question for the bbc gurus. i have an original 69 265 hp 2 barrel 396, putting stock intake and 4 barrel Qjet on it. question is what lift cam can i go with with stock pistons clearence wise. i ordered a comp 270 magnum cam. hopefully this will work. it has 510 lift any imformation would be appreciated
I can't help with your answer, but actually valve open & close event timing can actually play a bigger part in valve-to-piston clearance than lift alone, so posting that here or at a chevy board will be of more help. I would expect with low duration on the Comp 270 you'd be ok, but it can't hurt to know from someone who's been there. You could also consider contactng comp cams themselves. Devon
Neighbor has 396's in 2 of his cars (70 SS396 and his 40 Chev street rod). He recently tore down the 40 completely, and included a cam change and refresh in the engine. But he found out later that the replacement cam didn't have a groove in the rear cam bearing location for oiling. He had that machined into it and all fine now. I would suggest you look closely at the cam bearing surfaces of your old cam, especially the rear one, for this oiling groove. His old cam had it. May have been something that only affects the early ones, his was a 66 or 67 engine.
Yes, the rear cam bearing groove issue is for the early ones, and there is a retrofit cam bearing if you choose not to groove the cam journal. Or, if your engine is not an early one, you have nothing to worry about. As for valve-piston clearance, you will not have any problem with that mild cam.
