I'm building a hotrod out of a 26 T coupe using a 350 motor that has been bored out 30 over. The cam that is in it I was told is a full race and that I wouldn't start to see the power until over 4,000rpm, and I was recommended by the previous owner to switch it out since I'm gonna make this an everyday driver. A friend of mine has suggested leaving it in, and my pops is pushing for me to take it out as well and put a 3/4 race in. (It also came with roller rockers.) Your thoughts and advice are appreciated.
Without any specs, it's hard to tell exactly what is in it. I can tell you that starting your power band at 4 grand is WAY more than you would want for street duty. A milder grind...something like .510 lift and 268 duration will have a nice sound, and still be a lot more "street friendly".
I agree that we need to see some specs. Also the power band of your current cam sounds high but other things affect how it will behave in your car besides the spec'd power band. Stall speed of the convertor, overall weight of the car (yours is probably a light ride) and gearing will all affect the driveablilty. If the motor is together and running...try it out. You can always change the cam later on. At least you will get a seat of the pants feel for whether you can live with it or not, and then you can look at some cam specs and pick something to address the issues you have-if any. -Scott
Hey P, if you are in Austin give us a call at Crushproof. 386-9889 and we'll give you some free help on your entire drive train if you are a do it yourselfer. -ed-
Comp Cams Extreme Energy Series. This series of cams is amazing for the street based hot-rods. Gives you the rumbleing idle but they smooth out really quick and make tons of power all the way through the rpm range. Call the Cam Help Line 800-999-0853. Feed them all your info or pm me and I'll help you>>>>.
If your planning on driving this car on the street, I'd shitcan the cam and put something in that's a little more practical. The cam that's in the motor will be useless on the street and your going to have a lot of headaches with it. Good luck!
Keep the roller rockers...Get a milder cam. A good street cam is the old reliable 30X30 Duntov which came stock in some Corvettes..It is EXTREMELY easy on the valve train, will turn 7000 without race springs and is very drivable. It is one of my best selling cams.
Thanks for all the responses, I'll have to get all the specs and post another up. Appreciate all your responses
To do it right you should post the compression ratio, trans, torque convertor, rear gear, and induction. My Dad built the '40 Chevy I drive now. He built the engine back in the late 1980's and didn't install hard seats. The exhaust valves sunk and I just did a head swap. He put a bone stock cam in that engine.... I really wanted to change it but instead I put extra work in the heads. 2.02 valves, ported, and milled .080 to get 67cc chambers. It really made a difference. Where am I going with this? I'm not saying run a stock cam. If you have good heads and decent compresion you can get good power with a small cam. Get a 260 cam or smaller and you'll have a good running engine, and in a Model T it has to haul ass. Jeff
The Jalopy Journal
