I am building a 383 stroker out of a 355 sbc with vortec heads and the tuned port intake from an 88 camaro, I want a cam with a big lope to it but I'm not sure what cam would be best.
2 Answers
the tune port intake wont bolt up to vortec heads without modifications. The max lift you can have with vortec heads is .420. It is possible to have them machined to accept a larger lift. The bigger the lift is typically the bigger the lope.
Building an engine is not a simple as bolting what you want onto themselves. First you must remember the valves go down into the cylinder of the motor as the piston is up or coming up. Depending on the C of the heads, the configuration of the pistons, you may be in trouble with a long duration/deep lift cam if the valves hit the pistons. I built my 350 with a stoker kit, Edelbrock intake and heads and carburetors, with a monster cam. I had a par failure, cam drive, and had to tear down the engine. I had a professional do a rebuild, and then had to change the block because of three cracks in the block, 1969 Chevy block with poor metal build back then. The new short block was put in, bored 0.40, same pistons, heads, and crank. The cam had to be replaced due to filings cutting the cam. When the engine was put back together, the builder told me I had 0.001" clearance between the valve and piston. He built a custom cam for the engine, keeping the clearance at 0.003". I lost 10 to 15 HP, but I will not have a blown engine because if it. Call the cam builder you want to use. They can offer the best advice on the grind to use. Edelbrock did this for me, but I went with a different manufacture. I'm just lucky I didn't leave engine parts all over the roadway. So heads, pistons, valves, and cam duration and lift is what you need to be aware of. Some pistons have dimples in them to allow a longer lift but you give up compression. Today's engine builds are going to flat top pistons, and the other work is done by varying the head configuration. Best advice, do the homework my friend. My bad part, poor material< cost me over 10 grand for a complete rebuild.