Help me pick a cam.....

[Anonymous]

OK, heres the setup.......62 Ranchero, 170, 3 speed manual, 3.50 rear gear. Offy 3X1, split exhaust manifold, 1 3/4 dual exhaust, 9.5:1 compression, .040 overbore. I drive the thing about 60 miles round trip each day. I usually have Racer Brown make a cam for the engines I build, but I need this done pretty soon, so I think I need something off the shelf for this one. What have you had good luck with? What would you avoid like the plague? I'm not interested in brand loyalty, just tell me what grind has worked well for you. Thanks a ton......

 

[wsa111]

sir,with a 170 engine i would stick with possibly a comp 260 as the wild card or possibly a crane 194 @.050. which would be the best choice. part # 510501. the crane is a lot milder but with a 3 speed trans you can use the comp cam which would cut your low rpm torque. hope this helps with your selection.
check with mike at fspp, but most of his cams are a little heavy on duration for your situation. if you don't mind less low end, the 264 from fspp would be your most radical choice.
fspp can ship the cam is several days, the other 2 choices might take weeks. wsaIII : :

 

[CobraSix]

I love my comp cam 260H. It worked well when I ran the Offy. Enough low end grunt, but really liked to breath at the upper RPMs, especially offered by the Offy.

Slade

 

[Anonymous]

I'm very interested in everyone's input here also as im about to dig into the bottom end of my 250,

I'm thinking about the 268H comp which I believe is the highest they make?

Also looking at erson cams, anyone used any of them.. I would like something just slightly bigger than 268 like 272-ish

also wondering what's the max power rpms people are getting outta there performance engines? geezer? cobra?

basically just wondering what the practical redline is incase I get another car to work on, and wanna just push this one to the limit?

 

[MustangSix]

For a daily driver 170 , esp one that is driven 60 miles/day, I would look for a cam with timing no more than 204-212@ .050 and I think my preference in this case would be a solid lifter cam. As a weekend fun car a 270+ cam would be fun, but lumpy cams get very old when you are driving it daily, especially in traffic.

I think a good choice would be a solid lifter profile regrind of a stock 250 cam to give more lift, but not necessarily more duration.

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmmmm......Yes, I like the stock 250 cam idea, I hadn't really thought of that. As for solid vs. hydraulic, is a different rocker arm required? Obviously its a mechanical cam now, so I had planned to stay with that, but most everything aftermarket is hydraulic. I'm interested in the hydraulic vs. solid coversion info, but I'm thinking the 250 idea might just be the ticket, and cheap, too.......

 

[Anonymous]

Jack
I agree with the 204-212 at 50 but I think the stock for the 250 and 200 log heads is 185 at 50 and seems a bit tame 204-204 is 19 degrees more and should be good even for these Id imagine.
Cheers Tim

 

[CobraSix]

I'm not sure of the difference of the 170 versus 200, but my daily driver ran great with the Comp cam 260 with the Offy. I was driving 80 miles a day.

Slade

 

[Anonymous]

But isn't the comp a hydraulic? What's gotta be done to convert from a mechanical cam to hydraulic?

 

[CobraSix]

New cam and hydraulic lifters (part of the comp cams kit).

Slade

 

[CZLN6]

Howdy El Ranchito and All:

An OEM 170 will most likely have a solid lifter cam as FoMoCo didn't plumb these engines for hydraulic lifters until somewhere in the '64 1/2- '65 model years. You will need to look for the block casting numbers, on the side of the block below the exhaust manifold. If it is a C4DE or C3DE, and has a small hole distributor, it is a solid lifter cam.

You could use a hydraulic cam, but you must use solid lifters with it. The profiles between a hydraulic and solid cam are slightly different, but the big differences are the lifter and the adjustible rocker arms.

We have only had experience with 200/250 hydraulic cams, so have no 1st hand experience with solid lifter, performance cams, but here are some facts and some thoughts.

Most cam makers list conservative grinds as hydraulic and more agressive/race grinds as solid leaving you with few, off the shelf, choices. Your stock '63 170 cam is very puny, at around 232 degrees of duration, but fair lift at .360". Later, Hyd 170s came with 240 Degrees of duration but only .348" lift.

Given the light weight of your Ranchero, relatively low gearing- in both the tranny and rear-end, and compression, I think you could easily use a solid cam in the 250 to 260 duration range, with .380" to .400" lift, with lobe spread of 110 to 112 to maintain vacuum.

That's my two cents, for what it's worth.

Adios, David

 

[CobraSix]

my bad...didn't realize there was a plumbing difference...

Slade

 

[MustangSix]

That's why a regrind on a 250 cam might make sense. Wide lobe centers, you could grind for more lift (maybe around .400-.425) and just a tad more duration (around 200 @ .050). Just need to ensure the ramps are ground for solids.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I finally made a decision.....I sent my stock cam to Racer Brown for a regrind. I have had 2 of their cams in my other engines so far, and have had great luck with them. When I get the specs from him, I'll post them here, it may make an interesting subject. The specs will be tailored to my combination, should be interesting. I had them grind a cam for an AMC Javelin I had, that thing was a F%&#!@G ROCKET! Thanks for all your input.....

 

[wsa111]

EL RANCHITO, EXCUSE MY MEMORY ON YOUR 62 ENGINE. I SHOULD REMEMBER MY MOTHER HAD A 63 FALCON WITH THE 170 ENGINE & I THINK IT WAS A SOLID LIFTER CAM.
FROM PAST EXPERIENCE IT SEEMS THE DURATION AT .050 WITH A SOLID LIFTER CAM IS ABOUT 10 DEGREES LARGER THAN A HYDRAULIC CAM FOR THE SAME PERFORMANCE. A 230 @ .050 HYDRAULIC CAM IS LIKE A 240 @.050 WITH A SOLID LIFTER CAM. RACER BROWN WILL BE ABLE TO GRIND WHAT YOU NEED. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PRODUCT. WSA111

 

[Anonymous]

As for solid vs. hydraulic, is a different rocker arm required?

Yes, You will need an adjustable rocker arm assembly, which you should already have with a 170. With solid lifters you will need to check your valve lash more frequently.

 

[Anonymous]

Yep, I already have the adjustable rockers. as for valve adjustments, I'm a tuneup freak anyway, I can't keep my hands off that kind of stuff......