Camshaft suggestions are welcome

[Cheesehead]

I have to replace my camshaft and would appreciate some help/guidance.
The engine:
351W stroked to 392 cid
Edelbrock perfomer heads
Edelbrock ProFlo EFI


It is a streetengine. I am looking for low-end power/torque, since most of the time I am cruising around. Although I like to rev the engine close to the red line, I don't mind that I will loose some top-end power.

Any suggestions; technical data, brand, type, etc??

Thanks!

[AKDreamer23]

Call Gordon at Levy Racing. He has some awesome custom grinds.

http://www.levyracing.com/

[Three Peaks]

Comp cams XE-284-10.

[PANAVIA]

What heads >? ---

CAM: My pick; Ford Racing E303 with 1.6 Rockers and indexed at 4 Degrees advance. and 12.5 base timing.

if you need more air you can put 1.7 ratio rockers on the exh.

Steve

[Cheesehead]

Hello Panavia,

Were I said headers, I meant heads: Edelbrock Performer heads.

Three Peaks: thanks
AKDreamer23: I live in Europe. Telephone calls to the US are a bit difficult with the 6 hours timedifference. Doing my homework with your help and than ordering via Internet is easier.

Any other suggestions before I make my final decision?
Thanks in advance.

[blykins]

Is it a hydraulic roller?

XE282HR, 35-522-8

You should have hp peak at about 5600-5800 with this cam.

[cdnus]

I have the XE282HR in my 408W & find it to be a fantastic cam.
Huge torgue over the whole range (1500-5500) & is very steetable.
Idles nicely & pulls hard from 1500 in 4th gear.
Engine dynoed @ 500hp. W/550 ft lbs.
& get this, I average over 20 mpg.

Craig

[Three Peaks]

I think I mis typed- the XE 282HR is the one I was thinking of but my fat fingers have a mind of their own sometimes.....
Great cam for your purposes and pretty reasonably priced.
Comp also has the cam available as a kit with everything you need to install it including lifters, timing chain, the whole nine yards....

Bob

[Cheesehead]

Thanks.
I checked out XE282HR and noticed a few things. It is made for the engine family: Ford 5.0 1982 - 2001. My engine is a 1969 351W. I think that will not fit.
This camshaft has a lift of .574" (exhaust). My heads have a max. lift of .575". That is very close to the max.

My engine has 42 cid more than the standard 351W. This means the powerband will drop by appr. 420rpm when I install a 351W camshaft in my stroker.
How about this camshaft:

• XE274H

[blykins]

It will fit. I promise. All 302/351 cams will interchange, you just have to pay attention to firing orders and this one is ok.

Also trust me on this, with 392, this cam will peak at around 5800. If you go to a bigger cam (which BTW, an XE274 is not a bigger cam) you'll be pushing a hydraulic roller a little higher than what I'm comfortable with.

Why do you say the lift is too much? Because of coil bind clearance or piston/valve clearance?

[Wbulk]

Comp Cams has a free computer program that you can download to help you pick your cam. You put in everything about your engine, car weight, intended use, and it will give you serveral options with all the specs, and if special springs etc. are required. Most people over cam their engine and don't normally run in the RPM range the cam was intended for.
Wayne

[Cheesehead]

Brent,
The datasheet of the Edelbrock Performer Heads says: Maximum valve lift is .575". A lift of .574" is very close to this max. No more no less. It made me wonder if that will become a problem in the long run.
The sheet also mentions that the max rpm for these heads is 5500 rpm. That seems a little low to me (thought it would be 6000 rpm), but it is what the sheet says.

Nice to know this cam will fit my engine! Thanks for letting me know.
I wonder what in practice the difference is between a XE284HR and a XE274H.

Have a nice day!

[Three Peaks]

If the heads say the max lift is .575" it has to mean the valve springs are the limiting factor since the head manufacturer doesn't know anything about the engine you are going to install them on. This could also be the reason for teh 5500 RPM limitation as they probably wouldn't flow enough at that lift to handle the higher RPM requirements.

I would think the XE282HR would work fine if you buy the cam and the comp cams recommended springs to go with them along with some good keepers and locks.

Check with comp cams to be sure of all of this, but an awful lot of guys use that cam on 393 strokers and love it.

If you already have the heads, they should work fine for your street car purposes. It isn't like you'll be running 6000 RPM on the street very often. However, if it were mine and I hadn't purchased the heads yet, I would go with the Vic. Jr. heads for the increased flow numbers and the springs that come with them are good for .650 lift and they come with valve guides also.

Good luck with your project.

Bob

[Cheesehead]

ThreePeaks,

I already have the heads.

The story behind it is: the dealer were I bought the Superformance Cobra replaced the engine (due to some sort of failure). The old engine was a 351W stroked to 427 cid and tuned to top end HP. The "new" engine ('69 351W block) is a 393 stroker with another camshaft. They used the old Edelbrock heads and Edelbrock ProFlo fuel injection (including the manifold)
In such a setup it is essential that the Eprom in the ProFlo is programmed for the specifique camshaft that is used. The engine will not run well or not at all with another camshaft. I tried to find out what camshaft is now used, but no answer .
I figured my best shot would be to buy a new, suitable cam and then get the Eprom programmed again for that camshaft.
New heads are beyond my budget, I have to work with these heads, maybe new springs, keepers and locks are possible.

Anybody using the XE274H in a stroker? This one is a bit milder than the XE284HR.