need gudiance on cam change

70429scj wrote:well my new engine plan for my thunderbird went out the window along with my budget. here is what I have left to try to upgrade  408w probe rotating assembly good crank h beam rods forged pistons 22cc dish yuck heads are victor jr that have been ported and polished by kieth craft ford racing roller rockers super victor intake 950 quickfuel custom built hooker 1 7/8 headers msd ignition evac system strip car only car runs on pump gas weight is 3300 pds roller c4 with reverse valvebody and pro tree transbrake 4000 stall converter 4.57 gears car has run the best of 6.67 at 103 normally runs in the mid 70s in the heat. guessing the motor makes a honest 540 at the flywheel. forgot to mention 88 t-bird on a 10.5 tire run baseline upper relocator kit double adjustable lowers from autoweld car goes straight and is consistent not so for the driver. when I had the heads done I didn't change the cam and basically the car picked up nothing no et no mph I am smallblock illeterit last one I owned was a 70 clevlend that I drove to high school. I cant afford to change the pistons but would like to change the cam here are the current specs comp 31-641-5 solid lifter lobe sep 106 centerline 106 duration at 50 intake 265 exh 276 lift intake .600 exh.593 intake lobe lift .376 exh.371 exh closes at 51 atdc opens at 83 bbdc intake opens at 44 btdc closes at 76 abdc let me know if I missed anything I did mill the heads .030 when it was apart so cc should by about 55cc. I know this is not the ideal compression ratio but its what I have to work with. should be 10.25 compression head flow numbers would prefer to stay with solid mechanical lifter cam
int.100-74 .200-133 .300-193 .400-246 .500-283 .550-301 .600-310 .650-314 .700-319 .750-321
exh.100-54 .200-108 .300-154 .400-183 .500-187 .550-191 .600-192 .650-192 .700-193 .750-194
not being a flow number jockey I believe the heads will support 600hp pretty easy not saying we can get there with this compression thanks for the help in advance guys I know this is not ideal but I cant justify tearing down a motor that has less than 30 passes on it . just thought of this if anyone needs this motor and has a big block to trade I might rather do that.
Thanks,
Steve

supervel45 wrote:Being it's a 408W If I wanted a custom cam I would likely go with someone who put that engine in the winners circle at the 2015 EMC Competition. RMCompetition

738drvr wrote:Randy's good but there's no comparison to Mike Jones or Chris Straub.

None.

738drvr wrote:Randy is a very good engine builder.  I did not intend to bash Randy. I have built a handful of engines. If my engines work good and "run the number" does that mean I know what Randy does about engine building? Of course not. Let the specialists with the knowledge, experience and know-how have their place whether it be camshafts, converters, heads, engine building or ?. Randy probably understands camshafts about as well as any engine builder. Does that mean he knows what people like Jones, Straub and others like them do? No, he doesn't. Why do the cam specific people share story after story over the phone, on forums, at tech seminars, etc... about customers who tried cam after cam, often times after listening to the guy that was building the engine, try a specific cam custom ground for their specific application and pick up e.t. and speed or h.p. on the dyno? It's not all "fluff" or propaganda. I personally know some great engine builders who spec. their own camshafts. These same guys sometimes pick up the phone and call the specialists with questions. Why is that?The guys that do camshafts for a living ended up doing them for a reason. They're really good at it. Every engine is different. Every vehicle is different. So, to get the most, every camshaft should be slightly different. That's what specialists do. That's why many of the best race teams in the world use specialists. Why shouldn't the little guy like you and I do the same? Camshafts are the "brains" of the engine. This is one area where being close enough results in leaving power on the table. If guys will spend thousands on a new set of heads, why not spend a couple hundred extra and get a custom camshaft? Seems obvious to me.

70429scj wrote:usually leave the line on footbrake at 3200 shift right at 7000 crosses at 7200 if I remember. not sure why the gear change am I overlooking something here. Guys did not mean to start a pissing match I was looking for some help with this small block cause I have no idea what to do. just to point out my expertize is with the 385 if I claim to have any as a example my street car with a 466 c6 and weighing 600 more pounds is within a 10th of these ets with a m/t pro tire and 96 octane so I need to step up the supposed race cars 408w motor cause a 385 is outta the budget this year unless someone wants to buy this 408w. Randy are we talking solid roller? thanks for the advice.
Steve