351c cam selection flat or roller? please look

[blackstallion12]

I am building a 4 bolt 72' cleveland block...

68 mustang coupe 4 speed man.

stock 4v 71' open chamber heads just mild port.
torker intake original? torker II?
forged domed pistons (11-11.5 compression)
750dp carb
tuned headers? or hooker comps?
stock crank & rods

My question is... What cam do i choose? everyday i look i find more possibilities and its head spinning. i want to run a solid of some sort. flat or roller im not sure which one to choose. i will spend the extra dollar for the roller i was planning on it but im not sure if its necessary?
ive looked at lunati, crower, engal, crane.... i like several from each company but its too much to decide and i would like input. i dont want to just choose something and regret it later.

PLANS FOR VEHICLE
scare some chevys
blow some doors off
limited street use
alot of track time
im not sure what hp # it will run but i would like 3000-7000 rpm range with lots of power.
i would like it to run in the 11's

 

[D.Hearne]

First of all make sure those pistons will work with open chambered heads. Some do not. And I don't think that you will get that kind of compression with open chambered heads. The Cleveland Torker is the old style intake, not the Torker II. Just me, but I'd go with a roller cam if you can swing the cost. And remeber that Cleveland heads breath better than most, so to get the rpm range you want, you can get by with a smaller cam profile.

 

[72mustang]

Here is a site with 54 different Cleveland builds it might help you a little to see what other people have done.Alot of these have dyno specs.And also track times.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/263038/

Hope this helps

 

[blackstallion12]

that website is cool!! thanks 72mustang. And why would the pistons not fit open chamber heads? Wouldn't they fit open better than the closed wedge heads? Or is the dome shallower on the opens compared to the closed?

 

[D.Hearne]

Some of the dome profiles aren't compatible with the open chambered heads. check it out before buying.

 

[72mustang]

Oh and by the way I bought an Extreme Energy from Comp Cams The engine is at the speed shop but should get it back soon.They will do a dyno run to break the cam in and tune the engine.I will post the results when I get them>

 

[68RCodeConv]

Two big advantages to roller cams. (1) Can run a more aggressive profile. Lots of lift without necessarily a lot of duration. I have a 230/236 solid roller cam with .590 lift and 109 LSA. Idles great, lots of low end and pulls to 6500 no problem. (2) Don't have to worry about wiping a cam lobe.

I did it primarily because of reason (2).

 

[DanMan68]

Cam questions

I am a big fan of roller lifter cams if only for the fact you do not have to worry about cam break-in. The more aggressive profiles available are also a bonus. I've built 2 engines for my Mustangs and have used Comp Cams kits both times. No problems with start-up and initial run. Great power and performance.

 

[downwardspiral]

Another thing to keep in mind is that modern oils use less zinc and more detergents. Solid lifter cams like zinc, it acts as a lubricant in regions where metal to metal contact occur. You will either need a zinc additive ZDDPlus, ~ $13 each oil change or an oil that has higher levels of zinc like Joe Gibbs which is $10+ a quart. The additive isn't as good because the detergents counteract the zinc. Roller cam is my suggestion.

 

[68RCodeConv]

I just noticed your desired compression ratio. Open chamber heads are VERY prone to detonation whereas the close chambered heads are not. Unless you run a LOT of cam to bleed off compression you are going to get detonation with 10.5 and open chambers.