Any good info on these? I got a 351M with a performer intake and performer 600 cfm and was wondering if the cams that are 'matched' with the intake are any good or if there's a company anyone would recommend to me I'd appreciate it.

 

Installed the performer cam together with the performer intake and 600 cfm carburator years ago. Wasn´t happy with it. Hardly noticeable change in performance and sound to the factory cam on my 400. After a year I changed it to a comp cam 265deh, much better.

The performer cam specs are a bit strange and hard to compare to the common specs of Crane, Lunati, Comp etc.

What are your goals with the 351m ? Bottom end or top end grunt, any other changes ? Headers, distributor, pistons ?

 

Right now I've got hooker super comp headers with 2.25" dual exhaust with no mufflers, other than that it's stock. I've got plenty of low end so I was lookin for some mid-top end.
My parts list so far is:
edelbrock intake and carb,
straight up timing chain,
and just a really good tune up(cap, rotor, plugs, wires, coil..)
Trying to decide on a camshaft and completely lost on it.
I've heard a LOT of good things about comp cams but not sure which specific cam to go with

 

Well the market for camshafts is really big and when you ask 3 persons about the right cam you`ll get 5 answers ...

Focus on what you have and what are your needs. The 351M/400 is a torque engine and not designed for permanent high revving. With the right setup you can make it a little monster between 1000 and 4500 rpm. Assuming you have the 2V open chamber heads you should look for a cam with more duration on the exhaust side due to the head layout.

I.e. the Comp 255DEH (very good low end), the Comp 265DEH (good low end and mid range) or a comp 268H. I would not go higher. Of course you will find such cam profiles with Crane, Lunati or Iskiderian, too - it´s a matter of taste which make you choose. Absolutely go with matching springs ! These cam profiles still provide a decent idle, if you want a pro-stocker at your driveway you`ll need a 280-290-up cam but this will move the power band to the wrong range.

Use the search function of this forum, type some key words and you`ll find A LOT of infos.

 

Alright cool, thanks for the advice, I was planning on porting and polishing my heads, but the intake port on my heads is bigger than the ports on the edelbrock intake. Is there a reason they did this? And It's an aluminum intake so would it be safe to port that to the size of the intake ports on my heads?

 

Better yet to save down time and port work find a old set of 351c or 400 2v heads that don't have the smog bump in the exhaust port. Then just blend the seats in and get a good valve job done. Your motor has low compression and that should be taken in to consideration when picking a cam.

 

Ill keep that in mind, and having low compression means I shouldn't be looking a monstrous cam? It's my dd so I don't want it to affect the drivablity. Thanks for all the info guys

 

Correct. Dont just go off the manuals. Pick a couple of cam suppliers you trust and make contact telling them what you want/ and have or will be doing soon. Remember that a 351C runs the same cam also. If it was a 400 it drops the spec on the cam some-what due to the extra swept volume of the 50 odd CI's. No point putting in a really cranky performance cam on a low compression motor as you will probably regret it. Doing an engine up is all about the package. Dont over cam, over carb, or over manifold.

 

IMO is the way to go for the 351M. Its the one I used the first time I upgraded back in 1988. Did the intake and new timing chain installed straight up and I had a whole new animal!! But I used the Carter 625 with manual secondaries....loved it!! When I built the 400, I used the 268 again,(new) but with slightly different results. Doesn't seems to have to same punch. I'm thinking about going to the 265 DEH. Also, I'd like to add that the first time I did the cam swap, I had to buy 6-8 oversize pushrods (.060over) from Ford to get the horrible clatter to stop. I suggest using the Crane screw in stud kit and use roller tip rockers. Its all bolt on, no machining required and the instructions are easy to follow.

 

Thanks for the help guys, I decided to go with a lunati voodoo 262/268 cam with new lifters timing chain and valve springs

 

be careful, here's what I found-

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 bgColor=#cccccc><TBODY><TR><TD style="BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%" bgColor=#d4000f vAlign=top colSpan=13>[***************]Ford 351C-400M c.i. 1970-1982[/color]

</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center rowSpan=3 noWrap align=middle>APPLICATION CAMSHAFTS

</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center rowSpan=2 colSpan=2 align=middle>VALVE SETTING

</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center rowSpan=3 align=middle>RPM
OPERATING
RANGE

</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center rowSpan=3 align=middle>CAMSHAFT PART NUMBER

</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center rowSpan=3 align=middle>CAM GRIND NUMBER

</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center colSpan=4 align=middle>DURATION

</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center rowSpan=2 colSpan=2 align=middle>VALVE LIFT @ 1.73:1

</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center rowSpan=3 align=middle>LOBE SEP. ANGLE

</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center colSpan=2 align=middle>ADV.

</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center colSpan=2 noWrap align=middle>@ .050”

</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center align=middle>IN.</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center align=middle>EX.</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center align=middle>IN.</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center align=middle>EX.</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center align=middle>IN.</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center align=middle>EX.</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center align=middle>IN.</TD><TD bgColor=#efefef vAlign=center align=middle>EX.</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top bg***************>HYDRAULIC FLAT TAPPET:
Torque Master for 351C with 4BBL heads on daily driven street performance vehicle. Good torque and horsepower production with heavier emphasis on the lower mid thru upper RPM ranges. Use 3.55 rear gears. Choppy idle!

</TD><TD bg***************>Hyd

</TD><TD bg***************>Hyd

</TD><TD bg***************>1800-5800

</TD><TD bg***************>62502

</TD><TD bg***************>NA

</TD><TD bg***************>262

</TD><TD bg***************>268

</TD><TD bg***************>219

</TD><TD bg***************>227

</TD><TD bg***************>.540

</TD><TD bg***************>.552

</TD><TD bg***************>112°

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


looking at this you may have good low end but it may go away a little

 

Just be aware you have to very careful with stock springs-anything over .500 lift and they start to bind. If you are getting a kit with springs forget what I've just written.

 

It came with springs, and I've got plenty of low end and it's a tired old motor so I think I'll be alright. I've got 3.55 gears with 36-14-16.5 Rvt's and I haven't been stuck yet haha.

 

cool, hope it's not too tired LOL.

 

I absolutely Agree!!!!

I highly recommend Iskenderian & Crower & Chet Herbert & Lunati...all are family owned, been grinding cams for decades, and both will even re-grind your oem cam if possible- saving you even more $.