Cam Suggestions For my 331 combo?

[blwn331]

Hi all, Im putting my motor back together after the crank decided to walk, looking for a good cam to go with my setup and build alittle more power. The cam is currently a ford B cam. My setup is. 331, Prob forged pistons, pro I-beams, steel crank, bal28oz AFR185 heads 72cc. 1.72 Scorpian RR, Trickflow R intake, 30lb squirters, bbk longtubes, t5, 4:10 rear. I do have Nitrous hooked up, 150 shot but would like to stay motor. Any cam guys out there can help me out?
Thanks
JT

 

[hollywoodstang]

Hi all, Im putting my motor back together after the crank decided to walk, looking for a good cam to go with my setup and build alittle more power. The cam is currently a ford B cam. My setup is. 331, Prob forged pistons, pro I-beams, steel crank, bal28oz AFR185 heads 72cc. 1.72 Scorpian RR, Trickflow R intake, 30lb squirters, bbk longtubes, t5, 4:10 rear. I do have Nitrous hooked up, 150 shot but would like to stay motor. Any cam guys out there can help me out?
Thanks
JT

JT

Go with custom cam from camshaft innovation(Jay). do it right the first time, be smart and do go ots cam.

 

[Tanus]

JT

Go with custom cam from camshaft innovation(Jay). do it right the first time, be smart and do go ots cam.

well what happens when he decicdes to change something? (ie. swapping tfs-r intake for systemax, drops the 4.10s for 3.55s, adds NOS or a blower) Then the custom cam is useless.

I agree if you got the cash and wanna extract every ounce of HP go with custom, BUT, there is some perfectly good off the self cams out there, lots of choices from AMS, the TFS stage 2 looks good to me for your combo, I run the Z and mine idles perfect and pulls to +6,500 rpm

 

[BlackVert]

call comp and talk to them about nitrous cams. or if you really want to stay away from the giggle gas, the XE line has pleased many people

or if funds are tight, a TFS stage 2 is a pretty good inexpensive cam

 

[Black95GTS]

There are two reasons people don't use a custom cam: 1 - they can't afford it or 2 - they are limited by some constraint be it their class or their goals, to use only off the shelf parts. If you want the most horse power from a camshaft swap then the only answer that makes sense is to get a custom cam.

Ford letter cams were designed in the early 1980s as 302 stock replacements for GT40 heads. Using that on a 331 with AFR185s It's like upgrading your pentium processor with a 386.

Use google, take a look at the results from these guys: Ed Curtis, Jay Allen, Buddy Rawls. I'd tell you to look into the guy that designed the letter cams but he's probably dead.

Adam

 

[blwn331]

...The guy that made letter cams is probably dead. lol...
So great info here, TFS stage 2 is kinda what every one is saying since I do swap stuff every now and again. But for big never change combo power go custom. What is the cost of a custom? I would say if ifs not much more HP for the custom I would stick with the off the shelf and spray alittle gas plus matain the ability to do changes. This sound correct?
JT

 

[blwn331]

oh and will the 1.72 rr I have make issues? My pistons are cut, but not sure of the lift. Any one running 1.72s?

 

[Tanus]

Ford letter cams were designed in the early 1980s as 302 stock replacements for GT40 heads.
Adam

the Z cam came out in early 2000's

 

[nmcgrawj]

Also, Ed Curtis has a trade in policy. If you need a new cam, you send him your old one plus some cash. You dont have to pay the entire custom cam fee again.

 

[revhead347]

It has been over 4 weeks since I have heard anything from Ed Curtis.

Kurt

 

[RIO5.0]

Ed just did the cam for my 331... was 335.00 shipped

 

[hollywoodstang]

Is there any OTS cam that will idle like the stock cam?

I am also building a 331, I already purchased the 331 short block with flat top pistons a year ago and it's just sitting, I will be using Performer heads 1.90/1.60(I know it's small heads) that I already have but it is fully ported and polished with 1.6 rockers, RPM II intake, 30 lbs injectors.

It is full street car so i will be shifting at 6000 max, I will not be going custom cam on this one, I would like a OTS cam only.

I do not want the clakity clak sound, I want it to idle like the stock cam does. only thing I am missing is the cam and i am done as well.

Can you guys recommend a cam that sounds like stocker does and will be a great upgrade as well?

 

[Tanus]

Can you guys recommend a cam that sounds like stocker does and will be a great upgrade as well?

if you wanna make power its gonna sound lumpy, I suggest getting a decent size cam but running 3 chamber flows (or whatever) to keep it quiet

I run the Z cam, it idles rock solid at 800rpm, no surges or near stalls at all

 

[hollywoodstang]

I am currently using crower 15511 and it idles real good, Should i throw that back into 331? I am thinking it is little small of a cam for 331 but i don't mind not having all the horsepower i can get. It is not going to be dragster, I want a good street manner.

The spec is;
15511 is Duration @ 50 218/224 Lift 1.6 RR .468/.486, 114*

Thanks

 

[95riosnake]

As far as an off the shelf cam, I am using an Anderson cam in my 347. They have a pretty wide range of NA and blower cams to choose from.

I don't have any first hand experience to share yet since I haven't got everything together yet, but I am expecting good results. I did a lot of online research into the cams and the numbers I was seeing looked pretty healthy to me.

And yes I think that your Crower's specs are a little small for a 331, I would definitely want to upgrade to something more aggressive.

 

[nmcgrawj]

Is there any OTS cam that will idle like the stock cam?

I am also building a 331, I already purchased the 331 short block with flat top pistons a year ago and it's just sitting, I will be using Performer heads 1.90/1.60(I know it's small heads) that I already have but it is fully ported and polished with 1.6 rockers, RPM II intake, 30 lbs injectors.

It is full street car so i will be shifting at 6000 max, I will not be going custom cam on this one, I would like a OTS cam only.

I do not want the clakity clak sound, I want it to idle like the stock cam does. only thing I am missing is the cam and i am done as well.

Can you guys recommend a cam that sounds like stocker does and will be a great upgrade as well?

When you have requirements like this it is such a GREAT investment to go with a custom cam. You get exactly what you want. Ed Curtis, Jay Allen, etc etc will tell you if what you want is possible (given what you want power wise). You arent just paying for the cam, you are paying for their advice, their wisdom, their guidance. I bought my cam from Ed over 2 years ago. And yes, it was hard to get him on the hook to actually get it done initially. But you have to realize how many emails he gets from tire kickers wasting his time. He doesnt have time to sit on a computer all day filtering through them all. The best advice i will give is to decide who you want to go with, and just talk $. Show them that you are serious. If that doesnt work try PM'ing them on one of the message forums they frequent.


Anyway, i bought my cam from Ed 2 years ago. I did the trade in with him for a new cam. And now, 2 years later as im trying to figure out what to do with my car i'll send him an email. He still responds. His answers are a hell of a lot more important to me than any thread i can make on 95% of the mustang message forums. As you see, very very very few guys know how to build an engine the "right" way. And most of the ones that do have learned from the professionals. So its always somewhat of an advantage to make threads like this....but its not promising anything. Even calling the hotlines for comp cams or another big company is ok....i just really like the one on one time i've had with Jay allen and Ed Curtis. I just feel a TON better putting my money in their hand than anywhere else.


The point of changing your combo and having to buy another cam applies to any cam you buy. The "trade in" deal with Ed is cheaper than any cam worth a damn by a lot. So....i see ZERO negatives to going custom.

 

[nmcgrawj]

Oh and not to knock Anderson's cams....because i've seen a few great combos with them. But they are $300. They are pretty helpful too....but its not like custom cams are THAT much more expensive.

 

[hollywoodstang]

No. i won't be going custom this time for any reason,

What about this cams for 331 flat top?

Duration @ 50 222/228 Lift 1.6 RR .496/.512 112*
or
288° 298° advertised @ 50 228/234 Lift 1.6 RR .512''/.531'' 112* Lobe center

 

[revhead347]

If you want a good out of the box cam, just call a tech advisor at Comp Cams. They are much more knowledgeable than anyone you are going to find on this website, and I'm pretty sure Comp has more grinds available than anyone else.

Kurt

 

[hollywoodstang]

Kurt

last time i talked to comp tech over the phone, he had no idea what he should recommend, he kept wanting me to go to online store and pick one out of 3 cams they advertise, I really got turned off by that.

May be i should call back and i will get "Lucky" and talked to someone who knows little about their stuff.

People i know around here are all old school hotrodders and they know what they are doing, BUT they all want me to go all balls out and get huge heads and big ass cam which is not going to be street friendly.

Heck, One of the old man here built 302 small block and yanking out 610HP and runs on Bonneville salt flat to set record for 200 mph, His previous record was 194mph out of the small block, So i am talking to the right people but with wrong pocket change and goal, lol

I already got my heads competition ported and polished with valve jobs and upgraded springs, it should flow real good, but i am NOT making a drag car or building a car to set records, i am just building a car that i can actually drive on the street with good idle and take it to the track every Thursday, that's all

any recommendation? I prefer a billet core camshaft with not so huge lift, the TFS 123 cams are out of the question and so the ABC cams. thought about 274hr cam from comp but that cam also have over 550"Lift i think.

What do you think Kurt?