Cam choice

Discussion in 'Street/strip 400/430/455' started by skd, Aug 11, 2017.

  1. skd

    skd Member

    Need new cam for Riv 73, all stock except 750 CFM Edelbrock. Cruising with burnout, no drags, need a little more perfomance than stock cam. I dont know nothing about cams, please help to choose cam.
    Sorry for my English.
     
  2. flynbuick

    flynbuick Guest

    First, consider other things like recurving the distributor ignition advance.
    If you replace the cam there many considerations like:

    • new cam bearings;
    • new push rods;
    • new lifters; and
    • new gaskets.
     
  3. mummy68

    mummy68 Silver Level contributor

    Best advice I can give is to call TA Performance and go through with them what you have and what you are looking to get. You can also have Scott Brown make you a cam
     
    sailbrd likes this.
  4. skd

    skd Member

    Im outside US, TA Perfomance have no simple way to buying international customers
     
  5. john.schaefer77

    john.schaefer77 Well-Known Member

    They can at least give you some good advice.
     
    matt68gs400 likes this.
  6. mummy68

    mummy68 Silver Level contributor

    I'm pretty sure you can have a member buy it and ship it to you as long as you pay the costs. I would give them a call. I am pretty sure you aren't the only international buyer they have helped.
     
  7. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    If you don't know anything about cams, let me explain to you why some want to change cams. The faster you can spin an engine, the more horsepower it will make PROVIDING that it can breathe at that higher RPM. By holding the valves open longer, the engine has more time to breathe and it can RPM higher where it can make more horsepower. There are trade offs though. Holding the valves open longer increases the time when both valves are open (overlap). This can decrease engine vacuum, and increase idle roughness. It also shifts the power range of the engine up. You lose some low RPM power to gain more high RPM power. Obviously, this is not what you want with a big heavy car like the Riviera. As you go bigger and bigger on the camshaft, you must modify other things like torque converter stall speed, and rear gearing. Doing this complements the bigger cam, but decreases fuel economy. The BIGGEST mistake made by someone new to the old car hobby is to over cam an engine. You can actually make the car slower, and less fun to drive. My advice to you is to concentrate on other things before you contemplate changing your camshaft. Things like optimizing your ignition timing, and installing a better dual exhaust can make a big improvement in performance. I would get a good Quadrajet to replace the Edelbrock carburetor. You must be using some sort of adapter to run that Edelbrock as it will not bolt up to a stock intake. Hopefully, you can understand my English.
     
    matt68gs400 likes this.
  8. skd

    skd Member

    Thanks for this extended answer, Larry. My stock cam have serious wear, cams size different ~2,5 mm, surface scrathes under bearing. 1 bearing broken, no way to using this cam.
    My q-jet need repair, work not good, because changing to edelbrock with adapter to stock intake.
    I look some comp cams, ta have many cams, but what cam to choose?)
     
  9. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    skd likes this.
  10. matt68gs400

    matt68gs400 Well-Known Member

    I personally cant stand comp cams for a Buick engine. Any company that takes a Chevy small block grind and sells it for a 455 has lost my respect. TA Performance or another company that knows buick engines. That one Larry recommended should be a good one.
     
  11. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    Comp Cams isn't a bad company, after all, they did grind my roller cam:). They just didn't know any better when the ground a Chevy cam on a Buick blank.
     
  12. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA

    Yeah, I like Comp Cams for other makes of engines and if some of their more modern sbc profiles were grafted to a sbb cam for example;
    Their XFI roller series with .550" in. and .546" ex. lift with 1.6:1 rockers with 202* in, 212* ex. duration @ .050" with 113 LSA would work great on a sbb 350 with well ported heads! Why couldn't they use that grind as a crossover?!!

    They must of been in a hurry back in the day to get a cam out to the non-sbc engines so they had something available? Also they must of made to many of them and are still trying to unload the first run that they may have made WAY to many of? Can't imagine them making a run of those cams because they are in demand.

    But who knows there was a guy here that liked that crappy Comp 268 cam in a sbb 350 so much he was going to get another one until we all talked some sense into him about better choices for a Buick engine. Its not to bad of a cam for a sbb with heads that have the exhaust ports ported to flow more and with headers, but all around awful in a BBB engine even with ported ex. ports and headers!(its way to small for a big block)


    Derek
     
  13. matt68gs400

    matt68gs400 Well-Known Member

    True, I'm just a little irritated that the 268 is in my BBB. When I remove it, I'll be videoing me breaking it and posting it on YouTube. I'd never try to resell it to anyone. The BBB needs one less 268 in this world.

    Not sure yet what I will do. It may involve a bull dozer or backhoe.
     
    skd and 300sbb_overkill like this.
  14. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA

    Start a thread to get some ideas of how to destroy the cam that will make for good watching! :D

    If you have a set of torches that run on oxygen and acetylene I can tell you how you can make a garbage bag bomb to blow it up! :cool:

    I'm sure there would be lots of fun advise on a thread like that, chose the one that you think would make the best video.


    Derek
     
    matt68gs400 likes this.
  15. 8ad-f85

    8ad-f85 Well-Known Member

    Well...you could have it reground to a much more aggressive spec for about $60 plus the ride.
    Stock cams having the right LSA's and being good quality cores make good turbo cams when reground.
    It's not like removing a bit from the base circle hurts anything on these tame kittens.
     
    matt68gs400 likes this.
  16. skd

    skd Member

    Thanks all for reply. If Im understand right, comp cam is not good choice for Buick 455 engine. Contacted TA, waiting for reply.
    Lunati cams is good choise for Buick 455?
     
  17. matt68gs400

    matt68gs400 Well-Known Member

    I just don't like the comp cams 268h. TA performance has been good to me. You can get real good Buick knowledge and understanding from them. Just make sure you talk to someone who knows cams there.
     
  18. john.schaefer77

    john.schaefer77 Well-Known Member

    I ran a lunati and it was fine. Call TA. They gave me advice for my latest engine. Tap into the knowledge. Try to call because email and messaging will take you a very LONG time to get info and may lose some in translation to written word.
     
  19. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    No, you don't understand. There are no good or bad cam companies, there are only good and not so good cam grinds for Buick engines. TA Performance knows Buick engines, so do other Buick engine builders. Consult with someone who knows Buick engines. Getting a custom cam doesn't cost that much more, or, you can go with the TA cam I suggested. It is very easy to overcam an engine in a stock big Buick. Putting in a bigger cam can make your car slower unless you change other things, and that can make the car less economical to drive.
     
    john.schaefer77 likes this.
  20. skd

    skd Member

    Thank you, Im outside US, Eastern Europe, my english is not good, I try to call, but understand what TA say possible problem for me.
     

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