bottom is std bore 302 w/ '66 289 ported heads. got a .448 hyd lift edelbrock or .512 solid lift isky cam? also edelbrock performer or torker 289 intake. never used a solid lift cam before. any advise to help me make this decision? thanks in advance
The solid lift is a tad smaller than it appears by the numbers. Lash needs to be subtracted. Honestly need the the grind numbers or more onfo on the cams(duration, LSA, etc...)
if it is going to be a street cam, i'd prefer the hyd. less maintenance. personally i'd go with a higher lift. more like the .512 of the solid. i believe, off the top of my head that comp cams has one at that lift that is hyd.
Sounds like the Ebrock cam is the Performer +, .448/.472 lift? Just happen to have one sitting on the shelf with the lifters already broken in and labeled as to which lobe they go on. If you install 1.7:1 rocker arms it will increase the lift by about .030 on each side.
Better calculate the compression ratio first before ordering or choosing a cam. With the right pistons, you may have a 10+ & up to 1 comp ratio with 289 heads. Run that with an RV style cam like the Performer cam and you'll need to feed it nothing but premium gas. You'd need something with a narrower LSA & more overlap to bleed off some pressure.
The longer the duration, the higher in the rpms the powerband will be. The more overlap also adds to this, as does narrower LSA's (Lobe Separation Angle = the distance in crankshaft degrees the intake and exhaust lobe peaks on a single cylinder, are apart) Wider LSA cams were designed for EFI, but also work great with carbs in street applications. It improves fuel economy and carb response. In my experience with one such factory grind (Ford's F4TE roller cam) it doens't seem to hurt the top end either, the power band is smooth from idle to 6 grand. More lift generally improves torque, but you have to worry about spring bind when choosing more lift. Most stock springs are good to about .525 lift. Stiffer springs add rpm capability, raises the point in the rpm range when valve float occurs. Valve float is when the springs cannot control the valvetrain motion and the valves "hang open" creating a misfire.
