About darned time...lol

Some will recall my stroke of bad luck in "wiping" a cam lobe near flat on my fresh cylinder head, ported intake and longtube header swapped engine. I got the mods completed and when I took it to dyno, the car popped, backfired and whatever else it chose to do from 3300 to 5000 rpm's, making the day a total waste. One promising thing was that even with only 7-1/2 cylinders and a melted catalytic converter it still made 239rwhp @ 3900 rpms and 359rwtq @ 3300 rpms, lol...

anyway...

I finally got the car back together with it's new, and still very mild, flat tappet camshaft. I couldn't be happier with my choice. After building and owning several much quicker cars, I didn't want any low rpm driveability issues (which is why I wanted to keep stock cam originally). I chose one with very mild specs IMO.

Lift w/1.6 rockers:
Intake @ valve .448"
Exhaust @ valve .472"
Duration @ .050"
Intake-204* Exhaust-214*
Advertised Duration:
Intake 262*/ Exhaust 272*
Lobe separation:
112*

Idle:
Very nice IMO with just a slight "lope".
No surging, No hunting idle, No stalling, No eyes burning from being way too rich.
Low rpm driveability:
Also very nice IMO.
No bucking, No misfiring, and it can still lug around in OverDrive at as low as 1100 rpm's.
Mid Range torque/power:
Excellent. Car is very responsive, even moreso than stock. Car revs and accelerates VERY cleanly and crisp from just about any rpm, which is EXACTLY what I wanted. :thumbs:
High RPM power:
Summit said it'd make excellent power to 5500 rpm's, and that claim is dead on. It'll rev higher, but you can't really "feel" any power or pull, above that point. It does pull very nicely to that 5500rpm spot though. Again, just what I was hoping for since I didn't want to do any rear gear swaps or anything like that.

As soon as I get some miles on it and get in one more quick oil change, I'll be headed to dyno again to get some new, realistic numbers. Right now car is running it's stock 38psi base fuel pressure and it's stock setting of 6* base ignition timing.

Rest of the combo is as follows:
Summit/TFS 170 aluminum heads, "cleaned up" slightly by me (2.02/1.60 valves)
Stock ported and siamesed plenum
Ported and Siamesed SLP runners
Ported (slightly) Edelbrock 3860 base intake
Ford Racing 24# injectors
Hedman Elite 1-5/8" longtube headers
MAM 2-1/2" front Y pipe
gutted cat (soon to be replaced by straight pipe I fabbed up)
Dynomax rear Y w/crossover
Dynomax UltraFlo stainless mufflers

Here's a quick video I made this afternoon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NKIElc4mbg

I wanted to again say THANKS to all who had been trying to help me figure out the misfire issue I was having. It sucked that it wound up being a camshaft...especially since many had said I was wasting my time doing the other mods without a cam swap. Oh well....it's swapped now and car seems to love it's new combo...

:cheers:

 

man love that sound im runing a ls1 ultraflow on my bird and it rocks to many people over look the good dynomax mufflers great job with your car.

 

What part number for that cam, looks like a good combo. I might keep this in mind when I decide to start doing engine work. Good luck at the Dyno!

 

Thanks a lot.
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This is what I used right here. Summit cams are made by Crane so I wasn't scared away by the super cheap price...

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...2&autoview=sku

I already had brand new heads but if you also needed a complete kit with springs, here's the link for that:

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...0&autoview=sku

 

sounds goog man looks like i will be using this cam as well in my daily driver with a 305 tpi. i look forward to seeing your dyno sheet!

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tpi/...gust-help.html hmm 03/26/07 I thought you were having cam problems at that time. Good to see you got it fixed.

 

Thanks.

 

That cam will idle smooth if you are interested and have tuning capabilities. I ran it with stock l05 with a stock TPI setup and it liked less timing than stock. I my particular combo was smoothest at 12deg BTDC. That is, of course, if you want it to idle smooth.

 

good to hear that you fixed your problem and looking forward to the dyno results.

Pat

 

i like that combo, alott. it's well rounded, practical driveable and responsive, the way a street/sports car should be.

 

Thanks. That was the goal.

 

You get any dyno numbers yet?

 

Going Monday if all goes as planned

 

with the numbers you put down im sure ur gonna be happy when u get to the dyno.


Kinda makes me consider doing the same setup with a first injections intake and seeing what i could accomplish :S

 

That cam is a tried and true choice for mild street performance. It's the same cam as the entry level Edlebrock "performer" cam and is re-boxed by Summit as one of their house brand cams (K-1102). Yes, it's made by Crane. If you look at the cam spec sheet that comes with it the card even looks the same as a Crane cam card, just without their name plastered on top.

I run that cam's big brother (the K-1103) which is very similar but 10* more duration on both lobes and a little more lift. In my mild 383 blower motor it's a kitten. And putting down close to 400 RWHP it can make some power, despite it's dirt-cheap $80 price tag (which includes a set of lifters!!).

BTW- the ramps on that cam are very mild. Much like a stock cam. If your heads and springs can handle the extra lift a set of 1.6 rocker arms is a nice upgrade to complement it.

 

thats alittle smaller than what i'd go with but glad it suites your needs. idles sorta like my stock L98 cam and chambered tube exhaust... sounds like it has a tiny slight lope. nice rumble tone.

 

Yeah, I already had the 1.6's waiting, so they are on the car as well. Weather permitting, I'll be headed to DynoJet tomorrow...Wish me luck.

Heck...just wish me enough luck to make a few clean pulls....lol. Last time wasn't so "clean"...
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It only took me until I was 44 years old, but I finally realized that I'm much happier (in the LONG RUN) to err on the side of mild, as opposed to erring on the side of wild. Besides, with this slow acting #870 pcm, I absolutely did not want any tuning issues to deal with. So far, so good. Car runs very well and I've only had a pesky Code 15 to cure, which was just a bad connector on the CTS. If that's as difficult as this combo gets to be, I'll be very happy.

 

so i was looking at this post again and checked out the links to summit, noticed it was a flat tappet cam for 86 and older smallblocks and wondered if the newer gen 1 blocks are backwards compatible or if there is a roller version available. camshafts are my bane i've never been able to understand the bumpstick at all.

 

How much did your budget buildup cost? Looks like a good bang for the buck!

 

Good question...let's figure it out since the wife isn't looking, LOL...

$950 Summit 170 Heads (brand new)
$100 Crane roller rockers (used)
$0 ...plenum (spare)
$290 SLP runners (brand new)
$275 Edelbrock 3860 base (new off of Ebay)
$60 ..Summit camshaft and lifter package
$150 Ford Racing 24# injectors (brand new)
$150 AIR eliminator kit
$60 ..Edelbrock timing set
$35 ..adj. fuel pressure regulator (un-needed, but replaced anyway)
$100 in miscellaneous gaskets, oil, filters, & other incidentals we never plan on
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2170

Then factor in old parts credit since I sold some of my old parts.
$80 ..iron heads
$120 plenum, intake, base

$2170- $200 = $1970

No labor on installs or portwork since I did that myself. So, basically 2 grand for a MUCH more fun to drive car. You could probably count on another $1000 for labor on installs and portwork if you cannot do work yourself..

THEN....
You may or may not consider the exhaust as part of the "package" since this would have been done regardless of whether engine was ever modded.

$350 Hedman Elites
$180 2-1/2" front Y pipe
$ 0 ...gutted cat
$130 Rear 2-1/2" Dynomax Y pipe
$100 Dynomax UltraFlo stainless steel mufflers (used)
--------------------------------------------------
$760

- $50 Sold muffler eliminators
- $50 Used flanges from old Y pipes to make "test pipe" (saved $50)

$760 - $100 = $660 for complete exhaust consisting of ceramic coated longtubes, aluminized y-pipes, and stainless mufflers...

$2630 if you add everything together.
A pretty good bargain for a dependable, very well running, combo IMHO...

FWIW, when inquiring about a "tune", asking if there was anything that could be done to optimize what I already had, after seeing my dyno sheets and results, Alvin @ pcms4less.com said (and I quote):

Gotta love that. And major thanks to the guy for being honest...That means a LOT nowadays...

 

rockit, since my combo was meant to be a somewhat low budget build, I didn't even consider a roller cam conversion for my car. That being said, there's a ton of great roller cam choices out there, so I wouldn't go "backwards" if I were in your shoes. Whatever you do, don't buy a cam for how it SOUNDS...that means NOTHING. Also don't assume that cam XXX is the best for your particular combo, regardless of what people may tell you. Be realistic in your goals and you'll achieve the results you're looking for. EVERYONE (and definitely not just here) said I should have gone "bigger" on my cam choice, but I had a realistic goal and a realistic plan.

The end result is EXACTLY what I wanted...

Good Luck.

 

well it aint quite like that though i see where you're coming from. i have a replacement motor that was put in shortly before i bought the car, it might not have roller lifters or the provision for them as ive not taken the time to check the engine codes other then the heads. considering im only looking for 300 hp it doesn't bother me i;m just in a bind when i tear the motor down for the cam. i still stand by my previous statement that you built a good combo and going all out isn't the answer most of the time for street cars. congrats

 

How big of a deal are those Summit heads? Obviously you have to have good heads to make the package work together, but that seems expensive for a set of TPI heads (I could be wrong). I was thinking of picking up a set of the Corvette aluminum heads, getting them ported, and putting them in with maybe a better intake, SLP runners, and a streetable bumpstick. 300 to the wheels would be nice!

 

My heads aren't TPI heads, they're 23* small block Chevy heads.
In all seriousness...I'd bet that with cooler weather and a little tweaking I'd see 300rwhp with what I have, but I'm not all that concerned about peak horsepower. I wanted to make the most of the important numbers...the ones that occur under the curve, which you can see, I did.
That's why I chose small runner, decent flowing heads. Not sure if you know, Summit heads = TFS heads.

Here's the quick specs for my heads:

Upgrade for less!
Upgrade those stock cylinder heads on your small Chevy without spending a fortune! Our lightweight, A-356 cast aluminum heads are a lighter, more powerful version of your stock set, flowing 240 cfm at 0.500 in. lift.

The 62cc heads also feature:

* 170cc intake ports
* 69cc exhaust ports
* Hardened valve seats
* Fully assembled
* 1.25 in. diameter valve springs (0.480 in. maximum lift)
* 5/16 in. guideplates
* 3/8 in. ARP screw-in studs
* Stainless steel 2.02 in. back cut intake valves
* 1.60 in. exhaust valves
* 7 degree valve locks
* Chromemoly retainers
* Phosphorus bronze valve guides

I'd also bet that by the time you buy a decent rebuildable set of 113 "Corvette" heads, then have them ported and freshened up by a reputable shop, you'll be at or over what a new set costs. I thought $950 was pretty reasonable for a brand new set of quality aluminum heads that obviously work decently.

I can't wait to add some nitrous.....

 

I have the edelbrock version of the cam with more advertised duration along with stock 061 vortecs. Not too bad for what it is. Great cam for a near stock car with factory gears and such. Im surprised yours lopes. With mine, all I get is a slight 25 RPM up or downtick in the idle every now and then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv7c-F6qskA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikMCOzuAQKc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idqt8B8y3iw