Is this cam worth it?

I am in need of a camshaft for a 1976 250 that I'm trying to bring back to life.

I'm on a very tight budget so most of my plans for performance have to be put on hold for now. The engine is getting bored .030 or .040 over. I am going to use a 1981 200 head and 255 flat top pistons, shooting for 9:1-9.5:1 C/R. Going to use a stock 1V Carter YFA carb for now, will eventually do a 2V conversion... I am going to use the 1969 timing set for better performance over the later gears. I am also going to run a dual out header...

I found a Comp cam for around $80. It definitely wasn't my first choice of camshaft but the price is right for my budget and it is about $10 cheaper than I have found a stock cam for.

It is part number 65-235-4 from Comp Cams, grind number F65 252H-10.

The advertised duration is 252 int./252 exh, lift is 0.425 int./0.425 exh, lobe separation is 110*, RPM range is 500-4500.

Duration at .050" is 206 int./206 exh.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-65-235-4/

http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/cam- ... d=771&sb=2

Will this cam offer a bit more performance than a stock cam? Will it be suited to my engine specs or should I just buy a stock cam for now?

Edit: I might add that I am still running the stock rear gears at 2.73:1

If its in your budget, than yes it is.

Is it the best cam performance wise? Probably not. It's not a radical cam. Essentially, it is a stock cam with 25% more lift. That's where you'll see gains. 25% more lift will allow more air to get into the cylinders and will definitely wake up the engine.

For what it's worth, I have the Comp Cam 260H, which just a slightly more aggressive cut than the 252, but still really close to stock specs. I love it. Smooth idle, sounds nice, and really woke up the engine.

Yes & no, if thats all you can afford it will be better than a stock cam as cobrasix stated.
With a 250 with stock valve springs the 260 cam would be a lot better choice.
If you want to install 80# springs then i would go with classic inlines-clay smith 262 @ 112 L/C
If you have a low compression 250 the 262 cam would be max. Bill

I knew it wasn't the best performance cam by a long shot but I was hoping for at least some noticeable gains in power over a stock grind. I actually went ahead and bought the 252H cam after I made my first post, and reading your replies reassures me that I made an OK choice for now.

Either way, I HAD to buy a cam, no way around it, but I really couldn't afford anything that I originally wanted. First choice would be one from Classic Inlines, but If I can get a decent cam for half the cost of a good cam for now then I'm happy. I was also looking at the Comp Cam 260H grind over one from Classic Inlines to save a few $ but then I found a Comp Cam 252H for $80.

I had managed to scrape together some cash and thought I would be able to do a few more performance upgrades but I discovered I had a broken coil spring on the front passenger side and all that money went to replace my coil springs, struts/shocks, and tie rod ends so now I'm broke again and still need to get the engine back together... and figure out how to stuff it into a fox body lol. Wish me luck guys...

Based on my experience in adding the 1.65:1 ratio rockers to the stock cam and milling my head to reduce my chamber size by a couple CCs (prior to doing a full rebuild with a hotter cam), the slight boost in compression along with the higher lift and the header will give you a modest but noticeable boost throughout the powerband, and likely add 400 or so useable rpm at the top end. You'll also get a change in the tone of the engine, more sporty and less like a tractor. Otherwise, the car will feel and drive about as smooth as stock, so it's a win all around. You should probably take advantage of having the engine apart to cut the stock carb mount off at this time (even if you have to make an "adapter" to runt he stock carb). Otherwise you'll have to pull the head again to do the 2v conversion.

IMHO would be more cost effective to get a 264deg cam, and stay about .450" lift cam. Changing the lobe centers If I recall correctly effects where in rpm range engine makes best power.

The inline six makes good airflow and power at low rpm but its pretty much done by 4500rpm, the 110deg lobe center IMHO makes sense for a street motor.

The airflow in the log head pretty much tops out at just over 400" lift. IMHO buying a cam that has more than .450" lift on a street motor is not going to gain much. The engine cant make use of it. Since airflow is limited many people run longer duration to try and compensate.

If you want roller rocker arms do it to gain horsepower from reduced friction and to reduce heat. I would not use roller rockers to add more lift.

Now if you had the aluminum head thats a whole different story. The Aluminum heads just keeps flowing well past .500" lift.

Anlushac11":gbu56p6e said:

IMHO would be more cost effective to get a 264deg cam, and stay about .450" lift cam. Changing the lobe centers If I recall correctly effects where in rpm range engine makes best power.

The inline six makes good airflow and power at low rpm but its pretty much done by 4500rpm, the 110deg lobe center IMHO makes sense for a street motor.

The airflow in the log head pretty much tops out at just over 400" lift. IMHO buying a cam that has more than .450" lift on a street motor is not going to gain much. The engine cant make use of it. Since airflow is limited many people run longer duration to try and compensate.

If you want roller rocker arms do it to gain horsepower from reduced friction and to reduce heat. I would not use roller rockers to add more lift.

Now if you had the aluminum head thats a whole different story. The Aluminum heads just keeps flowing well past .500" lift.

Click to expand...

The faster you get the valve to .400" lift the more airflow the engine will injest if properly supplied with adaquate carburetor cfm & a free flowing exhaust.

If you install a cam with a fast rate of lift the .400" plateau will be achieved over a longer period of time but with still retaining short duration to preserve low end & midrange power.

I would use the roller rockers not only for less friction, but to get the valve open faster. Bill

I was under impression that you need lobe ramps that open sooner and faster and close later and faster so you can keep valve open longer. I thought that was reason for roller cams. I was not aware that just adding roller rockers would do same thing.

I also have put together engine when budget was not where it needed to be when building an engine. The Comp Cam you chose is a little over stock but definite better than stock cam. If this is a daily driver, used alot, you will probably love it. Good MPG, low end torque and mid range, but def not a cam for high rpm.

I would spend time on the head while you have it off, if you feel confident with grinder or Dremel. Nothing Radical. Focus on exhaust side. Port, polish, radius valve guide bosses, blend transition, work on short turn radius, clean up any rough casting protruding in the path of air. This will cost pratically nothing but grinding wheels and your time.

Then mill head, get a good 3 angle valve job & back cut your valves. Make sure springs are up to spec. This will help alot. There is plenty of info on this cite.

I am not a big fan of the higher ratio rocker arms. The increase in power I do not feel justifies the expense. If you need a higher lift, you buy a higher lift cam.

If it were me, I would definitely at this time, mill the intake and direct mount the 2 barrel, even if it delays your project a couple months. The direct mount 2 barrel mod is your biggest bang for the buck. Headers will finish it off your project, but if it comes down to $, they can be added later.

Good Luck
thefurnacedude

I have to absolutly agree with the 2bbl conversion, it's hands down the best hp for your money, imo better than a cam...

I like the cam, it's not too agressive for the 200 nor stock... if you added high ratio rockers to that later on I think you would be very happy.

Sounds like you know what direction you would like, Good Luck!

Thank you all for all of the input you've had to offer.

Unfortunately my plans have changed for now due to my budget getting blown away on replacement suspension parts. :roll: Had a broken coil spring so I purchased all 4 springs, shocks, struts, tie rod ends, etc..

I guess the new plan is my old plan. I am putting the 250 aside for now and using the original 200 that came in the car. There is no way I can afford to finish the 250 swap right now. The bottom end of the 200 is still very healthy, only has about 40K original miles and I have a full gasket kit for it.

My head is slightly warped which explains my internal head gasket leak. It is currently at the shop, it has been cleaned, magnafluxed, and pressure tested. Next it will cc'd and milled to true it up as well as raise my C/R to around 9.5:1. I am only doing the minimum work required to get it running right now as it is my daily driver. Because all the valves seal well I'm not even going to do a basic valve job right now, another $120. I plan to do a lot more work to it later on when finances are better. After all...it's almost too easy to pull the head off of these motors.

I think I will go ahead and use the mild cam I bought in the 200 now and when I get back to the 250 I will get something a lot more performance oriented.

As far as the 2bbl conversion I am going to hold off on it for now, I don't have the money for the machining or the carb right now. I am also swapping the transmission, getting rid of the C3 that's in the car and replacing it with a C4. I had an incredibly hard time locating the proper bell housing to do the swap. ($$$) I am also rebuilding the C4 so that's more money I'm throwing at it. I feel it is better to spend more on the trans and suspension right now than it is to do the 2bbl swap and neglect the other stuff.

I also need to redo the entire exhaust system from headers back. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet but it needs to be pretty inexpensive for now. I would love to have a nice low throaty growl without being obnoxiously loud in the car while cruising. In other words I want to be able to hear the radio or have a conversation with the wife and kids... any suggestions for something cheap?

Turbo muff is cheap and have nice sound and not too loud. A glass pack is also cheap good sound but can be a little bit louder

My original plan was using a glass pack, always liked that sound. But I have never been inside a car with glass packs to know how it sounds inside. I have heard a lot of people complain about them being too loud inside the car and having a very nasty drone wile cruising.

If I do go the glass pack route what size/length sounds best on these engines? Looking for that old muscle/hot rod sound without being too raspy.

I was always afraid a turbo would sound too much like an import so I never really considered that route. What is a good size for these?

I just bought a bunch of exhaust components from these guys. The prices they have on the Jones mufflers are ridiculously low. I paid $27 for a Flowmaster clone, and they have nice y-pipes for under $20. If you are using the Classic Inlines header, you could connect them straight to a $20 2" in, 2.25" out y-pipe, and then a simple 2.25 exhaust with a turbo muffler for a pretty reasonable price.

http://www.mandrelbendingsolutions.com/ ... StoreFront


P.S. For the record, I was not proposing you get roller rockers as some people seem to have interpreted. I was merely suggesting that the performance gained by my putting roller rockers on my stock cam would be similar to what you might expect from the cam you have.

Ok, I received my cam today and discovered something quite interesting. First I must confess that this was an ebay purchase from a seller that does not normally deal with anything else other than clothing. They purchase the old stock left behind from retail stores etc... So I don't believe they had any idea what they actually had and were just selling the cam based on the label on the box it was in.

The label on the Comp Cams box was clearly for the 65-235-4 252H that I thought I was getting for a deal at $80 shipped. After opening the box and inspecting the cam, which still has the Comp Cams break-in tag attached to it, I discovered the number on the end of the cam is 65-236-4 ... It's the 260H grind that I wanted to buy originally but couldn't afford to pay twice as much for...

Another reason why ebay is a horribly wonderful place to find deals... this could have really turned out in disaster for me based on the sellers lack of experience in automotive parts but this time it looks my gamble may have payed off.

Sometimes it's just great to be lucky!

Nice...

very nice. I wish I had one; my 264/274 is a bit lumpy.

falcon fanatic":2z3ct8aw said:

very nice. I wish I had one; my 264/274 is a bit lumpy.

Click to expand...

That may be true, but you will blow the doors off a similiar engine with the comp 260.

Raise the curb idle a bit & that will smooth it out. Bill

wsa111":oteexez5 said:

falcon fanatic":oteexez5 said:

very nice. I wish I had one; my 264/274 is a bit lumpy.

Click to expand...

That may be true, but you will blow the doors off a similiar engine with the comp 260.

Raise the curb idle a bit & that will smooth it out. Bill

Click to expand...

I've noticed this too, seems that it like to run @ 800rpm with the AC on, and roughly 1000 off, it's quite annoying that the idle is so high, wound't mind something lower