67 289, stock short block, ported stock heads with larger exhaust valves and shimmed springs (heads were setup for roller cam), 1.6 roller rockers, Edelbrock performer intake, tr-y headers, 600 cfm carb, 3.50 TL, wide ration top-loader, power brakes

Car will be setup for the street, drive to car shows and enjoy, don't mind the idle to be a little horney.

What kind of cam should I be looking for? Someone is selling an Edelbrock 7122, will that work? What specs should I be looking at? Was originally going to go with a roller until I saw the prices.

Thanks

 

Try the Edelbrock Performer cam. Specs are about right for your combo. 204/214 duration .448/.475 lift w/1.6 rockers. I used to run that cam and it was a good cam. If you want more lift you can use 1.7 rockers but you really don't need it.

 

This is not a good place to look for cam advice.

 

Inquiring minds want to know..... why??

Not that I disagree, nor do I necessarilyagree,,,,

But I am courious...

 

The 7122 is the Edelbrock Performer RPM, which I think is a bit big for a daily driver street car. And yes, roller cams are more expensive, but get one anyway. You'll make more power and the car will run better on the street. There's a reason manufacturers used roller cams in all their cars from the 80's through the 90's, and even some today. The new Corvette uses a roller cam engine. They're worth the extra money you spend over a flat tappet, and you don't have all the break in and wear problems associated with a flat tappet if you use a roller. Pick something in the 2,000-5,500rpm range and you'll be happy. With good heads evena cam in that range will still make excellent power out to 6,000rpm, but have very good street manners

 

i'll throw my hat in the ring with the tried and true summit grind. its like 80 bucks with lifters and works great with stock stuff.

i dont have a part number handy, but its a 218/228 @ .050 duration, .471/.471 lift. when i had mine it provided a very nice idle and would destroy the tires, then pull right up to around 5000-5500 and then fall on its face (looking bad i believe that was due to stock springs.

word of caution, you say you have shimmed springs - be carefull because .475 is about the max with stock springs (people say .500 but screw that). shims are usually .060 (if they aer copper color, if they are silver color they are most likely .030) but anyways that could mean you dont have .500 to play with before binding.

upgraded springs are recommended for just about any cam swap

 

And if you don't use that specific cam at least get one with specs very close to it. I like Crane cams but the price of that cam from Summitt is hard to beat....and it's made by one of the major cam grinders. so it's a very good piece. Addressing his statement about running out at 5500...the Crane Fireball-1 will pull right up to valve float at around 6600 in my motor....when if was fresh with new springs and all. No matter what cam you use (assuming you want to go 6k or better) you can extend the bottom end with Rhoades lifters. THEY WORK!!
Cams around those specs are sometimes reffered to as 'Hi-Po-Cheater cams' because they have specs within those of the original solid lifter Ford unit but the profile is much more 'egg' shaped as opposed to 'wedge' shaped.
Good luck

PS:
Soaring, does this change your mind about cam advice here?

 

mike, whats your experience with the rhodes lifters? i seriously considered using them with my cam since its long duration makes for a rather high powerband (300/300, .500/.500) i heard somewhere thru the grapevine that bent pushrods were more likely with those lifters, and i dont know why that is - but is there any truth to that from what you have seen?

what kind of improvement do you think i would see by using them? lastly, and im pretty sure i got this right if memory serves...... i CAN use new lifters on a used flat tappet cam right?

 

427 cid Chevy, oval port heads, 10.5-1 cr, Hooker 2 1/4" headers, 850 double pumper, Chevy aluminum manifold..plenum devider cut 3/4" with 1" open spacer, Accell dual coil 4 lobe distributor, Lunati (which means too big) cam...can't remember cam specs. Idle vacumn was about 9"...power brakes wouldn't work. Anything below 3500 rpm was weak. Rhoades lifter cured it all and lowered 0-60 times by about 1 sec and instead of a PITA to drive the car was transformed into a beast that you could drive anywhere and it made power to 7200. They do make some funny lifter sounds...kind of like a solid cam with different adjustments on each valve. But when you stand onn it, it doesn't matter.
Never heard of the push rod thing. I've known guy as far backas 1971 who ran them with no problems other than the funny valve noise.

 

There are ways you can lower your powerband. You can try advancing your cam timming. It may even make more hp. Some cam timming adjustments in some grinds can pay off. Most people just dont have the time or resoures to test the cam.