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building a 350 for my luv, wanting around 400hp with good low end for street play and mild strip use...lookin for input on cams specifically lift and duration numbers ....probably gonna run either a 600cfm or 750 cfm carb...cant decide which....really want a "lumpy" idle and hit a good exhaust lick...lemme know what you guys think-Gus

74Gus,

It would be in your best interest to give a call to the cam manufacturer of your choice and tell them what you want and what you want it to do. They will need to know the specifics of your engine-tranny-rear end ratio-tire size-etc. They are the best bet to finding the perfect cam for your application.

Heck, if all else fails, just get one of the performer or performer RPM packages that Edelbrock sels and you will know that you have matching parts in your engine.

Hope this hight help a little.

Giles5

don`t forget if you have to have a sniffer test done. a lumpy idle will make it tough to pass it.

Depeding upon the rest of your combo, you should be able to use a reasonably mild cam to hit your 400hp mark. Tell me a little more about your combo and what kind of cam your using. I assume hydralic but...

Off the top of my head I'd guess something like a 272/284 advertised with around <.500 lift. The lobe center has a large impact on the idle. A narrow lobe center (less degrees) has a rougher idle. Something like a 106 lobe center is going to be pretty choppy while something like a 114 will be fairly smooth.

The rest of your combo also plays a part in it so if I knew that info I could give you a better idea. Also, if you go with a roller cam you can have more lift and a faster ramp compared to a hydralic of the same duration. Just to give you an example here's two different cams I have run in my truck. This was back when it was much milder. Both were on 350's.

Hydralic:
272/284 advertised duration
454/480 advertised lift
216/228 duration at .050
112 lobe center
The idle was kinda rumpidy rump but not too bad. It was definately noticeable. Kinda like a "street rod" idle, not a race car idle. It still had good vacuum, around 17 in. with headers and a 650 double pumper. The powerband was kinda "peeky". In other words, it had a noticeable power band that started around 3200 and ran out around 6200. I would guess the motor was in the 375hp range.

Solid Roller:
288/288 advertised duration
500/500 advertised lift
224/224 duration at .050
112 lobe center
The idle was practically stock. Around 900RPM it would smooth out completely. It was bad for cruising because it sounded stock. It was good for getting races though. The vacuum was a little higher at idle, around 19 or 20 in. with the same headers and a 650 double pumper. The power band was about the same range but was smooth and long, not as noticeable as the hydralic. Overall it made more torque than the hydralic. Later I added 1.6 ratio rockers and a 900CFM Holly Pro-Jection which helped give me more top end. I would guess the motor was in the 440hp range with all the extra goodies.

Just for the record, this is what I'm running today
Solid Roller:
286/294 advertised duration
525/543 advertised lift
236/244 duration at .050
110 lobe center
With a VictorJr., ProJection 900, Hooker LUV headers, 1.6 rockers, and strip port job I have a pretty rough idle, almost obnoxious. Vacuum at idle is around 12 in. with the RPM hunting between 800-900RPM. The idle cleans up a little around 1100RPM which is where I set it sometimes when I'm sick and tired of the rumpity rump, rump bullshit.

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thanks ben, that really helped give me an idea of what to look for..i didnt know about the lobe center playing into the idle...I'm goin for the rough idle...but not so drastic its hard to drive....the truck will be a cruiser so street play will be the goal....not planning on racing the truck, but i may run it down the track a few times just to play....anyway the cam i have is about a 488 lift with duration at 292...i have to look at the cam card to get the lobe center...the cam kit came from summitt ..i bought it based on an article i read in a hot rod magazine where they used this kit to build a 425 horse 350...i'm considering going to bigger valves in the heads (202)...havnt decided...the engine is a 70 model 4-bolt main 350 so i'm confident in the engine i'm starting with, its just worn out and needs refreshing....the cam is hydraulic by the way....i have an edelbrock 600 with electric choke on it now and a 750 in the box new...so i can play with which combo works best after the build....i also have some block hugger shorty headers....probably gonna go with a 10:1 flat top piston....gonna have the block square decked, bored, and honed...let me know what you think of the set up, especially the cam's effect..and if you know how much stahl i will need to run...thanks-Gus

don`t forget the 10 -1 flat top pistons you mentioned is for a 64cc head if you use the more common 76cc head your compression ratio will be much lower. and most after market head gaskets are thicker than stock. that will drop it further unless you run the steel shim gasket. it all depends on how much you have the block decked too.

right, i'm pretty sure the heads are 64cc bein a 70 model 4-bolt main

what are the casting #s on the head just the last 3 , one of us is bound to know what cc they are.

not much of the head is exposed where i can see it on my truck, where should the numbers be?

You'll have to remove your valve cover.Good luck, Bryan