which camshaft is best for a 1965 F250 CAMPER SPECIAL ,auto 352 with 4bbl and headers,looking for good pulling power and decent gas mileage

 

You might get better power with a "modern" RV type cam, but you will never get decent gas mileage. With a cam alone you would be doing well to get the same MPG. How long have your run the headers? How big is your carb? Anything else done to the motor?

In theory, you could go up to a 390 built as a roller motor, higher compression, this and that upgrade, and get more power for the same gas.

But that would cost a small fortune.

No free lunch I'm afraid. Not even a cheap buffet.....

 

got new headers and will be fitting 600cfm holley dual 2 1/2 exhaust so long as it gets 12mpg that will be good

 

Martin, was that 12 miles per Imperial gallon you'd be satisfied with, or do you mean U S gallons? And was that in town mileage or highway? I spent a fortune building the FE that 85e150six4mtod references, hoping that using modern low friction components would net me more go and beter mileage than in the 'back in the day" configuration. I got the power and low end torque I expected, but my in town mileage is 9 - 11 miles to the U S gallon. I have not tested for highway milege. My engine is a .030 over 390, 9.5 compression, Edelbrock aluminum heads and intake manifold, 600 cfm Edelbrock 4bbl, roller rockers and roller lifters, Hooker Super Comp long tube headers, MSD distributor, custom ground Comp Cams cam emphasizing low end torque. It runs fine on 87 octane dog **** which passes for fuel in the U S these days. Transmission is an NV 4500 5 speed manual and there are 3.50 gears in the Ford nine inch diff. Your truck, being an F250 Camper Special likely has 4.10, or possibly even 4.56 gears which won't help fuel mileage, and the automatic trans won't help it much either. Others on the forum claim much better fuel milege than I get. Driving styles come into play here and probably other factors. Good luck with your quest.

 

thank you super sabre ,it was a imperial gallon,we can get 98octane here in nz so i thought that 11-12mpg would be easy to acieve if not then its going to get 1/2 million duracell batteries,

 

Lots to consider, but hope to keep you away from the ½ million Duracells. You don't comment on it, but the extra factor of being located in NZ must come into your thought process also. What's wrong with the present camshaft? Are you planning anything else for the engine? I agree with 85e150six4mtod that a modern "RV" cam might be a good choice (that's essentially what I have) and you can have one custom ground for you at no additional cost. I would think rear gearing (and possibly tire size) would come into play when selecting. If you are running 4.10s or 4.56s with your auto trans and you don't plan to change to something higher, you might not need the torque to peak as low as with other combinations. I would suggest you contact a reputable cam grinder such as Comp Cams, Lunati, Crane, or several others, tell them what you have and what you want your engine to do, and they will suggest a grind for you and tell you what else you might need, like new lifters, push rods, or whatever. Correcting my engine's fuel consumption to Imperial gallons, I do get 11 - 13 mpg in town so it can be done. Good luck!

 

thanks all.willdo a little more research,