Hello Guys Any one using ta cams, ta212 or ta 290-94h any info on idle how hi they pull?Iam doing a 455 .038 over 10 to 1, stage 1 heads ported portmatched to performer heads flowed 290 intake 204 ex new 850 q-jet with electric choke wanted to use air cleaner. 64,000 dollar question is cam.I don't want too big of a cam were it kills low end and need big converter. Have a 3000 stall switchpitch with 3.31 gears but rather go middle of the road. plan driving car alot.Thanks Steve
I can only provide you with TA's tech line. The number is 480-922-6808. There website is www.taperformance.com. I hope this helps:beer .
I think "Tim R" has the 290-94h and is running it. I just received one yesterday and will be installing it this coming week. Should be safe on the drivability and low end, JW is using the next bigger TA cam on his level one engines and has them idling in the 800rpm range.
Hey Guys.I think Tim R is using the 288-94H cam a few steps up from the TA290-94H.He will probably chime in and give some words on its performance.I also have purchased and will be using the TA 290-94H cam but won`t have dyno results untill late next month.Will gladly post them when the time comes.Try TA for more info on this cam,they have some dyno info on it also.Later,Tony.
800?... I can get that cam to idle at 600... And that's the 288-94H, which I consider the minimum cam, if your going to make any serious HP. Idles like a dream.. barely hear the lope. I can get a 290-08H to idle at 800, in gear. Done it a few times now. It's all in the distributor.. 25* of initial.. then dial in another 6 degrees with the vacc advance, hooked to manifold vacuum. Yes boys and girls, those big cam motors sit at idle with 30+ degrees of timing :eek2: The bigger the cam, the more timing at idle it wants, to improve low speed performance and idle quality. And a good sealed up motor. And that's with a finicky 1000 TQ.. a four corner idle 950 would be a piece of cake.. JW
You bet Jim is correct(of course). The trick to getting a big cam to idle good is in the timing. I've even heard of the SA guys using adjustable timing boxes so they can run up to 45* of idle timing to meet vacuum requirements...:Brow: Of course fattening up the idle curcuit in the carb helps abunch too...........but JW doesn't want to talk about fattening things up.....p :laugh:
I knew you had it idling low, just didn't realize how low. I shouldn't have any problem with the 290-94h then.
I am actually running the 288-94H cam and like it a lot. It is quite a small cam actually yet for what I do its perfect, more of a resto guy than a racer. Can't hardly hear it at idle (about 700 I have it at). Anyway, my engine made 422HP at 4986 rpm, and the torque is above 500 ft/lbs from 2800 rpm all the way past 5000rpm! you can sure feel that on the street, very impressive. No tuning, only reason I ran it on the dyno was to make sure it ws going to survive before I put it back in the car (again!) Engine build: 70 455, stock bottom end, stock oiling. Older style fed mogul .030 forged pistons, actual compression calculated to 9.8 to 1. 70 Stage 1 heads (the guy that did them screwed them up whch caused me some grief, so I would consider the port job/stage 1 conversion to be suspect), shaved .020. Edelbrock performer intake for weight savings and stealth. Stock 71 Q-jet(open air cleaner for runs) Stock exhaust manifolds, very slight cleanup at inlets. Initial timing at 10 degrees, all in by 2800rpm, pertronix junk works good for me! TA 288-94H, installed 4 degrees advanced. Anyway, sure pulls nice although in my fully loaded 71 GS it probably isn't all that quick. Can't get traction on street tires at all. Thats with a stock converter and at 3500 altitude, wit the power loss that goes with it. Next build probably more cam and compression to make up for altitude I am at, and thats about it. Looking forward to hearing from you guys on your results. I would also like to thank JW for all his help while we troubleshot the first cam and bearing wipeout to badly machined heads. it seemed to go on forever but we persisted! Lesson learned, doublecheck EVERYTHING yourself. later Tim
Wow, 25 degrees of static advance! How do you get that thing to turnover when its hot? I'd like to get some recommendations on how to set up the advance on my distributor, I'm considering sending a distributor up to the Ignition Man for either an MSD trigger conversion or the HEI conversion. Engine is: 430/9 to 1 Standard 69cc heads TA290-94h Cam (will be installed at 106degrees thanks JW) Edelbrock performer Holley spreadbore. 700r4 with 2200stall lockup 3.42 limited slip.
JW, What kind of total timing are you running when the mechanical is all the way in? Are you using some kind of retarding mechanism to keep from getting too much advance at say 2500 - 3000 rpm?
I don't know the method JW uses, but I weld up the advance slot under the weights, and then use a rat tail file to open the slot up until I get the total advance I want. I try for approx. 33-35* in by 2500 rpm. Of course, if you use a Pro-Billet MSD dist., you can adjust for whatever advance curve you want..:Brow:
25 degrees advance That 290-oh8 cam with the 25 degrees advance timing. JIM are you out there. What the secret of starting this cam in a hot motor. My batts in trunk with the correct wiring to the starter but I'm going to be afraid of being stranded eith that much timing.Looking at a start/retard to hook into my MSD. ANYONE?
Do u have an MSD distributor?change the bushing in the disrtibutor to the black one(thick one)the one thats in there from MSD is a blue one i beleive and the engine will not idle with the blue bushing in there. Thanks
Re: 25 degrees advance Dave, The correct size cable for a trunk mounted battery is 1/0 . Is this what you have? I cuckle at the "trunk mount battery" kits with 2 gauge cables, sold at the big parts houses. I think they have an "under the table" deal with the mini starter outfits.. 2 gauge is what we use for the engine compartment mounted battery custom cables we make, and I have several cars out there with 10-1 compression, that cam, a good rebuilt long armature GM starter (the stock one for a GS), and they spin over like a top. Both my race cars had 12-1 compression, 1/0 cables, with soldered ends and die cast terminals and this same starter, and those cars never even thought about turning over slow. But yada yada yada.. what works for me, for whatever reason, might not be working for someone else, due to a variety of factors. IT should work, but me sitting here telling you what I do, may or may not solve your problem. So here is what you do.. to see if you have excessive voltage drop thru the cables, regardless of what size they are. You need to perform a voltage drop test. Get a long length of wire, and have an assistant touch it on the big starter terminal, and hook that wire to the neg lead of a Digital Volt/ohm meter. Next, touch the other lead of the meter to the pos batt cable. set the meter to volts DC, and crank the engine. You should see no more than 2.5 Volts show up on the meter. What you are reading is voltage drop across the positive cable. Now perform that test thru the negative cable. On trunk mounted batteries, we always add an additional ground cable from the engine to the frame, instead of relying on metal to metal contact from the engine to the chassis for the ground. That alone could be your problem. You must maintain above 10 volts, at the starter, while it is cranking, to properly operate that motor. Check that, and then get back to us on your findings. JW If your static battery voltage is say 12.7 (a fully charge battery) then I would want you to see no more than 2 volts of line drop thru the cables.
I went to a business in CAL called MADD Enterprises and I'm fully set up with his trunk wiring merchandize. I had no problem starting the old 7.9to1 455engine with 12 degree of timing.I may have no problem with the 10to1 engine at 24or so but I just wanted to be sure there wasn't a missing formula in the mix I missed. I'm running a genuine GM mini-starter with a MSD-6AL.All the grounds are top notched. Jim what is a good starting point to set the timing at on a new motor getting ready to fire for the first time with the 290-oh8 cam? Any other info would be appreciated.
I would start at 32* total, and work up from there 1* at a time, at the track, watching your MPH. I will bet you end up around 34* or so. 22-25* of initial will work just fine.. I may add about 4 or 5 degrees of vacuum advance, depending on what carb your using, to really clean up the idle. Or, with say a 4 corner idle Holley, sometimes I just throw the vacuum advance on a ported feed, if one is available, to increase light throttle cruising economy. If your at zero deck with the slugs, and have nice polished chambers, you should have no problems with light throttle detonation, but listen for it, and taylor your particular combo to the engines octane and timing requirements. Too many variables for me to give you any hard and fast rules on this, each vehicle is a little different. I typically can get 11.5" of vacuum, at 800 rpm with this cam. JW
No George.. I typically use a Performer with that combo, in a street motor.. Now you know one of the reasons why.. Put your B4B on, and see what happens. JW
