4x4 Cam ?

[JCaldwell]

Hey guys I have a 72 shortbed 8in lift 38.5's 4spd with 4.56 3/4 ton axles and a pretty close to stock 350 motor I was wantin a 4x4 cam but dont know which one..I drive this truck on the road quite a bit use it on the farm and swamp her in the mud also...Can I get any help on cam ideas? seems like I need my mid power than anything I think my gears have the bottom but what do ya think?? Thanks

[dammitmitchell]

wow.. nto sure exactly what you are asking.

put cam that your driving style and motor build can support.
A "mile RV cam" is the most common answer, i havent done this though i put in a small thumper....

[wheels67]

Im assuming you have a 4barrel manny and carb already. The extra breathing youll do (your truck) will be limited if you dont.

Any cam labeled R.V. will be perfect for you. But its a package deal...look at swap meets or ebay for a dual plane manny and carb they can be had for 150.00 together sometimes.

[Mike C]

For a traditional small block, I like single pattern cams (intake/exhaust lobe same). Keep .050 duration under 215 degrees, I prefer 210. This is a Comp 260 cam or Crane 266. If you need rockers, consider 1.6 on the INTAKE and 1.5 on the exhaust.

A good complement to this is a Q-jet on a Performer intake (not RPM) with a 2 1/2" dual exhaust on Corvette manifolds.

I had a big cam in my motor on the 4 speed for awhile. SUCKED. The Crane 266 in it now is a great match for the wide ratios of the 4 speed. The lower you can keep peak torque, the better the driveability.

['63GENIII]

Even though I'm into a BB right now, I too like Comp Cams. I run one of the Extreme 4x4 in my 396 and even though it's the smallest one of this line, it pulls WAY harder where I need it than the big choppy Crane that was in it from the P.O. I would read the cam descriptions real well and be very realistic (how often am I at 5,000+ rpm vs. coming off idle?) about where you need your power to be. Run the matching springs that are set up correctly, dual plane intake like the Performer and headers all work together well.

[chas350]

The Edlebrock Performer Plus camshaft is just what you want, it will pull all the way to 5K or so with headers, matching performer intake (like someone else said, not the RPM) and 600 cfm 4 barrel. The Summit 1102 is the same grind and can be had for 89.95 with new lifters. I had this setup in a 78 K10 with a
355/4-speed and 3.73 gears 11.50x32 tires and I loved it. That truck would climb any hill in 4th gear and actually accelerate just off idle.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-K1102/

I am not affiliated with Summit or Edlebrock in any way, just really liked that setup.
Some of the newer cams ie: Comp Extreme Energy, Extreme 4x4 or Lunati Voodoo have more aggressive lobes and open the valve much quicker and make more power. But there is a price to pay for it, the cam and lifter kits are about 175.00 and also may require upgraded valve springs depending on the grind.
If the budget allows it, I would try one of these newer profile's, otherwise the Edlebrock or equivalent grind is proven and will make you smile

[JCaldwell]

Originally Posted by wheels67

Im assuming you have a 4barrel manny and carb already. The extra breathing youll do (your truck) will be limited if you dont.

Any cam labeled R.V. will be perfect for you. But its a package deal...look at swap meets or ebay for a dual plane manny and carb they can be had for 150.00 together sometimes.

Yea Im sorry I have a edelbrock 650 carb with a performer intake

[JCaldwell]

Originally Posted by JCaldwell

Yea Im sorry I have a edelbrock 650 carb with a performer intake

plus headman headers with 3in pipes and side pipe mufflers

[Yukon Jack]

3" pipes will probably be too much exhaust, unless you meant a single 3" rather than duals. I'm running a 400 sbc in my K5 with 2 1/2" duals and the repo Corvette ramhorns and it makes for some real nice low torque. The cam is a Melling MTC-1 RV with:

Degress .05" dur 204 Int. 214 Exh., Degrees ADV. dur 278 Int. 288 Exh., Inches Valve Lift Int. .420, Exh. .443, Degrees Lobe Center Int. 107, Exh. 117

[JCaldwell]

Originally Posted by Yukon Jack

3" pipes will probably be too much exhaust, unless you meant a single 3" rather than duals. I'm running a 400 sbc in my K5 with 2 1/2" duals and the repo Corvette ramhorns and it makes for some real nice low torque. The cam is a Melling MTC-1 RV with:

Degress .05" dur 204 Int. 214 Exh., Degrees ADV. dur 278 Int. 288 Exh., Inches Valve Lift Int. .420, Exh. .443, Degrees Lobe Center Int. 107, Exh. 117

No I have dual 3in u think thats too much?

[JCaldwell]

Originally Posted by JCaldwell

No I have dual 3in u think thats too much?

Im wantin a little more out of the hole and mid range power..Would a RV cam b to low and just kill my gas mileage even more? What about those 4x4 cams they worth a hoot?

[Mike C]

"RV" and "4x4" is marketing, but those are what you want. Look at the RPM range the cam is designed for.

Not everyone's advertised duration is measured at the same lift point. That is the point of comparing cams at the .050 duration range. IMO, 210 degrees is about the max I would do on a truck cam with a wide ratio 4 speed. Especially one with LOTS of tire to turn.

SBC have very good exhaust ports, the intake is restrictive. The opposite of a SBF. The dual pattern cams are to make up for a poor after the head exhaust that most people run on the street. The 3" exhaust is more than you need for a mild 350, but it will work. To complement that, pick a cam with 210 degrees of duration at .050 or less.

I like Summit branded parts. They re-package top-notch parts under their own brand at a great price. Pick one of those. Make sure you run the brake in lube, and I am a big fan of Shell Rotella T in 15w40. I run that in all my carbureted vehicles these days.

What will kill your off idle power and economy is too much cam, not too little.

[JCaldwell]

Originally Posted by Mike C

"RV" and "4x4" is marketing, but those are what you want. Look at the RPM range the cam is designed for.

Not everyone's advertised duration is measured at the same lift point. That is the point of comparing cams at the .050 duration range. IMO, 210 degrees is about the max I would do on a truck cam with a wide ratio 4 speed. Especially one with LOTS of tire to turn.

SBC have very good exhaust ports, the intake is restrictive. The opposite of a SBF. The dual pattern cams are to make up for a poor after the head exhaust that most people run on the street. The 3" exhaust is more than you need for a mild 350, but it will work. To complement that, pick a cam with 210 degrees of duration at .050 or less.

I like Summit branded parts. They re-package top-notch parts under their own brand at a great price. Pick one of those. Make sure you run the brake in lube, and I am a big fan of Shell Rotella T in 15w40. I run that in all my carbureted vehicles these days.

What will kill your off idle power and economy is too much cam, not too little.

Ok bud thanks alot that helps..Why wouldnt u go over 210 duration on a truck? yea my exhaust is pretty much open..Yes I agree I love Rotella oil I run the Rotella T 5w-40 in everything and 15w-40 in my cummins..

[Mike C]

I said in a truck with a wide ratio 4 speed and big tires. The reason is you shift and the engine falls WAY out of peak torque range. Accelerates slow, bogs, and gets terrible fuel economy.

I ran 35's with 4.10 gears and a Cam Dynamics 284 cam (228 at .050) and it sucked. For reasons mentioned above.

[wheels67]

Originally Posted by JCaldwell

Im wantin a little more out of the hole and mid range power..Would a RV cam b to low and just kill my gas mileage even more? What about those 4x4 cams they worth a hoot?

JC. Your losing alot of torque on the bottom because youve eliminated backpressure in the pipes. You can go big on the diesels because they pump alot of air in and out. gas motors need back pressure for takeoff power. Go to a single 3" or a dual 2 1/2 and you see big difference in bottom and mid torque.

[GASoline71]

If you are referring to "offroad" cams... that doesn't mean "4X4" or "4 Wheeler Cam"... it means it's not intended for use in vehicles that will be driven in states that have laws concerning aftermarket parts because of smog laws.

"offroad" usually means "racing"... as in dragstrip, circletrack, autocross. It can be used in 4 wheel drives off highway... but that is not what is intended when "offroad" is used to describe speed parts.

Unless someone makes a cam specifically designed for 4 wheel drives... I might be missing something.

"RV" cams were popular in the 80's. They were mainly marketed to motorhomes and trucks that did a lot of pulling. Since they had a little more duration and lift than a stock cam... they gained popularity with mild hot rodding setups.

I agree on the Edelbrock Performer Packages being a good deal for a mild camshaft setup.

Gary

Gary

[JPCY72]

Hey guys not to rain on your parade but I just put a comp xtreme 4x4 cam in my truck its the x4262 and it simply rocks, I have a 72 k20 th350 4.10 gears and 31 inch tires, It does however need a tad more stall being that the later trucks had up to 1800 stall and the earlier trucks had somthing like 1400. The cam sounds great but cleans up right off idle, It pulls like a monster from idle all the way to 5500. its rated range is 1500 -5600
Here are the specs 12-339-3

1300-5600
X4262H
262 270 ADV
218 226 @.50
.462.480
111 lsa

My motor is a 30 over 350 9.25:1 882 heads stock valves and a performer airgap with a qjet. It runs great and I actually tow with it and its fine. I dont buy the rv cam stuff because my dads engine is the same as mine and his has a rv cam I probally have 50-60 more hp and more tq low and high. put it this way all you have to do is rest your foot on the gas pedal and it goes 55..... nuff said

before the qjet with a messed up holley 650

YouTube- New engine in truck

[Shaffer4]

They are talking about the Wide Ratio 4-speed manual transmissions for using the lower duration camshafts, not an automatic.

[Mike C]

And 8:1 compression. And certainly NOT 31" tires and 4.10 gears with a loose converter. Nobody said it couldn't be "done", but the granny gear 4 speed doesn't like that kind of 5500+ rpm powerband. My motor pulled hard to 6500 which was zero to 50 pretty much in 2nd gear. And then it takes two seconds to shift to 3rd. Or you can try and shift hard and come up off the clutch. But that usually results in a broken yoke on the 12 bolt and at least one sheared off cap on the u-joint. Don't ask how I know this or how many times it happened...

The Jimmy went like stink with the big cam, the 750 Holley, and the high rise intake, even with the 3.07 gears. At least just using 2nd gear for the stoplight drags, but did not tow well at all and got crappy crappy crappy mileage.

In fact, it went in the truck the same way it came out of my Camaro, but for all the reasons it worked well in the car running 14 flats, it stunk it up in the truck for driveability. But 4.10 gears with 26" tall tires and the super T-10 in the car was a different animal. I "undid" all of those things as noted above, and it made for a pretty good truck motor. Not mud bogger or drag racer, but drive it all the time and tow boats, project cars, tractors, etc.