Comp Cams Magnum Camshaft

I have torn down my 350 engine that I plan to go through and rebuild for a good street motor in my 63 Chevy II wagon for reliability and fuel milage. I pulled the current cam in it that supposedly has low milage (around 50 miles) and was going to change it since I dropped the lifters and push rods but may end up keeping the cam and buying new lifters, push rods, springs and rockers.
The cam is a 12-211-2 Magnum, Duration at .050 is 224 and lift is .470. It shows the RPM range at 1,800-5,800. What do you think of this cam in this motor of mine being used in a street car? Too big or will it work fine? I also heard that I can use Rhoad Lifters when I go to buy new lifters instead of a comps cam magnum rocker, lifter and pushrod kit. What do you guys think on this?
I did find out the pistons in this motor are L2256 TRW's (Forged, Speed Pro's) .030 over. They are supposed to have 9.72:1 compression with 64cc heads but I have 75cc heads so that should bring it around 9.0:1 I beleive (that's if it has not been decked). The manifold I am going to be running will be an Edelbrock RPM with most likely a 500 or 600 cfm carb (I have not decided on this one yet).
All I am asking here is what would you guys do, keep the cam if it specs out good or buy a new one with lifters and everything? I hear lots of good things about Rhoads lifters on bigger cams in a street car but never had experience with them myself or driven a car with them.
Thanks!

Shawn-

FMX
Looks like you've made some good choices.
I ran that same cam some years ago and loved it.
And I also used the Rhoad lifters and they worked great as well.
I did however have to put about a 2200 stall in it.
It was just a little to much cam for the stock converter.
But what a great pulling cam, You'll enjoy it.
I had ran the weind duel plan manifold that was port matched
to the heads and a 780 holley mech. carb and headers. Kurt

I would save the money on the Rhoads lifters and go with the Comp ones. The cam sounds good for your app. Edd

That is a good cam-also the extreme energy 268 is good-great sound and it works good. Forget about the rhoads, they tend to be noisy.

What do you guys think about the Edelbrock Performer RPM cam and lifter kit? I am running their Edelbrock RPM manifold which I hear is great and see that it is very cheap. Will running a stall and such hurt milage? That is one of the biggest things I am worried about. :HMMM:

I had a 350 with a CompCams 270 Magnum and liked it a lot. Like others have said, I would advise using a stall converter despite what CC says about using a stock converter. It has a nice lope, pulls hard to 5800 rpm. I run a 280 Magnum in my 383, and I would say the characteristics are similar. Use the CC lifters.

Well as much as I'd like to run this cam I think I may skip out on it since it seems that it will hurt milage because of the lope and stall needed. If this car was going to be my weekend hot rod or garage car then sure I wouldn't mind throwing in a 2200 stall and this cam but since it's going to be my daily driver I dont see the sense in it. Sure I wont have that nice lopey sound but I am just not going for sound and looks, I am going for reliability, function and fuel milage. I dont want it to be a stock 350 with little power of course but again I dont need a 450 HP daily driver wagon. :LOL:
Since I need to switch out the lifters and everything I might as well go with an application that will not need a stall and such. The transmission I plan to put behind it is a TH350 and the kid I got it from said it has a small stall but I didn't notice a stall and I pulled the converter out and it has no numbers on it so I am guessing it isn't a stall?
When the engine was in the truck with this engine, cam and TH350 it idled fine and didn't stall out while in gear at a stop so that makes me wonder. :confused:

BTW, good to see you around Denny! I haven't talked or seen you around here in a LONG time. How have you been and what's new?

for every day and mild use i would use a RV cam like denny said the hi stall will not be EZ on gas .i would not use leaky lifters like rumrumm said .why not just build some thing off the bat that will work good then try to stick a big cam in it. if your just blasting it down the road every now and then stick a big cam in it. but if your going to drive it use a RV cam?

If you are looking for mileage you are going in the wrong direction,The RPM intake is just what it says,RPM! larger runners for increased fuel delivery,to get mileage you want an intake with smaller runners to produce increased low end torque and promote higher velocity at lower speeds,the cams discussed above will not promote fuel economy either.I am not really sold on the regular Performer intake either,you'll find tons of them on ebay and craigslist for $50.So lets look at this combo to get you going in the right direction,plug in these part#'s at www.summitracing.com Weiand 8125,Crower CRO-00904,Summit SUM-M08600VS .Hopefully Techinspector can run some numbers for you.

Thanks for the info guys. To clear things up Pat, that's exactly what I DONT want is a big cam, high stall, etc. I am looking for a mild cam that will help with a little performance and fuel milage, a nice intake (I also have a Weiand Street Performer or some kind of intake like this that was on the 350 already that I may go ahead and use already) and then a 3.08 gear.
I found a few cam kits that come with the lifters, springs, cam, pushrods, etc and they are Comp Cam Energy I believe that are supposed to be for mild to mid street motors for better fuel economy and nice low to mid range. Once I look at the numbers about that JeffB2 put up then I will post what I found and get your guys' oppinions on them.

crower 00915 or howards98111 or erson E110020 orE110022 but i would put a hyd roller in it any ways

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Originally Posted by FMXhellraiser

Thanks for the info guys. To clear things up Pat, that's exactly what I DONT want is a big cam, high stall, etc. I am looking for a mild cam that will help with a little performance and fuel milage, a nice intake (I also have a Weiand Street Performer or some kind of intake like this that was on the 350 already that I may go ahead and use already) and then a 3.08 gear.
I found a few cam kits that come with the lifters, springs, cam, pushrods, etc and they are Comp Cam Energy I believe that are supposed to be for mild to mid street motors for better fuel economy and nice low to mid range. Once I look at the numbers about that JeffB2 put up then I will post what I found and get your guys' oppinions on them.

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yep look at them cams i listed and i did say RV cam:D

Besides power and reliability what else will I get out of a roller? A buddy of mine said do not even mess with a roller and just put a plain Hydraulic flat tappet kit in it and the one he recommends (I haven't found yet) is a 327 350hp cam. He said they were used in the Vettes and are mild and great for street motors. He said he used a Speed Pro brand one a in a few customers cars and they had just a slight lope but they idled great and had a nice wide broad power range and are great for a street motor.
I am wanting to get some more oppinions here, write all the cam kits you guys show me and then start narrowing them down and decide from there. I am still trying to learn the whole deal on cams and head work and how to choose the right combo with what I have. I know on my 66 F100 I have a Comps Cam Xtreme 4x4 type cam that works GREAT on my daily driver. It's for more low and mid range and does great on the street. As for sound (lope) it is nicer than stock but nothing crazy at all. I was considering this as well since it seems to work in my 351W motor that is drive on the street (horrible on gas though which I think is due to the 3.77 gears and C4 tranny).

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...2&autoview=sku
What do you think about this kit? Is it too much of a cam or in the middle?
The thing I am still trying to learn is what is the stock duration and lift on a cam? I have looked but hear different things so am confused and not sure if they have kits that are like 2 or 3 steps up from stock, etc. That Crower one looks nice I am going to write that down and will be considering that.

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Originally Posted by FMXhellraiser

Besides power and reliability what else will I get out of a roller? A buddy of mine said do not even mess with a roller and just put a plain Hydraulic flat tappet kit in it and the one he recommends (I haven't found yet) is a 327 350hp cam. He said they were used in the Vettes and are mild and great for street motors. He said he used a Speed Pro brand one a in a few customers cars and they had just a slight lope but they idled great and had a nice wide broad power range and are great for a street motor.
I am wanting to get some more oppinions here, write all the cam kits you guys show me and then start narrowing them down and decide from there. I am still trying to learn the whole deal on cams and head work and how to choose the right combo with what I have. I know on my 66 F100 I have a Comps Cam Xtreme 4x4 type cam that works GREAT on my daily driver. It's for more low and mid range and does great on the street. As for sound (lope) it is nicer than stock but nothing crazy at all. I was considering this as well since it seems to work in my 351W motor that is drive on the street (horrible on gas though which I think is due to the 3.77 gears and C4 tranny).

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well good luck i just rebuilt two engines that someone built both were wiping thru there 2 cam one 402 and a small block that wipe out 2 cams .the cam you want a blue print cam 327/350 erson .crane .lunati .as well as many other cam grinders made them speed pro had them to i had one 28 years ago

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Originally Posted by FMXhellraiser

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...2&autoview=sku
What do you think about this kit? Is it too much of a cam or in the middle?
The thing I am still trying to learn is what is the stock duration and lift on a cam? I have looked but hear different things so am confused and not sure if they have kits that are like 2 or 3 steps up from stock, etc. That Crower one looks nice I am going to write that down and will be considering that.

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"Back in the Day" the L79 cam was one of my favorites,but that is technology from 40 years ago,the Comp Cam above is not a whole lot better,with the heads you are using the Crower(notice it's middle name is mileage?) will be more in tune with your goals.You will notice the increased duration and lift on the exhaust side? that kinda fools your heads into thinking they can breath more on the exhaust side which is a benefit.Do you need a roller cam? Nah! unless you hit the lottery,when you purchase your cam I would also order the ISKY cam lube and the Red-Line break-in additive use 15W40 Shell Rotella and follow your cams instructions and you'll be good to go.

Sounds good I will look into both Crower cams that you and Pat put up... First is the one you (Jeff) mentioned:http://store.summitracing.com/partde...4&autoview=sku
And then the one Pat mentioned here: http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku
I like the specs of the first one that you mentioned since it says it's geared for everyday driving. Will that need a stall or anything with that Lift and duration specs?

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Originally Posted by JeffB2

"Back in the Day" the L79 cam was one of my favorites,but that is technology from 40 years ago,the Comp Cam above is not a whole lot better,with the heads you are using the Crower(notice it's middle name is mileage?) will be more in tune with your goals.You will notice the increased duration and lift on the exhaust side? that kinda fools your heads into thinking they can breath more on the exhaust side which is a benefit.Do you need a roller cam? Nah! unless you hit the lottery,when you purchase your cam I would also order the ISKY cam lube and the Red-Line break-in additive use 15W40 Shell Rotella and follow your cams instructions and you'll be good to go.

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great words to live by if your cam go s south . and have to rebuild it**) there is no zddp in the oil any more. like i said i seen more then one fail .if your going to build this on the cheap. i can do a hyd roller for about 400 with this kit i made that will let you run the gm roller cam that are not hard to find use or take out from competition products. so it is not that much more then a flat lifter cam .so good luck . for every day use i would save your money and put the roller in. or use a vtech block then the lifters are not so much. if not do what i did on this guys block. this engine wipe two cams in less then a 1000 miles**)

Pat, I will see what I can do about a roller cam. I would really like one but it's the funds. I have a lot of other work to do on the car so it depends.

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Originally Posted by FMXhellraiser

Pat, I will see what I can do about a roller cam. I would really like one but it's the funds. I have a lot of other work to do on the car so it depends.

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well ok. alot of guys will tell you will be ok .and you just may BUT are they going to be there if you wipe it. i am a dealer on erson so you can pm if i can help you :)

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Originally Posted by FMXhellraiser

Sounds good I will look into both Crower cams that you and Pat put up... First is the one you (Jeff) mentioned:http://store.summitracing.com/partde...4&autoview=sku
And then the one Pat mentioned here: http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku
I like the specs of the first one that you mentioned since it says it's geared for everyday driving. Will that need a stall or anything with that Lift and duration specs?

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leve 3 is more the leve 2 that cam i pick is more for low end and is a leve 2 cam works well with stock gears and drive trains 9.5.1 is recommend . the other cam is a leve 3 cam designed for moderately modified engine intended for performance hot street/strip both cams will work but i would use the smaller cam for evey day use and that would be the leve 2:)

FMX;The cam you have is a decent cam shaft with great pulling power.
So when I said I had to put a stall converter in it, this was not because the car would stall because it did not stall. It was that when you first hit the gas the car would slowly
pick up till it hit about 20 mph. It would not even spin the tires. But after you hit 20 mph
you'd better have a head rest because that Cam shaft would pull so hard it would try to throw your head out the back window. It got decent fuel milage but not the best but I was running a 780 carb too. And if your like me it's hard to hear something that sounds so good and not stick your foot in it once in a while. Thats why I put a higher stall so when I stepped on the gas and the car took off in the cams power band range all you seen was smoke and rubber because the car was all ready gone. Fuel millage you better step back to what Pat told you.
Pat I didn't know you were a dealer for Erson, That's all I ran in my BB Dodges back in the day. I was trying to follow Big daddy Don's lead who you know used to race with Super Shops logo on his car and they sold Erson cams. Super Shops has long since gone out and closed thier doors, to bad good shop's. Now I need you to reccomend me a cam
for a 400M ford engine. I used to run a TQ 30 in a 302. I believe it was a 228 @50 with a top rpm around 5500rpm's. I know that they don't make that same exact cam for the 400M but I would like to get as close to that as I can. It was also real lopy. Also what duel roller chain would you use with their cams. I don't remember the one they sold with thier cams. Thanks Kurt

If you are looking for economy, mileage, etc., the best choice you can make is to drop in a 700R4 with a lockup converter. That way you can have some degree of performance and still get good gas mileage.

I have read your thread and cam choices, specs, and brands are in the thousands of choices. All the time I was reading I was saying to myself "get rid of that TH350 and put in a 700R4" and then I got to the end and rumrumm has said it. You will get more mileage from the overdrive than any advances in cam, intake, and carb selection.
Put in something you have that will build you a motor and spend your $$$ on a 700R4 tranny. That's my opinion and experience!

Thanks for the info. I should have updated this but yes I have decided to start looking for a 200-4r tranmission from an 86 or later vehicle since these are supposedly the better ones. I found a guy with one from an 85 Monte Carlo SS but I still want to find an 86 or later. I may just get one from Bowtie Overdrives. They have the crossmember, stage 2 tranny, cables, etc for about $2400 shipped to my door. I will probably save a lot more going with a rebuilt unit and find the other stuff myself but at this point I am thinking about just paying the price and getting it. They said for what I am looking for the stage 2 is good because I will be pulling a 6 foot open trailor with some weight in it.