Cam replacement

[jester]

Hello guys and girls. Several years ago, the cam in was replaced with a Hydro. cam. I've been thinking about bringing it back to solids this winter, but I have no idea what to install. It's a 64 425 pushing a muncie 4 speed. As of now it has 4:11 gears but I switch to 3:73s from time to time. I run it on the street 99% of the time. Can anyone recomend a snotty cam for my street light drag racer. As I said before, sometimes I like to spank a 5.0 Mustang. Thanks in advance.

 

[BSL409]

I have a very nice used ISKY Z33 grind .560 lift 290 duration cam and ISKY solid lifters. I would say less than 2500 miles on them $155.00 plus the ride

Worked great with my 3.55 rear an muncie 4 speed​

 

[boxerdog]

There was a similar thread a month or so back, several folks detailed their favorite cams...if you can't find it PM me, I will try to help.

 

[61belairbubbletop]

http://www.348-409.com/forum/index.php?threads/409-camshaft-selection-question.2790/#post-157741

 

[jim_ss409]

I see that much of that thread is from 2005
Models mentioned the Thumper cams. A few guys are running those and seem to really like them. They make them in both flat tappet and rollers and they do make them for the 409.
They have tight, 107 degree lobe centers and lots of exhaust duration so they have a really mean idle. I don't think they'd make enough vacuum for power brakes. I think they come in three levels ranging from lopey to radical.
I think these are the specs for the middle of the road model but keep in mind that it would be a little more radical on a 409 than it would be on a 454 but still acceptable to most people.
http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/cam-specs/Details.aspx?csid=417&sb=2

 

[boxerdog]

Yellow Wagon and I used the same grind from Aubrey...242/246 @.050, .595/.608 on 108 centers using Crower lifters with the oiling hole in the face. I am very happy with this grind, but don't have power brakes to worry about. My car is primarily street with 3.50 or 4.30 gears and a 700r-4.

 

[MRHP]

I have a .632/.628 lift 290/292 duration solid flat tappet in my motor with 1.75 aluminum roller rockers. I got the cam from Aubrey. Couldn't be happier with it. She really snarls.

 

[WarBeast17]

I've been doing a little looking around myself, any opinions on this cam? http://www.cranecams.com/product/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=24432 Interesting they have it listed as MK VII I could've sworn the Z-11 was a MK I or MK Is. The numbers don't look too bad, I've never talked with anyone who's used a crane cam before. But for what i've got planned it looks like a suitable contender. A lot of the .555 lifts i've heard have a good throaty sound.

 

[yellow wagon]

The cam that boxerdog mentioned we have in his post made 473hp in my stock stroke .030 over 409 and it thumps pretty good. Are you running headers?

 

[Don Jacks]

A friend of mine,and a fellow member[Bugsey] as one of these z-11 type cams in his 482 in his 64 Impala with 3.36 gears [12 bolt]It has a really neat "old school"sound,and pulls pretty hard.Not knowing what's inside your engine,I really cant put a finger on what to suggest except to say that if like Jason's or boxerdog's engines that are set up with top notch parts and assembly,the more modern cams like the ones that jason,boxerdog,and if you want a little bigger,Brian[mrhp] 's modern cam designs will make a lot more power,with a wider,more user friendly power curve.

 

[CDNpontiac409guy]

Geez, one of these days, I'll have to try and raise the money to buy one of Aubrey's "242/246 dur cams for my car

 

[Don Jacks]

I know you "stocker" guys [we bracket racers often refer to them as "class sisseys"]like to push the envolope Aubrey,but I strongly suspect that it wouldnt pass muster!

 

[Dick MacKenzie]

 

[CDNpontiac409guy]

Say WHAT ???!!!
I'll kick your a$$, you ... you... brake pedal racer

besides, it's for my station wagon



maybe someday

 

[jim_ss409]

I've been doing a little looking around myself, any opinions on this cam? http://www.cranecams.com/product/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=24432 Interesting they have it listed as MK VII I could've sworn the Z-11 was a MK I or MK Is. The numbers don't look too bad, I've never talked with anyone who's used a crane cam before. But for what i've got planned it looks like a suitable contender. A lot of the .555 lifts i've heard have a good throaty sound.

That was a really good cam by 1963 standards but some of the newer cams are better. In 63 they had to design a cam that would last at least 100,000 miles, give an acceptably smooth idle and work with relatively soft springs. In order to get .555 lift they needed a lot of duration. (296 advertised and 250 @ .050)
In order to achieve an acceptable idle they had to spread the lobe centers out to 113.5 degrees. The wide lobes killed some of the low end and midrange torque.
Cams are one of the things that have really improved over the years. The "242/246" cam that was mentioned earlier would make more power right across the board. It has more lift, (.595/608) so it would require aftermarket valve springs. It's a nice cam but it's fairly big, if you put it in a stock stroke 409 you'd want to have decent compression and a looser converter if you were running an automatic.
The ramps on that cam are a lot quicker, more like what you'd expect from a roller cam so you'd also want to follow the recommended break in procedures carefully.
A modern hydraulic flat tappet cam could also match the performance of the Z11 cam. The Comp 274 230/236 @.050 (0954 on the Showcars page) has more lift with a lot less duration. It might not make the same top end horsepower as the Z11 but it would be close. It would certainly have more bottom end and midrange.
http://www.dr409.com/Diagrams/campage.html

 

[58 Apache]

I didn't know there was this much test rust ter ron in this age group. I am with Dick and

 

[Phil Reed]

Geez, one of these days, I'll have to try and raise the money to buy one of Aubrey's "242/246 dur cams for my car

I've got his phone number if you need it!!!!!!

 

[64ss409]

test rust ter ron

 

[WarBeast17]

That was a really good cam by 1963 standards but some of the newer cams are better. In 63 they had to design a cam that would last at least 100,000 miles, give an acceptably smooth idle and work with relatively soft springs. In order to get .555 lift they needed a lot of duration. (296 advertised and 250 @ .050)
In order to achieve an acceptable idle they had to spread the lobe centers out to 113.5 degrees. The wide lobes killed some of the low end and midrange torque.
Cams are one of the things that have really improved over the years. The "242/246" cam that was mentioned earlier would make more power right across the board. It has more lift, (.595/608) so it would require aftermarket valve springs. It's a nice cam but it's fairly big, if you put it in a stock stroke 409 you'd want to have decent compression and a looser converter if you were running an automatic.
The ramps on that cam are a lot quicker, more like what you'd expect from a roller cam so you'd also want to follow the recommended break in procedures carefully.
A modern hydraulic flat tappet cam could also match the performance of the Z11 cam. The Comp 274 230/236 @.050 (0954 on the Showcars page) has more lift with a lot less duration. It might not make the same top end horsepower as the Z11 but it would be close. It would certainly have more bottom end and midrange.
http://www.dr409.com/Diagrams/campage.html

Thanks for the info! I'll be sure to keep this in mind! I'm a manual guy all the way, I was planning on investing on a M-22 Muncie sometime down the line. Right now i'm just trying to get my figures straight. My aim is to try and get the look and feel of a Z-11 motor (Not sure about the 13.5 compression I haven't seen any pistons that produced that), but at the same time not be a purpose built race car. Lamar stuff may be a bit of a hefty penny, but i've heard those heads have some pretty good flow numbers. I'll keep these numbers in mind! And my 409 is a stock stroke '65 passenger block bored .060 over with 10.25:1 Compression. Pretty mild currently. But for three grand I took what I could get.

 

[yellow wagon]

If you want to go aluminum heads, why not get the Edelbrocks? Hard to beat them for the performance potential they have. And they are much more reasonable than Lamar's heads. A little port work and the Edelbrock heads can really flow! But for your average street car that MIGHT see the track I would rethink your 13.5:1 compression idea. That motor will need race gas and race gas gets expensive just to drive the car to a cruise night. 10.25:1 is not tame by any standards in fact I would say that 10:1-11:1 is just about the sweet spot for these motors to make big power on pump fuel. Its real easy to undercam a motor and then be unhappy with the finished results so make sure you select a camshaft that suits your needs with how you intend to drive the car. my 10.25:1 stock stroke 409 starts and idles great, uses premium pump fuel and doesn't even run warm. Very reliable!