Question on a cam for a 350.

v6sonoma · 01-13-2011, 09:31 AM

Hey Camaro peeps. One of my friends has a 67 Skylark that he's done a lot of body work too but the engine ( I believe it's a 300 or 302) is pretty tired and has no balls. He has a 350 lying around that came out of a truck that he wants to put in it. His dilemma is he has limited funds and is trying to decide between just getting the 350 in and running or he would really like to put a cam in it. The big question is how much do you think it would cost for the cam? (we would do the work) What else would need to be changed? I'm thinking valve springs, lifters, pushrods. Would he have to change the heads or could he keep the ones that are on it? He's not looking for huge power. 350hp an a nice rumble would be a good goal. Thanks

wylde1 · 01-13-2011, 11:40 AM

Give someone at a cam company a call like Comp Cams or Lunati (or similar) and they will recommend some cam grinds and the parts to match. Typically choosing a cam to match your heads and intake is the best way to go. If they're staying stock the choice should be pretty easy.

you won't need to change your heads. Depending on the lift of the new cam you can probably re-use the valve springs, rockers and pushrods too. If it were me, I'd go to a roller cam and lifters, just because you won't have any of the break in headaches that are typical of flat tappet's. Summit has some good "Summit brand" stuff that are nice on a budget, better than stock parts and I've had good luck with them.

if the lift on the cam is close to stock and you just want to add some LSA for a rumble all you'll need is a cam and lifters and you're ready to rock. BUT if you're already in there it's a good chance to freshen up some other things. I would look at replacing:

-Cam
-Lifters
-Rockers (go full roller)
-Timing set
-Pushrods (a set of good hardened ones)
-Valve springs (recommended for the cam, might as well replace the retainers and locks too)

seems like alot, but for a few hundred bucks you can have a REALLY smooth efficient valvetrain which does wonders to wake up an old motor.

Here's some parts I've used in the past and had very good success with on budget stock-ish builds:

I used this Summit 1105 flat tappet cam in a 400sbc and it was great. This is very inexpensive at $100 but made good power and had a good lope without being un-driveable. I used it because the truck it was in was a DD and I built the motor on a budget when I was a student, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it again. A roller cam and lifters will run you about $500 bucks
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-K1105/

I also used these full roller rockers. Again very cheap, and you free up alot of energy, I'd use them again in a second. They had good quality set screws and served me very well.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G6905/

If you call summit they'll recommend a spring for you, I happend on a set of comp beehives that I used, but you could likely find something suitable cheaper. A good set of hardened pushrods is about $30 bucks. and a timing set is about the same.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G6400/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G6600/

My 400sbc with these parts, an Edelbrock performer intake and Holly 780 on top, otherwise stock, made 380rwhp 400lbft on a dyno in my old '91 S-10

pretty cheap, and you'll be worry free for alot of things. (I rebuilt that whole motor for about 700-800 bucks, using all the stuff in this picture haha so it's a good time for a rebuild if you don't have the motor in anything yet)

v6sonoma · 01-13-2011, 07:49 PM

Thanks!

CDBiker220 · 01-13-2011, 10:25 PM

If I were to do it I would get a Comp Cams Xtreme Energy 268 (xe268) kit. Its like $200 for the kit with lifters. You can use the stock pushrods and rockers if your using the stock heads. Thats your cheapest route. I had that same cam in a 350 with vortec heads ($500) that will pick up another 50hp over normal stock heads. needed stock self aligning rocker arms ($50) cuz of the vortec heads and Vortec specific intake ($150) that was probably good for a bit over 400hp. That whole engine including full rebuild(pistons rings gaskets bearings), machine work to bore out to 355 and the parts I mentioned was under $1500.

01-13-2011, 09:31 AM	#1
v6sonoma Drives: 2010 SS RS Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Providence, RI Posts: 8,108 View My Garage	Question on a cam for a 350. Hey Camaro peeps. One of my friends has a 67 Skylark that he's done a lot of body work too but the engine ( I believe it's a 300 or 302) is pretty tired and has no balls. He has a 350 lying around that came out of a truck that he wants to put in it. His dilemma is he has limited funds and is trying to decide between just getting the 350 in and running or he would really like to put a cam in it. The big question is how much do you think it would cost for the cam? (we would do the work) What else would need to be changed? I'm thinking valve springs, lifters, pushrods. Would he have to change the heads or could he keep the ones that are on it? He's not looking for huge power. 350hp an a nice rumble would be a good goal. Thanks __________________ Mods: BBK Intake, BBK LT's and High Flow Cats, Corsa Cat-back exhaust, Hurst short throw shifter, SLP skip-shift eliminator. 7/1/09 Placed order for IOM/IO int/ SS/RS 6M 9/26/09 Took delivery!

01-13-2011, 11:40 AM	#2
wylde1 I am the Stig Drives: Black w/ IOM stripe 1SS Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Saskatoon, SK, CAN Posts: 1,312	Give someone at a cam company a call like Comp Cams or Lunati (or similar) and they will recommend some cam grinds and the parts to match. Typically choosing a cam to match your heads and intake is the best way to go. If they're staying stock the choice should be pretty easy. you won't need to change your heads. Depending on the lift of the new cam you can probably re-use the valve springs, rockers and pushrods too. If it were me, I'd go to a roller cam and lifters, just because you won't have any of the break in headaches that are typical of flat tappet's. Summit has some good "Summit brand" stuff that are nice on a budget, better than stock parts and I've had good luck with them. if the lift on the cam is close to stock and you just want to add some LSA for a rumble all you'll need is a cam and lifters and you're ready to rock. BUT if you're already in there it's a good chance to freshen up some other things. I would look at replacing: -Cam -Lifters -Rockers (go full roller) -Timing set -Pushrods (a set of good hardened ones) -Valve springs (recommended for the cam, might as well replace the retainers and locks too) seems like alot, but for a few hundred bucks you can have a REALLY smooth efficient valvetrain which does wonders to wake up an old motor. Here's some parts I've used in the past and had very good success with on budget stock-ish builds: I used this Summit 1105 flat tappet cam in a 400sbc and it was great. This is very inexpensive at $100 but made good power and had a good lope without being un-driveable. I used it because the truck it was in was a DD and I built the motor on a budget when I was a student, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it again. A roller cam and lifters will run you about $500 bucks http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-K1105/ I also used these full roller rockers. Again very cheap, and you free up alot of energy, I'd use them again in a second. They had good quality set screws and served me very well. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G6905/ If you call summit they'll recommend a spring for you, I happend on a set of comp beehives that I used, but you could likely find something suitable cheaper. A good set of hardened pushrods is about $30 bucks. and a timing set is about the same. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G6400/ http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G6600/ My 400sbc with these parts, an Edelbrock performer intake and Holly 780 on top, otherwise stock, made 380rwhp 400lbft on a dyno in my old '91 S-10 pretty cheap, and you'll be worry free for alot of things. (I rebuilt that whole motor for about 700-800 bucks, using all the stuff in this picture haha so it's a good time for a rebuild if you don't have the motor in anything yet) Attached Images __________________ 2010 Camaro - 1SS, Black w/ Orange stripes Last edited by wylde1; 01-13-2011 at 11:53 AM.

01-13-2011, 07:49 PM	#3
v6sonoma Drives: 2010 SS RS Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Providence, RI Posts: 8,108 View My Garage	Thanks! __________________ Mods: BBK Intake, BBK LT's and High Flow Cats, Corsa Cat-back exhaust, Hurst short throw shifter, SLP skip-shift eliminator. 7/1/09 Placed order for IOM/IO int/ SS/RS 6M 9/26/09 Took delivery!

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01-13-2011, 10:25 PM	#4
CDBiker220 Drives: 98 camaro z28 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: pittsburgh, pa Posts: 189	If I were to do it I would get a Comp Cams Xtreme Energy 268 (xe268) kit. Its like $200 for the kit with lifters. You can use the stock pushrods and rockers if your using the stock heads. Thats your cheapest route. I had that same cam in a 350 with vortec heads ($500) that will pick up another 50hp over normal stock heads. needed stock self aligning rocker arms ($50) cuz of the vortec heads and Vortec specific intake ($150) that was probably good for a bit over 400hp. That whole engine including full rebuild(pistons rings gaskets bearings), machine work to bore out to 355 and the parts I mentioned was under $1500.