[Excaliber]

Mild or wild? Street or strip? 6000 rpm or so, as opposed to 7000-8000 rpm? Cam selection: If street match your expected CRUISE rpm (rear gear ratio) to a cam profile that WORKS well in that range. Compression, keep it to 10 to 1 max if street with alloy heads, less if iron heads, think 'pump gas'. Comp cams 282S solid lifter flat tappet is a good 'all around' reasonable cost choice for decent street\strip performance (6000 rpm limit). Match the head FLOW data to the cam profile. 8000 rpm heads with a 6000 rpm cam is a waste of money. When buying the cam get the 'Cam KIT', which will include matching springs. Use new retainers, etc.

What you really doing\asking here is: How should I 'blue print' my motor (beginning stages)?

What I did was contact one of the major engine builders and bought ALL my parts through HIM! Even though SOME items might cost more, the 'expertise' you get when doing it that way is 'priceless'! Not ALL builders want to be 'bothered' with simply selling 'parts' and 'giving up' their hard earned suggestions as to WHAT parts to buy. I was fortunate that Gessford Machine worked closely with me in determing the 'specs' and 'parts' I needed for MY build. But I actually built the motor MYSELF. I am, of course, very grateful to "George" and "Neil" for there help.

Pull up a chair and check out my "Engine Build Blog" for more info...