot more power throughout, particularly lower RPM's. If you like that sound (and it sounds great), I'd be keeping that cam and build the combo around the cam. (though you're talking $$$) Seems the 350 isn't as affected by duration compared to larger cubes as I've heard about. According to what I've read, that cam should be way more radical (in a 350) and barely streetable, but from the reports in this thread and idle characteristics I've heard, it seems to be just fine. I've read that the dual pattern lobes are desirable for the standard iron heads due to exhaust flow compared to intake flow, and this makes sense, but the 310 and 413 torquing more at lower RPMs seems counter-intuitive based on this. I wonder what causes this? What sort of combination is used with these cams? All these are considered 'fast' ramp cams, correct? What sort of gas mileage do you guys get out of them?
Forgot to post the dyno numbers. Left numbers are Tq right is HP I agree that building my engine around my current cam to meet the minimums would be labor intensive and expensive. I can't comment to much about the rest, still learning myself. And an actual cam swap is not on the priority list until my body work is complete. I'm not even quite sure if a smaller bump stick would be beneficial or not? The numbers sure do line up a lot better if I go smaller. Anyone agree? Or should I follow the "its not broke don't fix it" as this spreadsheet states. (warning.. language)
Thanks! Didn't mean to build a low comp engine though :spank: live and learn.. It turned heads though, I always have someone walk up to the car right after I pull up to a cruise in. I'm usually the only A body Buick there! Just a thought.. what would it take to get my 55.8cc heads milled to 45.8cc? Is that even possible?? That and a .040 head gasket gets me to 10.02 static and 7.32 dynamic? Measure for push rods after the fact.. but Budgeting around $600 for a cam swap, lifters, springs and gaskets.. Could I get away with milling the heads, headgaskets, and pushrods for less? considering TA has pushrods for $125, fel pro head gasket for $135 + machine work? (no idea on machine cost). Any thoughts.. ideas? Go to the TA212.. mill heads and stay with current cam.. im crazy and leave the dang thing alone?
All I would do is pull the heads, mill them 60 thou, add adjustable pushrods and be on my way... Then you would have decent compression, the cam you like, and no need to rebuild the engine.
