Cam question

[Dino]

This is just out of curiosity, I don't plan on changing my cam anytime soon but I want to know if a cam swap should be on the agenda or not.

Currently the 71 HP 440 has a Purple cam .474 / 280.  TRW pistons and headers.  Not a monster at all but a very good cruiser.  I've read on here that the cam is old and there's much better out there so what would be a good cam for my application?

I use the car to drive to and from work, to the store and just plain going nowhere for hours on end.  I never take it to the strip and I rarely rev it high.  The most 'racing' I do is gunning it at a stop until I reach the speed limit, that's it.  I want torque torque and more torque!

Currently have an Edelbrock non rpm performer and 1407 carb.  This spring a TQ 6545S will replace the 1407.  I have a 71 only intake but that's not a spreadbore so I'm probably sticking with the performer intake.

Anything out there that would be a healthy improvement over the current cam?

Oh and it idles great, power brakes work fine and it sounds sweeeeeeeet!  I do not want those things to change...unless the mpg goes up a lot!

[bobs66440]

To answer your question completely, it would be helpful to have more info about your engine. What heads, compression ratio?

In any case, that's a pretty good torquey street cam and it sounds like you're pretty happy with it.     Changing a cam can open up a real can of worms. Depending on your combo, going bigger can slow the car down dramatically and there's always the danger of breaking in a new cam. I wouldn't change it. If it ain't broke...

[Brass]

My truncated response: 

I agree with bobs66440.  It sounds like the existing cam suits your needs okay.  Larger cams typically want lower gears or some stall to go with.  (There goes your MPG.)  You could run a bigger cam alone, I guess.  But then you risk a mis-match of parts, the likely result being a real dog for bottom end.  If you want more torque, you could do a gear swap.     

[Cooter]

I run that exact same cam in Christine with twin AFB's and it LOVES it.

[firefighter3931]

The 474 cam has 238*@.050 duration so it's a healthy street cam that needs minimum 2500 stall and 3.91 gears for best performance.

For the way that you describe your driving habits, this is too much cam, inmo 

"I use the car to drive to and from work, to the store and just plain going nowhere for hours on end.  I never take it to the strip and I rarely rev it high.  The most 'racing' I do is gunning it at a stop until I reach the speed limit, that's it.  I want torque torque and more torque!"

Something with low to mid 220*@.050 on a 110LSA with a split pattern (Iron heads) would be a better choice for bottom end power and throttle response. If you have a tight (stock) converter and 3.23 gears there are much better cams out there. 


Ron

[Dino]

The cam's too big?  Didn't expect that response.   

Now let's suppose I change the 727 for a manual 5 speed and then install my 3.55 gears again.  In essence my driving style won't chnage much but now the gears are different.  Same story or does this change things up a bit?

What cam would you recommend instead Ron?

[firefighter3931]

The cam's too big?  Didn't expect that response.   

Now let's suppose I change the 727 for a manual 5 speed and then install my 3.55 gears again.  In essence my driving style won't chnage much but now the gears are different.  Same story or does this change things up a bit?

What cam would you recommend instead Ron?

Lunati VooDoo 303 grind would work great 


Ron

[Dino]

The cam's too big?  Didn't expect that response.   

Now let's suppose I change the 727 for a manual 5 speed and then install my 3.55 gears again.  In essence my driving style won't chnage much but now the gears are different.  Same story or does this change things up a bit?

What cam would you recommend instead Ron?

Lunati VooDoo 303 grind would work great 


Ron

Thank you sir!