Thread: converter/cam selection

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i dont know what kind of cam to buy for my 454,and i am unsure what kind of stall converter i should get? keep in mind i dont have the money for racing parts or custom stuff.

30 over
-4 cc dish piston(speed pro coated)
781 heads (stock except for polish)
power plus cyclone manifold
holley 3310(proform main body)
th400 3.73's
78 camaro 3600lbs.
c/r 8:1
once i can afford it i will buy a centrifugal and run around 10 psi.
street driven
full length headers 1 3/4 primaries 3 in. collector

Make a call to Howard's Cams, 920-233-5228. Tell them what you have, and what you're looking to do with it. They will suggest a cam, and they are very reasonable. They will probably give you recommendations on the torque converter too. But remember one thing, when you try and save money on performance parts, it usually results in being very unhappy with the results. You get exactly what you pay for, and a torque converter is one area that you dont want to skimp on.

Originally Posted by seansz28

i dont know what kind of cam to buy for my 454,and i am unsure what kind of stall converter i should get? keep in mind i dont have the money for racing parts or custom stuff.

30 over
-4 cc dish piston(speed pro coated)
781 heads (stock except for polish)
power plus cyclone manifold
holley 3310(proform main body)
th400 3.73's
78 camaro 3600lbs.
c/r 8:1
once i can afford it i will buy a centrifugal and run around 10 psi.
street driven
full length headers 1 3/4 primaries 3 in. collector

If your heads have stock valve springs you will have to replace them.

i am looking to buy a cam kit with matching springs, lifters and such

Originally Posted by seansz28

i am looking to buy a cam kit with matching springs, lifters and such

Because of your low comp. ratio I would look at cams that have a duration at .050 of 215 or less..

Originally Posted by seansz28

i dont know what kind of cam to buy for my 454,and i am unsure what kind of stall converter i should get? keep in mind i dont have the money for racing parts or custom stuff.

30 over
-4 cc dish piston(speed pro coated)
781 heads (stock except for polish)
power plus cyclone manifold
holley 3310(proform main body)
th400 3.73's
78 camaro 3600lbs.
c/r 8:1
once i can afford it i will buy a centrifugal and run around 10 psi.
street driven
full length headers 1 3/4 primaries 3 in. collector

Another problem I noticed was your pistons.
Those pistons will not handle a blown application.

Originally Posted by erik erikson

Another problem I noticed was your pistons.
Those pistons will not handle a blown application.

Can you explain why? I called up the company when I bought my first set of pistons and they recommended these for my blower application. On the box they say they are meant for turbo/supercharger.

Originally Posted by seansz28

Can you explain why? I called up the company when I bought my first set of pistons and they recommended these for my blower application. On the box they say they are meant for turbo/supercharger.

If they are a forged piston then your fine.
If they are a hypereutectic then you are playing with fire at these boost levels you talked about.
About four years ago we ran them in one of our dirt circle track engines.
After the second night we pulled the engine down because we had lost compression in two holes.
We noticed the tops of these pistons had just broken away from the rest of the pistons right have the top ring land.
Keep in mind this was a flat tappet engine with a comp. ratio of 13.to 1.
I.M.O.,I would never run a hypereutectic piston in a blown or n20 application.

Originally Posted by seansz28

i dont know what kind of cam to buy for my 454,and i am unsure what kind of stall converter i should get? keep in mind i dont have the money for racing parts or custom stuff.

30 over
-4 cc dish piston(speed pro coated)
781 heads (stock except for polish)
power plus cyclone manifold
holley 3310(proform main body)
th400 3.73's
78 camaro 3600lbs.
c/r 8:1
once i can afford it i will buy a centrifugal and run around 10 psi.
street driven
full length headers 1 3/4 primaries 3 in. collector

cut the blower back to about 7 lbs. and go have some fun. you can't hook up that much power with a st. tire no way. you gonna need some more carb. with the blower.

Originally Posted by lt1s10

cut the blower back to about 7 lbs. and go have some fun. you can't hook up that much power with a st. tire no way. you gonna need some more carb. with the blower.

Welcome back Mike,it has been awhile.
I don't always see eye to eye with Mike but he is right on this one.
7lbs. of boost on a 454 is a lot for a street car.
You might like it better to drive anyway.

you should probably wait until you can afford the blower before you buy the cam. You will probably want a blower cam with a lsa around 115 degrees.

thanks for the advice on the psi., until then i might just run a street cam, until i can buy the blower, would you have any suggestion for a cam until i can afford the blower

Originally Posted by seansz28

thanks for the advice on the psi., until then i might just run a street cam, until i can buy the blower, would you have any suggestion for a cam until i can afford the blower

Do you want a hyd.,hyd. roller,mech.,mech. roller cam ??
I would look at cams like everyone is saying 110-114 l/s.
I also would look at cams that favor the exhaust side by 8 or degree's of duration or more at .050.

Make sure you call a cam company before you go ordering anything. When you tell them your current specs, they will suggest a cam. You are dealing with a low c/r for now, so it would be very easy to buy too big, and you will be very unhappy with the results if that happens. All the parts have to match the combo. John

Originally Posted by erik erikson

Welcome back Mike,it has been awhile.
I don't always see eye to eye with Mike but he is right on this one.
7lbs. of boost on a 454 is a lot for a street car.
You might like it better to drive anyway.

thanks erik, that made my day. i drove a blown el camino for 15 yrs. everyday on the st. and broke up a lot of stuff before i decided to back off a little and have some fun with it. i used the blown el comina as my shop service truck, carrying people home, and picking up parts.