I just bought a 1968 chevy 327 for my '68 Camaro. It has flat top pistons and is bored .030 over. I bought a set of vortec 062 heads for it (stock). I'm trying to decide which cam and vortec intake to buy. I've got a Edelbrock 650 carb I can put on it. Still gotta figure out distributor route that doesn't cost too much also. The car has a 3.08 gear, th350 tranny and stock converter. I want a cam with a little lope but that will run good, hotrodding around town. Will not be racing the car anytime soon. Thanks for any advice. Was thinking about either a Lunati voodoo or street master cam. Thoughts?
327 with Vortec heads
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·I just bought a 1968 chevy 327 for my '68 Camaro. It has flat top pistons and is bored .030 over. I bought a set of vortec 062 heads for it (stock). I'm trying to decide which cam and vortec intake to buy. I've got a Edelbrock 650 carb I can put on it. Still gotta figure out distributor route that doesn't cost too much also. The car has a 3.08 gear, th350 tranny and stock converter. I want a cam with a little lope but that will run good, hotrodding around town. Will not be racing the car anytime soon. Thanks for any advice. Was thinking about either a Lunati voodoo or street master cam. Thoughts?
G
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·Would you recommend a different brand? Comp cam was more expensive.
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4,908 Posts
Lunati holds the trade name for VooDoo cams (many of which were designed by U.D. Harold before his passing).
The concept of the VooDoo, or the Thumper (Comps' trademark for a similar cam) is to put as much of the duration on the exhaust side where you can have your much sought after noise while not hurting the engine's performance too much.
If you run a long duration cam (anything more than 214 degrees on the intake at 50 with a 327) on the street you will hurt overall performance.
The basic reason is it is hard to make power with the valves hanging open, but you can sacrifice actual power for that thumping noise by increasing the duration and narrowing the LSA (which is what every one else in the herd wants so that they can blend in with the other herd animals, who spend time in their lawn chairs at the car coral showing off their brands).
Big Dave
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JMHO. Forget the lumpy cam. Sounds cool, yes. But 327 with 3.08 gears and stock TH350 and converter make this a giant loser.
Get a cam that gives you low end torque. I have a crane hyd roller in two different vehicls, designed for torque between 1000 to 5200 rpm. Brute torque down low (although both of mine are .020 350 engines). That is where a street car lives. Crane 119811 is the part number.
Get a cam that gives you low end torque. I have a crane hyd roller in two different vehicls, designed for torque between 1000 to 5200 rpm. Brute torque down low (although both of mine are .020 350 engines). That is where a street car lives. Crane 119811 is the part number.
G
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·Ok guys. Thanks for the information.
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Pay attention to max lift. If I remember correctly, vortec heads are limited to around .480 lift unless they've been modified.
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Two choices for an improved cam is the RV cam and a marine cam for a jet drive pages in your cam catalog. Both keep duration down, and have a wider LSA to live on the street, but raise the valve lift numbers to increase power.
As mentioned your Vortec heads are restricted to 0.480" inch of valve lift unless you cut down the valve guides on the heads, and open the hole in the push rod guide slots to bring you to the maximum valve lift of 0.520" allowed with this head design. Even with a 0.480" lift valve be sure to check first for coil bind as well as keeper to guide interference.
Big Dave
As mentioned your Vortec heads are restricted to 0.480" inch of valve lift unless you cut down the valve guides on the heads, and open the hole in the push rod guide slots to bring you to the maximum valve lift of 0.520" allowed with this head design. Even with a 0.480" lift valve be sure to check first for coil bind as well as keeper to guide interference.
Big Dave
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·I ended up ordering this cam from Summit. Hopefully it work good.
Bracket Master Hydraulic Flat Tappet Cam & Lifter Kit - Chevrolet Small Block 284/284
Product Description
Hydraulic Flat Tappet Cam. Good low end torque and HP. Works well with stock stall converter. Good idle.
Advertised Duration (Int/Exh): 284/284
Duration @ .050 (Int/Exh): 218/218
Gross Valve Lift (Int/Exh): .458/.458
LSA/ICL: 110/106
Valve Lash (Int/Exh): Hyd/Hyd
RPM Range: 1500-5200
Includes: Cam & Lifters (#71817PR-16)
Part Number: 10120416LK
Previous Part Number: 00016LK
Jobber Price: $181.63
Bracket Master Hydraulic Flat Tappet Cam & Lifter Kit - Chevrolet Small Block 284/284
Product Description
Hydraulic Flat Tappet Cam. Good low end torque and HP. Works well with stock stall converter. Good idle.
Advertised Duration (Int/Exh): 284/284
Duration @ .050 (Int/Exh): 218/218
Gross Valve Lift (Int/Exh): .458/.458
LSA/ICL: 110/106
Valve Lash (Int/Exh): Hyd/Hyd
RPM Range: 1500-5200
Includes: Cam & Lifters (#71817PR-16)
Part Number: 10120416LK
Previous Part Number: 00016LK
Jobber Price: $181.63
G
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·I ordered this one from Summit yesterday. Hopefully that's a good decision.Now to figure out which intake to order. Looking at Edelbrock, but they've got Performer, Rpm, Eps and Air gap. Any suggestions? Rather not have to buy expensive one. Thanks for your input.
Bracket Master Hydraulic Flat Tappet Cam & Lifter Kit - Chevrolet Small Block 284/284
Product Description
The Bracket Master Camshafts are the best choice for some high performance street machines and mild performance bracket racing applications. They provide excellent power over a broad power band and give that lopey idle that is so popular.Hydraulic Flat Tappet Cam. Good low end torque and HP. Works well with stock stall converter. Good idle.
•Advertised Duration (Int/Exh): 284/284
•Duration @ .050 (Int/Exh): 218/218
•Gross Valve Lift (Int/Exh): .458/.458
•LSA/ICL: 110/106
•Valve Lash (Int/Exh): Hyd/Hyd
•RPM Range: 1500-5200
•Includes: Cam & Lifters (#71817PR-16)
Part Number: 10120416LK
Previous Part Number: 00016LK
Bracket Master Hydraulic Flat Tappet Cam & Lifter Kit - Chevrolet Small Block 284/284
Product Description
The Bracket Master Camshafts are the best choice for some high performance street machines and mild performance bracket racing applications. They provide excellent power over a broad power band and give that lopey idle that is so popular.Hydraulic Flat Tappet Cam. Good low end torque and HP. Works well with stock stall converter. Good idle.
•Advertised Duration (Int/Exh): 284/284
•Duration @ .050 (Int/Exh): 218/218
•Gross Valve Lift (Int/Exh): .458/.458
•LSA/ICL: 110/106
•Valve Lash (Int/Exh): Hyd/Hyd
•RPM Range: 1500-5200
•Includes: Cam & Lifters (#71817PR-16)
Part Number: 10120416LK
Previous Part Number: 00016LK
I have a 350/330 ho motor that came with 062 Vortec heads. I changed to crane beehive valve springs and retainers when I put a Lunati 268 voodoo cam in. Every thing fits fine and went in easy. the cam is .489/.504 lift and has about 20000 miles and 200 drag strip passes on it. I put it in at least 10 years ago. I've never had an issue with it. I have 4:10 gears so I can't really tell you how well it with your gears. Good Luck.
I would have done the valve guide boss mod or gotten beehive springs. You are throwing power away not utilizing the flow capacity of those Vortecs. You need to wind that little 327 to make power. Your duration is good but a dual pattern cam would help the weak vortec exhaust port. Be different and buy a weiand intake. They're all within 5 hp of each other
G
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·I should have gone that way I guess, but wasn't sure.
Glad you didn't fall for the "put a big cam in it" temptation. Would have made an otherwise snappy cruiser into a lazy dog that you would hate to drive. Given your converter/gear combo, you made a pretty good cam choice:
Duration @ .050 (Int/Exh): 218/218
Gross Valve Lift (Int/Exh): .458/.458
LSA/ICL: 110/106
Valve Lash (Int/Exh): Hyd/Hyd
RPM Range: 1500-5200
Comp and Lunati have grinds with quicker "ramps" which might give you a few more ponies, but I've seen some surprising test results of "latest and greatest new technology" cams that were only slightly better than 30 year old grinds.
For intake, a GM Performance or Eddie Vortec Performer (dual plane) should work well. If you plan to go to a 3:36 or 3:55 gear and a little more converter later, get the Eddie Vortec RPM & you can always upgrade springs & cam when you switch gears. For a distributor on a budget, a Pertronix ignitor in a stock distributor ( or a factory HEI distributor) with an advance weight kit should do the trick. Sounds like it will be a nice cruiser once you get it dialed. Good Luck!
Duration @ .050 (Int/Exh): 218/218
Gross Valve Lift (Int/Exh): .458/.458
LSA/ICL: 110/106
Valve Lash (Int/Exh): Hyd/Hyd
RPM Range: 1500-5200
Comp and Lunati have grinds with quicker "ramps" which might give you a few more ponies, but I've seen some surprising test results of "latest and greatest new technology" cams that were only slightly better than 30 year old grinds.
For intake, a GM Performance or Eddie Vortec Performer (dual plane) should work well. If you plan to go to a 3:36 or 3:55 gear and a little more converter later, get the Eddie Vortec RPM & you can always upgrade springs & cam when you switch gears. For a distributor on a budget, a Pertronix ignitor in a stock distributor ( or a factory HEI distributor) with an advance weight kit should do the trick. Sounds like it will be a nice cruiser once you get it dialed. Good Luck!
I understand that this may be a better cam with split duration.
Lunati Voodoo Hydraulic Flat Tappet Camshaft for Small Block Chevrolet V8 Applications.*Part*#10120702.*
Cam Specs & Description:
RPM Range:*1400-5800
Valve Lift w/1.5 Ratio Roller Rockers (IN/EX):**.468" / .489"
Duration @ .050" (IN/EX):**.219" / .227"
Advertised Duration (IN/EX):*.262" / .268"
LSA/ICL:*112 / 108
Valve Lash (IN/EX):*Hyd / Hyd
Cam Description:*Mid-level performance street cam*with excellent drivability. Exceptional*replacement for muscle car type cams*with automatic transmissions. Works*well with stock type exhaust manifolds*and dual plane intake with mild 4 bbl*carb. This is an awesome 4X4 and*performance marine cam where dry*exhaust is used. Improved valve springs*and roller rockers recommended.
Lunati Voodoo Hydraulic Flat Tappet Camshaft for Small Block Chevrolet V8 Applications.*Part*#10120702.*
Cam Specs & Description:
RPM Range:*1400-5800
Valve Lift w/1.5 Ratio Roller Rockers (IN/EX):**.468" / .489"
Duration @ .050" (IN/EX):**.219" / .227"
Advertised Duration (IN/EX):*.262" / .268"
LSA/ICL:*112 / 108
Valve Lash (IN/EX):*Hyd / Hyd
Cam Description:*Mid-level performance street cam*with excellent drivability. Exceptional*replacement for muscle car type cams*with automatic transmissions. Works*well with stock type exhaust manifolds*and dual plane intake with mild 4 bbl*carb. This is an awesome 4X4 and*performance marine cam where dry*exhaust is used. Improved valve springs*and roller rockers recommended.
Stay away from Voodoo and Extreme Energy cams. Aggressive ramps can actually have the lifter "jumping" off the lobe. Very hard on valve train. Split duration in range of .218 and .234 would be ideal. Have a cam ground to that duration and at a lift that matches where the Votec's flow the highest. While your at it have the camshaft intruded and your worries about ZDDP levels in oil will be greatly reduced
You bought the cam already. If you can't return it and get one with a split duration and more lift ground for you in the tried and true Magnum style profile, it some 1.6 ratio rockers on it. You are throwing about 30 cfm of flow away. The Vortecs are still flowing well up to .500 lift.
The difference between .400 lift and .500 lift on stock Vortecs is like 5 cfm on the intakes. Pretty difficult to get .500 lift with a short duration to go with your gear/converter combo anyway. Again a big duration cam will kill performance in this combo. You might try 1.6 rockers to get a little more area under the curve with the cam you have but even that is likely only good for 5-10 more HP.
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