I need the help of the brain-trust!!! I am trying to identify what cam to put in my 76 w/460 C6. I spoke with Comp Cams this morning and they recommended this cam https://www.compcams.com/xtreme-4x4-...d-429-460.html .
My plans:
Edelbrock Pro-Flo 4 EFI System
400 HP Recipe
Headers with good mufflers

I spoke with Edelbrock and they recommended at least 10" of vacuum. I go see the new builder later this week and he is waaaayyyy easier to communicate with than the previous builder was!!! My disclaimer!!! I don't understand this stuff... I trust people to guide me in the right direction!!! I want the truck to have a decent lope and adequate power throughout the RPM range. It will be a street only truck that I will drive back and forth to the office 1-2 times a week (in decent weather).

 

without question I would buy a custom cam, a custom roller cam if you can swing the extra money.

Get ahold of Brent Lykins at Lykins motorsports and for only a little more money he will spec and supply you with a custom grind designed exactly for your build and application.

 

I tried the summit K3500 cam. Pretty much an out of the box generic grind labeled for "towing and economy". Absolute garbage. The cam itself is fine. However it just doesn't do anything.

For the most part it seems that unless you want to go and have a bunch of headwork done (basic rebuild, 3 angle valve job, slight porting, etc), having a cam with a lift greater than .500 on either the intake or the exhaust is just a waste.

My 460 is actually under the knife right now too. Stock stroke just bored .040" over. Stock D3 heads with a valve job. I'm putting the cam from a '68-'70 429 in it. It's got a hair more lift than the stock cam and a little more duration as well. Should be a solid performer for a daily driven work truck that sees a lot of highway miles.

 

This is why custom is the way to go. your build, tire size, gearing, desired driving style , EVERYTHING is considered and a grind for your needs is ground. for an extra $50 why anyone would buy a generic one size fits all cam I cannot comprehend.

 

While I'm not saying you're wrong, I am going to make a point.

Not everybody wants a screaming tire shredder of a motor. There I said it. Some folks just want a reliable engine that will run when they turn the key. Hence why some like myself chose a cam that closely resembles a factory grind. I need the overlap and duration for my idle and torque. I couldn't care less what the numbers are on a Dyno. A factory grind, all things considered of course, IS an all around cam. It was engineered to have low end grunt, a decent mid range, and still not run out of power till 4500-5000rpms.

Allow me to make another point. Every single manufacturer of cams says there's is the best. Best torque this or best mileage that. They make claims that if you just drop in this chunk of metal that suddenly you have a whole new motor. If chosen correctly (which they never are), they do as advertised. But to drop a hot cam in a stock engine? Makes no sense.

Enter your point about a custom ground cam. Yes you're correct. It's pretty much the best of all worlds. In reality it's not that much more expensive either. Most folks don't know about this option or don't want to less with it. Even then, unless you know the specs of the cam and how to interpret them, aren't you still technically relying on someone else's word that they made the best cam for your engine?

To the OP, it pays to do your homework. 400hp is easy to get from a 460. You just need all the right parts and they have to play nicely with each other.

 

that cam will be pretty solid in a truck. Those grinds are basically similar to comps dual energy but with more intake advance to bring power in sooner. On a grind like that I wold like to see a 112* lobe seperation angle this means less overlap, better vacuum, and better idle.

On another note, I have used several comp cams. They are a good product. However, coming from someone who spends several hundred miles a week in a dent side, they are noisy, just have a harsh tone to them. they install and last well. They are cheap. I hate that noise. The noise grinds on me after hours. The noise is from steep ramps, more lift and less duration compared to their competition. This probably widens the power band and gets more peak rpm/hp from a given grind, but it is noisy. I listen to the radio. Howards and crower make a nice split pattern "truck grind" I never got into the custom grinds. My stuff ran for years and pulls anything fine, My 78 f250 with a 400 would pull itself clear out of !-!E(_(_ if It had to. I wold look at a crower 22239 22171 and 22172. These are going to be quieter, smoother, and likely outlast the comp,since the ramps are less steep. crane used to have similar grinds as well. Howards might be a good choice.

You are on the right track to put a split pattern in her, more exhaust, and the comp wold be a adequate choice. I would definetly buy comp again, but they seem to be more race oriented than daily driver. The 390 that had a comp 256 or something, low end monster and fun to drive, under .500 lift, but chewing through snow... it was noisy that engine howled. Some people like that I dont I want quiet time, I want to hear the fan, the radio, my phone. When I call comp on the phone its no wonder I have to talk loud.

 

I used that same cam in my old 460 that I had. Comp Cams Extreme 4x4 262H. I won't go into the details of that build, but it ended up with 9.6:1 compression and with that cam it made 427hp @ 4700rpm and 510tq of which I can't remember the peak torque rpm, I wanna say something like 3500rpm, but it was pretty flat from 2k-4500.

Anyway, I don't think that would be a terrible cam, but you'll need some compression if you really want some good results.

 

I've run a lot of comp cams over the years and been pleased with them. The XE grinds tend to be a bit noisy as was said.

On the current 468 I'm building I went with a custom ground from CAM RESEARCH in Denver and had him break it in for me. Well worth the extra $60 to not have to worry about cam break in. Just another option to think about.

 

It's probably what I would go with. And I'd install a larger transmission cooler with electric fan.

 

Ive left them 2 messages but haven't been able to speak with anyone yet at Cam Research. I will definitely be sending them (if I don't use their cam) whatever I decide to use.... When I start this thing for the first time there will be a ton of variables to deal with and I don't want to tear up a brand new cam!!!

 

Far be it for me to ever opine on what someone "needs", but 400HP to drive a couple miles to the office?

Maybe get up a little earlier in the morning, and you won't have to rush.

 

 

Okay.... I finally got in touch with Cam Research. The grind that they recommended was 266/272 w.460 (Intake and Exhaust) w 112 Lobe Seperation

$300 for cam (broke-in already) with lifters and springs

 

What does “broke-in-already” mean? You have to do that when it is in the truck running with the lifters riding on the cam lobes. That is unless you are buying a used cam and lifter set which I would advise a new set of lifters anyway.