whats the most lift a 74' 351w with stock heads take?

 

its not lift its the duration you need to worry about

 

well....what doyou recommend?

 

I've heard a handful of times that the biggest cam you can run on a 302 or 351w with stock heads and pistons is an E303 or equivalent. However, the best thing you can do is pick a camshaft, pull one of the cylinder heads and check valve to piston clearance. It's the smart thing to do in any cam swap anyways.
Indy

 

im lookin for good power thro about 1800-5600 is all and a real nice rough idle =) without head work yet.

 

would i be safe with
218int./224exh. at 050 duration,
262 int./270 exh. AdvertisedDuration,
0.493 int./0.500 exh. lift,
110 LobeSeparation

....i have barely any knowledge of cams lol

 

Won't be very rough, IMO. I've run a cam with 274deg ADV. duration, and people barely noticed. However, those specs probably fit right into the power band you're looking for.
Indy

 

Oh yeah... Should have no problem with valve-to-piston clearance with that camshaft and a .039" crush head gasket. But for the time it takes to be sure just check it when you get a cam.
Indy

 

what would give me the rough idle?

 

I think 284deg and up duration cams with 106-110 overlapis where the"good lump" starts, lol. But remember that those specswill change theoperating RPM of the cam. So you may not be able to fall into your desired RPM range exactly. Now, I'm now camshaft expert though.I would adviseyou to either research some off the shelf units on Crane or Comps, etc... websites(which give great descriptions of their product including"roughness" at idle) or call their tech support andexplain your combo and what you want to achieve.

Indy