Need Help with Cam choice for my 455.

My build is similar; 290/94H cam, Stage 1 iron heads, about 9.5:1 compression 455, T400, Hughes 2000 BOP converter, 2 1/2” TA exhaust, Jim Rodgers’ ported manifolds and 3.55s and it went a best of 12.93 at 102.77, and I think it has a little more in it.
And enjoyed seeing your car in BSA!

Patrick

 

X2

 

Funny I ordered a cam from.hom when I built my motor in 13, recommended him to alot of people, was chasing issue with my car for years,,never thought to look at cam, spoke to few people, he missed the mark on mine. Called twice to speak to him, mentioning want to talk about a cam or lifters,,never got a call back, recently learned from few people he can be hit or miss. Well he missed mine. Hope you have better success

 

Hey Guys. I have been sidetracked with building another motor for my wife's car so this one is has been back burnered a bit. I still need a cam. It sounds like cores are starting to arrive at the different cam grinders but most places still do not have cams. Scott Brown is not sure when he will have any ready right now. I have an opportunity to purchase a new unused TA113 from a member. I know that is a pretty good tried and true grind. The Poston, Kenne Bell and TA 113 grinds are all pretty similar. Anyone have personal experience with this grind? Overall it looks like it would be a pretty good fit. I do have a custom convertor in my TH400 but it is only 2200-2400. I also have 3.42 gears. The headers I have should work well with the grind too. It is slightly smaller than I was looking for originally but error to the side a smaller cam is a good idea in my experience. I am also concerned about having enough vacuum for power brakes. I do have a dual diaphragm booster that should help with low vacuum though. I still need to make sure this engine outruns my wife's 430 build. LOL.
Greg

 

Sure, I had a KB113 in my tow vehicle (76 3/4 ton Chev Pickup), .. it was a warmed over 70 455 like your talking about building.. worked great, nice little lope, no problem with the brakes.

As to the discussion, the cams you listed are all so similar, there isn't 5 HP difference between the any of them. In the real world, they would run the same.

Cams get cult followings, which amuses me.. There is nothing "magical" going on with any particular person or business, we all work within the same parameters of acceptability for durations, lobe centers and ramp speeds. Folks who venture out of these bounds, often end up with grinds that are noisy, rpm limited, or both. For very little upside. Beware of "new tech" or "fast ramps" as the size of our cam core limits this engine, more than some.

Get the 113 and go if your ready, cam availablity is tough right now.. that was a good cam back in the day, and still is. I ran 11:90's with the cam that ended up in my tow vehicle, but then it was in a stock, low compression 73 shortblock in the early 90's. That was on a full out race car, heavy car, but gear and converter properly to optomize performance.

So mid-high 12's with a good tune and good air should be possible. You will need a considerable bump in airflow to get closer to the 11's.

Good luck.

JW

 

Thanks for the advice Jim. My car manages mid 13s now and I was hoping for high to mid 12s with some fine tuning out of the fresh engine. This sounds like it will get me where I want. I know what you are saying about fast ramp cams. I did get away with one in a small block chevy I put together with a guy several years back but they are not great in every engine from what I have researched. I have a budget build 430 I am putting together for my wife's car and we came across a Lunati vodoo cam for it. I am a little leery of installing it but will give it a try. It is the PN 10960702 it has 227/233 @ .050 268/276 adv. .505/.521" lift on 110. Again I have been working with low cam availability. I have found some info that this one can work pretty well but nervous about it. I also don't like it has over .500" lift. Hopefully it will work ok.
Greg

 

OK. So I never did buy that 113 cam but now I have a chance to buy a TA 416 cam from a local guy who is a member here as well. The price is excellent and I am on a super low budget. This is the same cam as a 413 but with a 116 lobe separation instead of a 113. It is looking like dynamic compression will only be about 7:1. Can I advance this 4 degrees to pick up a little more dynamic compression? I am assuming that having a 116 lobe separation is going to help with some engine vacuum and idle over the 413. What do you guys think of this cam? (My combo again is 70' 455, stock pistons, ported stage 1 heads, headers, 3.42 gears and 2400 stall convertor in TH400, 3600 lb 66' Skylark) I am thinking one of Jims TSP convertors might be a good option in the future too. This cam is still pretty close to the specs of a few others I have looked at.
Greg

 

If you don't get a better converter for that cam it will be sluggish off the line especially with barely 9.5:1 compression. Smaller cam with tighter LSA would be highly recommended. I called Howards about a 455 cam and they said they had the blanks but it would be about 12 weeks to grind it. After that I ordered the cam right through Summit. Got it in about 12 weeks or so.