i'm totally confused reading forums on cam shaft selection and need help? roller or not
1970 cougar weighs about 3500lbs
m code car
1970 doae j block currently bored 30 over
4v closed chamber heads
auto trans fmx
stock 4 v manifolds
performer intake 650 edlebrock carb may change to fitech injection one day not now
3:00 gears willing to change out
i want a cruiser cat
i need a camshaft thats not radical but gives me the low end power i need that doesnt mess with the top end the 4v cleveland needs
You can't have it all. Generally speaking, something in the 225 degree duration at .050 lift, 275 degree advertised duration, with roughly 0.500 lift, neighborhood, will be a good compromise to have a good bottom and reasonable top end, and have enough vacuum to operate power brakes and such. More duration will hurt the bottom end (and engine vacuum), but help the top end, and vice versa. Changing the gears will likely make a bigger difference than the cam; something in the 3.50 range is a good compromise. Without an overdrive transmission, the more highway driving you do, the lower you'll want the gear ratio, and the less highway driving, the higher you can tolerate. I had a 3.70 in mine for a while, and it drove me nuts on the highway. I switched to a 3.25 gear instead.
So your starting point is identical to mine back in 86. I chose a Crane cam that is almost identical to the one here http://www.cranecams.com/230-233.pdf called the H-278-2. Ran great - 13.40's with 4.11 gears. No problem with power brakes either.
The other Crane cam above is good but it's quite a bit milder. We ran that one on my brother's car and it ran 14.20 ish range.
If you want to get a bit more radical write back -- I've run some nasty cams in the 351C up to 585HP but that makes things quite a bit more unstreetable.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Mercury Cougar Owners
586.3K posts
20.8K members
Since 2001
A forum community dedicated to Mercury Cougar owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about restoration, performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!