Help me pick a cam!

[smercier]

Alright guys, it's finally time for my 289 to give way to a 5.0. With that being said, here are the players:

Holley 1850 / 600cfm
Weiand Stealth (8011) intake
Ported Gt-40 heads
1.6 roller rockers
stock CR 5.0 short block

The CR here will be ~9.0:1. I may shave the heads a little bit depending on the lift of the cam I choose, but I do want to avoid notching the pistons if I can).

This will be mated to a T-5 and a 3.00 rear. The rear is likely to change to something > 3.5 in the near future, as the rear is currently open and I can't stand it.

I've still yet to decide on headers, as I want to figure this out after I've completed the swap. The reason here is that I anticipate some header clearance issues with the clutch cable / other items and I don't want to have the car down for more than a few days.

The car will be driven daily and will rarely, if ever, see any track duty. Therefore, low end torque is a must, but I'd like for it to pull to 5.5-6k if need be. Something with a little lope at idle would be nice, but I don't want to sacrifice a ton of driveability.

Your thoughts and comments are certainly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[2002BLGT]

Alright guys, it's finally time for my 289 to give way to a 5.0. With that being said, here are the players:

Holley 1850 / 600cfm
Weiand Stealth (8011) intake
Ported Gt-40 heads
1.6 roller rockers
stock CR 5.0 short block

The CR here will be ~9.0:1. I may shave the heads a little bit depending on the lift of the cam I choose, but I do want to avoid notching the pistons if I can).

This will be mated to a T-5 and a 3.00 rear. The rear is likely to change to something > 3.5 in the near future, as the rear is currently open and I can't
stand it.

I've still yet to decide on headers, as I want to figure this out after I've completed the swap. The reason here is that I anticipate some header clearance issues with the clutch cable / other items and I don't want to have the car down for more than a few days.

The car will be driven daily and will rarely, if ever, see any track duty. Therefore, low end torque is a must, but I'd like for it to pull to 5.5-6k if need be. Something with a little lope at idle would be nice, but I don't want to sacrifice a ton of driveability.

Your thoughts and comments are certainly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

how much money you got to spend and are you just looking for a hydraulic flat tappet cam or roller ?

 

[smercier]

Sorry, looking for a roller cam. I'm looking for something off the shelf, and I imagine those probably run anywhere between 150-300. I'll pay the money for the right cam.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Shelf cams are more like $130-200. You can get a custom for closer to 300. I dont know enough about all the different grinds to recommend one, but you could call a few companies and see what they have to say. Some popular yet not extreme rollers seem to be Trick Flow stage 1, the Comp XE series, and some of the Crane Powermax sticks like my 2031. The Ford E and B cams are in here too(there are newer/better, though).

You have a clutch cable? That may limit you to shorty headers since it seems most longtubes do not clear any of the cable conversions. You know you can use the old style linkage on a T5, right?

 

[2002BLGT]

trickflow stage 1 , and you will need some expensive lifters for the older blocks to be converted to roller cams .....crane part number 36532-16 , requires cylinder head removal to install on 302 or smaller engines ......they run about 400-430 bucks just for the lifters and require special length pushrods .....

 

[smercier]

Sorry for the long hiatus, just been wrapped up in other things.

65ShelbyClone: Yeah, I'm going with a clutch cable setup. The mechanical setup isn't bad, but I'm partial to a cable setup after having a few Fox / SN95s.

2002BLGT: I'm putting a factory roller motor in here, but thanks for the heads up.

Thanks guys. Anybody else have any recommendations?

 

[aleborjas]

get stage 1 from trick flow or a better one XE266HR from comp cams

 

[65ShelbyClone]

2002BLGT: I'm putting a factory roller motor in here, but thanks for the heads up.

Thanks guys. Anybody else have any recommendations?

If you stil have the stock E7 heads, you wont be able to take advantage of anything larger than perhaps a B cam or TFS stage 1.

 

[795.0]

Don't overlook the stock factory cam. When combined with a good flowing set of heads and intake, it can make some decent power. There are some magazine articles and performance books that show 300+ hp is possible.

 

[smercier]

Yeah, after talking to one of my father's old racing buddies last night I'm now looking at the stock HO cam, B cam, or E cam. My only concern with the factory cam is buying a used cam...I know roller cams don't wear like a flat tappet cam will, but I'm still wearing of buying anything like that used. I can only imagine what the ford dealership would want for one new...

BTW I'm using GT-40s, not E7s.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

The GT40s can take a little more cam, then. The B(or similar) would probably be good since I think it can be used with the stock springs(its good to upgrade, though). If you decide to get a stock cam, look for an '87-88 part from a speed density car. They are supposed to be slightly more agressive than the '89+ mass air engines had. I think you can still get them new as some racing classes require a stock cam, but last I saw the price was comparable to a custom grind(~$300).

 

[bit]

You might consider the Steeda #18 cam. It is a nice street cam that makes great power with GT-40 heads. You can find the specs on Steeda's site.

-Brent

 

[bit]

DP

 

[murphmaster5]

i have a stock cam out of my 87 ill sell it pretty cheap its in awsome shape hit me up if interested [email protected]