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finding the right cam

G

Guest

Guest
i am looking for a mild cam for my 74' bronco 302. it has a rpm intake, eldelbrok 600 cfm 4 barell, and headers. i was wonder what cam specs would be good for stock heads and springs for her.
 

66horse

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jan 7, 2002
Messages
3,394
Good question, i am curious to see what the guys have to say. I too am looking for the same thing.<br><br>Steve
 

Krusher

Full Member
Joined
May 7, 2002
Messages
275
Loc.
Brookhaven, MS
It's really a matter of what you're going to use it for and what your engines operating range (rpm) is going to be most of the time. This has a lot to do with with your daily driving, transmittion type, and drive ratio in your axles. Bottom line is that a cam is the heart of an engine, and is engineered to perform within certain RPM ranges. <br><br>I own a 74, 302 @ .030 over bore, rebuilt stock heads and valves, edelbrock performer, edelbrock 600cfm, headers, DUI ignition, and a 3.50 axle ratio. Most of my driving is going to be at 3,500 rpm and below, so I wanted a cam that performs it best in the lower to mid ranges of the engine. I opted for a Melling high torque cam (MTF 1), which is designed to give you gobbs of low end punch, and good horse power improvements through the mid rpm ranges, but flattens out above 3,500 rpm.<br><br>Long explaination, but hope it gives you some info. If the person/company your buying a cam from doesn't ask you any of the specifics I mentioned above, they're just after a sale and really don't care. Find some one who knows their stuff, and they're steer you in the right direction.
 

76Broncofromhell

Bronco Totalitarian
Joined
Jul 30, 2001
Messages
4,228
Loc.
Reno, NV
I originally bought my cam at Gromm racing all I did was give them the axle ratio, tranny type (auto, manual, no OD), type of vehicle, exhaust diameter, muffler type, intake manifold, carburetor, head type, and after all those variables they came up with a cam for me. It's a little different than what I need now because I have an OD gear, but it makes good torque from about 800-3900 RPM and then at 4,000 the secondaries kick in and it becomes a monster. My cam is .480/.480 280/280 duration. You have to factor in cruising RPM, my old cruising RPM was about 3300 RPM @75 now its about 2400 RPM and that changes all the specs. Basically factor in what you turn on the freeway and that will help you choose your cam. I kinda wish I would have gone bigger (higher lift) so I could have that mean "lopey" sound at idle. Oh well it runs incredibly now, I guess I'll have to do that in the future with the Windsor...
 

Madgyver

Bronco Madman
Joined
Jul 30, 2001
Messages
14,678
Crower "Baja Beast"<br>I also use the "Hydraulic Haulers Series" in my other rods
 

Desert Thrasher

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jul 14, 2001
Messages
2,353
I have done extensive research with different cam profiles on my desktop dyno 2000 and engine analyzer dyno programs. I have used only compcams camshaft profiles though. But what i have found to be a near perfect cam is the compcams 255deh-10 grind. It has higher lift and duration on the exhaust side which gives ungodly amounts of torque at the low end without sacrifcing top end performace. I use one in my 351 cleveland and love it, my brother uses one in his 460 and has more torque than a diesel engine could want, over 500 ft lbs.<br>My 351C hp peaks at 5000 rpms and the max torque hits at 3000 rpms, just perfect for what i want.
 

wildbill

Old Bronco Guy
Joined
Jun 29, 2001
Messages
6,885
;D ;D ;D My cam of choice is a ERSON cant tell you how meney I have done never a bad one but WHAT you need to do is contact the cam co. that you want to go with and tell them what you have and what you want the cam to do(rpm range) and they will tell you what cam will work best for what you want. good luck with your choice. ::) ::) ::) Bill 8) ::) :p ( I would recmand a Erson RV-15 )
 

67ster

Bronco Guru
Joined
Feb 18, 2002
Messages
1,572
If a little is good then bigger must be better, right? WRONG ! Nothing worse than trying to drive a rumpity-rump cammed vehicle at low RPM's , kills all the bottom end torque . Go for an RV grind and stay away from the drag race profiles .
 

Broncobowsher

Total hack
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
34,835
Running aluminum heads on a 351 along with a bunch of the normal goodies. The 351W house grind from Summit is a real good pick. I have run it in the 351 in the Bronco to a 302 in a Mustang. The specs are the same as the Edelbrock performer, For motersports 331 series cams, and at least 3 other makes of cams. The summit cam is the best dollar for that grind, and it comes with lifters. runs great from idle through 5000+ with a real nice flat torque curve. Works real good for stock through mild engines. <br><br>It all depends on how you want to run it as well. If you want to turn 8000 RPM, then pick something else.
 

Desert Thrasher

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jul 14, 2001
Messages
2,353
[quote author=ABurns link=board=5;threadid=8099;start=0#57864 date=1029776683]<br>Oh.. c'mon guys. There's no such thing as too much cam, just not enough motor!!! ;D ;D ;D<br>[/quote]<br><br>If you here someone say Size doesnt matter then they obviously have a SMALL CAM
 

66horse

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jan 7, 2002
Messages
3,394
Thanks for the advice everybody. Gives me a lot to look at. Although, I must say the summit CAM for 74 bones looks very appealing for my budget.<br><br>So how does this combo sound? Performer Intake, Quadrajet, and The Sunnit cam. Do i need to do anything special to run this combo? And how hard is it to change cams?<br><br>Thanks,<br>Steve
 

Madgyver

Bronco Madman
Joined
Jul 30, 2001
Messages
14,678
If you're changing the cam, Don't forget to change the lifters too at the same time. It's also good to do the replace the valve springs with a set that matches the cam you choose. At the same time you might a well get the heads done, But wait! did you check compression with a compression tester. You may want to do your rings also. You see where this is going?<br> Changing a cam is easy but it won't do any good if the rest of the motor is not up to par. I can understand if it were in a recent rebuilt motor not a high mileage 30 year old motor.
 

66horse

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jan 7, 2002
Messages
3,394
Mad. I am actually buying a rebuilt long block so it seems like a good time to do these things. So it looks like, cam, lifters and springs??????<br><br>tahnks,<br>Steve
 

WyleCoyote

Bronco Guru
Joined
May 2, 2002
Messages
1,739
Might as well go with Roller Rockers while you have it apart. They are not super expensive, saw a set on Ebay for about $100 the other day.<br><br>Of Course, its because of the "extras" that I'm broke after every project!
 
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