Help me on a cam and lifter choice

[405bigred]

I have a 97 vortex 350 getting it rebuilt and i want a cam but not sure what size to go with. I'm leaving the heads stock so does anyone know how big a cam i can go with, without working on the heads or what you would prefer. size,dimension, and brand .
Thanks

[john02fxdl]

Well, all components have to work together to get the most power. Match your intake, carb, compression, stall converter(or stock), and rear gears to gain the most power. You don't want to run a .680 lift cam if nothing else matches. You'll have a terrible time trying to tune it in. Plus, what sound do you want? Lopey, smooth, or the all-favorite racy idle. What size carb? If your looking to use it mainly as a driver with fuel economy in mind with a little oomph, I would suggest staying around a 204-224 duration(at .050) and a valve lift around 460-488(at .050) and a lobe sep. of 112 or 114. All depends on you other components. I hope this helps.

[smoked68]

Yeah what John said...and just to throw this out there, Summit has some good cam packages that are not too pricey. Look in their book or on line. I ran one of theirs for a couple of years and it was a 488 lft dont remember the duration. Ran it with the 4 spd and a turbo 350, no probs. Happy hunting...