Quote:
Originally Posted by Captainfab
Just because a cam is used in a magazine article does not mean it is the best to use. The Thumper cams are designed to mainly make noise. The first cam they used is a very old school grind and it made nearly as much power as the Thumper. You can buy that old school cam with lifters for about half the cost of the Thumper cam alone.There are much better grinds available for your application than the Thumper line of cams. I would suggest one of the Comp Cams Extreme 4x4 cams.
With a more sensible cam, you could likely keep your 3.42 gears since you are running only 32" tires. Although if you were to change gears I wouldn't go any lower than 3.73 with those tires and with running a TH350.
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Captain .....I agree completely on the thumper cams!
400 small blocks are great torque engines. Back in the day I built one for my 68 camaro. At super chevy sunday it ran 12.21 at 110 shifting at 5,500 rpm and leaving at 2,000 with a 3.73 12 bolt and power steering belt on. The block was .030 over with speed pro flat tops. I used a set of the old 292 turbo gm heads which if I remember correctly had small intake runners. I ran a holley strip dominator intake with a holley 850 double pumper with stock jetting. This was a street car that I drove daily so the cam I used was small. A 272 crane econopower. Idle was around 600 rpm and a slight lope.
How ever it would not run on regular and gas was way better back then...so you guys wanting to run a flat top piston with 64 cc heads and todays pump gas are dreaming if you live in texas and drive on the street to car shows and cruises. That is why on my current build on my 66 c10 I made sure compression is low...yes...you lose some power....but no detonation. The captain is right...alot of difference between a 400 and a 350 with flat top pistons. A 1/4 more stroke and .0125 bore makes alot more compression with the same head. I have had alot of 400 sbc in my life...the first came out of a wrecked 70 impala. I put it in bone stock with the 2 barrel in my 56 belair with a 350 turbo and 3.70 gears. Had great torque with no top end...but still fun.