Cam Advise

[1967JMG]

So, since my stock head needs replacing, and since I've shown my dad the AL head and he seems to love it, I'm pretty sure that's what we are going to get, along with a 2 barrel carb. The one thing is, I know to reap the full benefits of the head it would be wise to get a better cam, but what if we don't? Time is of the issue since we would be doing the swap ourselves. On average how long does it take to do a cam swap and degree it?

Thanks for the help.
Julian

 

[WerbyFord]

OK I will take a shot at an answer.

First, my advice would be - especially since you are in a hurry, go ahead and do it in stages, ie do the cam later.
1. If possible, get some timeslips, Gtech, or even stopwatch times NOW, before you swap to the Alum head and 2v. You'll never get this info again, odds are.
2. Add the Alum head and 2v (or 4v?)
3. Add the cam later.

I have tried to follow along some of the CI Alum head buildups with my computer, the Gonkulator, and as an example to answer your question, here is my estimate of the gross power that Doug (Geezer) was making in its 2v days - 200cid, CI alum and 350 Holley, CI 274h cam, and 1.5x38 hookers (I think??)
Torq 223 at 4400
Powr 230 at 5800

With a stock 200cid cam:
Torq 221 at 3700
Powr 196 at 5100

I don't know if there is such a dyno test, but you could do the comparison with timeslips before & after the cam upgrade.

 

[JackFish]

A stock cam will not provide the benefits available to the aluminum head.
Why spend $1500+ on a new induction system and NOT spend $150 on a cam?
It's the cam that will wake up the engine.

Is the engine in or out of the vehicle?
In my case the cam swap has taken three years.

 

[BIGREDRASA]

Pulling the cam when the head is off is mandatory. You have to pull the head to extract the lifters. You have to extract the lifters to pull out the old cam. Pull the old head. Spend a day prepping, cleaning, pulling the old cam, and installing a new one. Next day install the AL head. If you don't install the cam when you have the head off, you'll need to pull the AL head off later to swap cams. Too much extra work, and chance to screw something up.

PS: Don't forget to pull the distributor before trying to pull the cam. opsie: Ask one of our members.

 

[Broncitis]

Changing the cam now if you have any time at all would be of great time saving long term, kind of reference to short term gain to long term pain, just from trying to get a feel of what you guys may be trying to do, I bet the 264/110 from CI would be right down the middle for every day driving, and like said before, using the CI AL head with stock cam really doesn't make alot of sense, but I am also not in your shoes for time or money and do not know how important they are to you, I don't remember if you have headers are not, do the cam maybe and the headers later, much easier to do later, camshaft is actually quite easy, if your motor is in good shape, the cam bearings can be left alone, they usually wear very well anyways no matter what the mileage, how often do you hear my cam bearing went out, exactly. The new AL head will blow you away with a good matching cam, carb and exhaust. The most important thing is to have fun and don't stress, it will come together, it took me a whole year to get my build where it is and I still have about 5 to 10% more to modify for things to be correct.

 

[1967JMG]

Thanks alot for the advise guys. I am going to go ahead and do the cam. I finally got a chance to speak with my brother who is in Iraq right now and he said i can use his truck for as long as my car is down. So, it looks like I have all the time i need now.
Yes, I already have headers. I was planning a while back to go with a the 274-110 cam from CI and 9.5:1 C/R, but i am thinking that for a daily driver that may be a little too much. I'm pretty sure for me it would be best to go with something closer to 9:1 C/R and the 264-110 cam. Plus I think going there leaves good room to expand in the future if I want to. As far as a carb goes, that's a whole other story. I'm still trying to figure out what would be the best for my build. Which is okay, because now I'm not rushing to get it all figured out.

Julian

 

[Broncitis]

When trying to get your C/R on the money, don't forget to figure how much below zero deck you are and your piston dish CC and also the crush thickness of your head gasket and then CC the head, I personally don't see any problem with 9.5.1 on the 264/110, the only problem with this combo is it is pretty good N/A, but awfull for boost, I ran my AL head to break in my motor with 8.9.1 and a profle for boost and it still ran like crazy, in my opinion the AL head from CI is the best that can be done without the cost of a crossflow and all the changes that would entail to US motors, you can get a very large syringe from a vetrinarian doctor for your CC challenge. Looking forward to a progress report, I always get excited when someone is doing an AL CI head. Best bargain out there for serious bolt on gains right out of the box.

 

[1967JMG]

When trying to get your C/R on the money, don't forget to figure how much below zero deck you are and your piston dish CC and also the crush thickness of your head gasket and then CC the head, I personally don't see any problem with 9.5.1 on the 264/110, the only problem with this combo is it is pretty good N/A, but awfull for boost, I ran my AL head to break in my motor with 8.9.1 and a profle for boost and it still ran like crazy, in my opinion the AL head from CI is the best that can be done without the cost of a crossflow and all the changes that would entail to US motors, you can get a very large syringe from a vetrinarian doctor for your CC challenge. Looking forward to a progress report, I always get excited when someone is doing an AL CI head. Best bargain out there for serious bolt on gains right out of the box.

What is the C/R you are running now? And what kind of cam? The idea of boost always intrigues me.

 

[Broncitis]

C/R of 8.9.1 and the cam card is listed under check this out under same board under update, I couldn't figure out how to move it over here, it a square yellow picture with writing on it you have to enlarge.