Now that's a Cam

[1Trkpony]

In an effort to get my recently aquired ERA541 to run tip top I have been having fun tuning the carb, etc. The car has an alloy shelby built 427 in it with their MR heads, intake, etc.

The original owner swapped the shelby sourced Holley 3310 vacuum secondary for a 600 CFM edelbrock to get it to run better. I thought best to go back to the Holley and did a proform main body upgrade at the same time. I have been having a heck of time getting the car to idle well and have good throttle response. The engine wanted a ton on initial advance (like 20+ deg) and would not idle much below about 1200 rpm with 6-7 in/Hg of vacuum. Even then the engine would stumble below 2500 rpm. But at 3000+ rpm it would pull like nothing I ever had driven, scary fast.

So I decided to call Shelby and get the specs on my engine. It took a few times to get the right guy but I finally got through this week and got my info. My engine has a comp cams 33-242-5 hydraulic cam in it. It is a 0.611/0.611" lift, with 260/260 @0.050" duration!!! No wonder this thing idles like a pro-stocker. On Comp's web site they list this cam a "Drag Race Only", opperating range of 4500-6800rpm. All I can say is wow. The guy I talked to at Shelby was a little surprised they put that big of a cam in (it was built in '99 before he got there).

So my dilemma is what to do? I do not intend to race the car, just street drive with the potential occational open track. I probably should change the cam out as I don't think I am ever going to tune it to be very street friendly. I have a wide ratio top loader with a 3.31 rear ratio So what cams do you guys recommend? I was thinking something in the 235 range with a lift of ~0.550" for a good balance of low end torque and top end HP as well as easier on the valve springs.

Hope to be able to swap the cam with the engine in the car. I will probably have to pull the radiator though. I think I want to stay with hydraulic as that is what is in there now and the block is set up for it. If anyone has any good cam recomendations I would very much appreciate it!