STANGeatinZ

Aight guys i'm just about through with the 383 for my 85 T/A. I'm about to buy the heads and a cam. I'm going to go with the sportsman ll 's and the victor junior intake, but i'm not sure what cam to use. the car is going to be driven mainly on the weekends. I was thinking about the comp 12-771-8,but i know bigger isn't always better. i've got 3.73 gears and about a 3000 stall with a th350 trans. please give me some opinions.
Thanks
Derrick

STANGeatinZ

no help?

Damon

A pretty good starting point would be the Comp Cams XE 274. I'd go with the solid lifter flat tappet version if you can stomach occasional valve adjustments. Otherwise you can go with the hydraulic version, sacrifice some HP but never have to touch them again.

That's for FLAT tappet cams.

You can go even further with a roller cam but the cost of converting to a roller (if your engine isn't already set up for one) is STEEP. Not worth the expense in my book. I'd rather spend the money on better heads if HP-per-dollar-spent is the criteria you go by.

aklim

Call the people here, I am getting a cam from them to work witht he HSR later. Give them a shout.

STANGeatinZ

the cam i'm looking at is comp's CS XR280 R-10, which is a solid roller. and it will work in my block b/c it came out of a 93 truck. the cam is a 570/576 lift, and 242/248 duration @050
here is the link, it tells you more

http://www.compcams.com/Technical/Se...umber=12-771-8

STANGeatinZ

opinions on this cam?

Damon

I'm not sure the heads are going to flow enough to complement that cam. The Sportsman II heads have a decent intake port but the exhaust side doesn't flow very well. I'm afraid of a slightly mismatched combo here. When the cam's ready to party, the heads are all pooped out (higher RPMs).

I also wonder about whether the Sportsman heads will take that much lift without some serious machine work (for clerance plus the large-diameter springs a stout roller cam will require).

Get the exhaust side flowing better, make sure you've got clearance for the lift, get the right springs in the heads and it should FLY if you've got the intake and exhaust to keep up with it.

onefastgta

You need to get the dart's ported, out of the box they are not that good. With a full intake and exhaust port they will make good power. You may want to raise the stall on your convertor to match the lower end of the cam.

STANGeatinZ

Ok i am working on a budget but since i'm goin to spend money on them anyway, i guess it would be better to buy some better heads. I've heard that the sportsman ll's are pretty good heads. what would ya'll recomend. try to keep it under 1100 dollars for a set.
thanks,
Derrick

Blownyellow

Derrick,

You are only an extra 150 dollars away from a new set of AFR's, but if your true limit is 1100 dollars just grab a used set of 190-195 afr's.

As far as the cam selection goes, while you sound like you are willing to live with some camshaft compromises, it really does not make much sense in my opinion for a street car to have those kinds of numbers. I would go with the AFR's and a cam in the general area of 230/236 for some really good power, and decent drivability.

This combo should net you well over 500 horse, and still make daily driving pleasent.

Martin

Fenster

$150 away from what? The bottom of the line AFRs w/ crappy springs that really need work to flow what they claim out of the box? I know that AFR makes a great cylinder head I am not debating that, but I have seen many an AFR head on a bench out of the box that is well below what they claim out of the box. W/ a little sanding and blending they flow what they claim, but that is an extra $200-300 right there. Plus you need to upgrade the springs for $100, and then you need to mill them to get the compression he would have w/ the sportsman IIs. Yet again $150. So by the time you add all that up you are paying morel ike $1600 on the bottom end of a set of AFRs. Now you could slap them on there, but I would still recommend the better springs for the $100. So lets say he is only $250 away. $250 is a ton of money to get on a budget let me attest to that. I dunno how many times I have been $250 away from being done!!!

Blownyellow

You make it sound like you can't run a set of AFR's with out doing all these modifications to them. I will concead the upgraded springs but to suggest that all the other work has to be performed for them to make excellent power is not true.

Sure they do fluff there numbers but the out of the box potential is still there to make over 500 horse, and if this guy is on a budget I would think that should make him happy.

STANGeatinZ

So chris if not the afr heads what ones? and you guys think i should tune down on the cam a little bit? My main goal is to run somewhere around an 11.90 on motor, and then add a 150 shot on top of that, on a streetable motor.

here's what i've got so far.

eagle stoker kit, 4340 crank,srp I beam rods,clevite rings and bearings, srp forged pistons.

i need heads, a cam, and intake.

i'm thinking about the victor jr. with a holley 750 dbl pumper.

Fenster

I didn't mean to make it sound like they wouldn't work w/o the work. Sorry if it came across that way. I am just not that big on the ARFs after seeing how they fluff the #s so. I know they are a great head that make great power, but its all personal preference I guess.

I personally got a set of TFS heads because w/ the budget I am on, I found these for a STEAL. Yes, a steal. For what I got these for I can get them worked over for the base price of the ARFs. That is not always the case I understand that.

If you want to run 11.90s on motor then you may want to run either the AFRs or the TFS heads. The cam will get you there for sure.

Its all really what you wanna do. In the 383 that cam will act better on the street than in a 350, so I think you are alrigh there. If it were me I would run the TFS or AFR heads, a XE 236/242 cam and good intake. I dunno the Carb stuff like I should, I mostly work w/ the FI stuff...

Blownyellow

It is funny how everyone has different opinions on parts and services. I have seen a couple sets of the trick flows show up brand new that required resurfacing to make them true right out of the box.

I personally wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole, but at the same time people like yourself and many others are having great success with them.

Also, you didn't come across as heavy in your last message, it is just that you were listing things that could benefit any cylinder head on the market and not just the AFR's.

BTW, it would most definitly require a spring upgrade to make that cam work with a set of trick flows, I am not sure on the lift numbers but I can't immagine the trick flows handling it.