Anybody have any experiance with this cam 343801? What do the torque and HP curves look like? Has anybody used it for Street/offroading use? What are your recomendations for a 390 with 9:1 compression edel heads, performer RPM intake, and a holley 770? I would like to make about 300HP or more at the rear wheels.

 

Ratsmoker (who has been hiding lately) and Dinosaurfan (I think) are two folks that run the Crane 801. Rats is looking to upgrade to a custom grind soon, but I think the 801 has been good to him so far. The only thing I can tell you is that cam may not perform well at 9:1 compression. The recommended compression range is 9.5 - 10.75:1. You could try it with fast bleed lifters like Rhoads or Crane high intensities, but you would probably be better off just increasing the compression above 9.5. I guess the 801 might work for off-roading since Dino hauls around loads of firewood with his rig, but I think it is considered more of a street race cam by most on here. If you stay with 9:1 compression, you might be better off going with the Crane 343941. Several folks have used this cam and seem to like the street performance with it. As for getting 300+ RWHP, its probably not going to happen if you have a C6 transmission and you are running the Crane 941. You would need to get a bit more radical and less of a daily driver to get that. Gtex has about 350 RWHP, but his motor is built beyond what you are considering. You may want to check out his gallery to see what he has into his engine.

 

I wouldn't call the 801 a street/off-roading cam. Not to say it couldn't work. Sean is running that cam in his 1/2 ton 2wd and has run some good times at the track. (in the 14s). He'll probably improve on that with his rebuilt tranny and a higher stall TC.

But when you say "street and off road" I think of some of the cams with the lower RPM torque peaks like the 941.

What transmission are you running.

Try using the search feature in this forum, I bet there are many graphs from DesktopDyno posted using the 801/901/941 cams on mild-med 390s....Also look through the graphs in Seans (Ratsmokers) FE Engine Page. I don't think any of those are running the 801, but you'll see some cam specs that might give you an idea.


BTW, mine is very much capable of being a daily driver and still working as a 3/4 ton truck. That's a challenge to do and make good HP numbers. You just have to throw a lot of money and time at it...and ask about 2000 questions on FTE :-)

 

I'm running the 801. 9:1 does seem low like 76 F150 Ranger XLT said. I have 10.5 flat tops. Check my DD numbers in my gallery. Of done some calculations and it looks like I'm running below 300rwhp, maybe like 280. Heads are stock and fully ported. The cam is very streetable, not taking mileage into consideration.

 

I guess I left out some important information. My truck is a 74 F-250 4x4 with a T-18 4 speed and NP-205 transfer case. I have had my truck on a dyno and it made about 200 RWHP @ 4300 RPM (Don't remeber the torque numbers) with stock exhaust a performer manifold, Holley Avenger 770, stock D2 heads with an elgin RV cam ( I can't remember the specs right off hand and don't have them with me at this time. However, the engine pulls real hard up to around 3000 RPM and then it drops off). As I said before I will be upgrading to edelbrock heads a performer RPM intake and long headers. I am just wondering if I should replace my cam. I want a bit more performance on the top end with out sacrificing the low end torque. Because this cam really does seem to stop at 3000-3500 RPM but when in third gear this truck really moves. I know you guys said I should raise the compression ratio, would the new edelbrock heads raise my compression any?

 

run some numbers with the Crane 941 cam...It sounds like a goop compliment to the rest of that hardware. you could definitely go bigger and get more HP up top...but you'll start losing that bottom end. Although, with a manual tranny you can compensate some. But, I still think for your off-roadin you'd be happier a slightly smaller cam like the 941. I bet the 941 or 801 would work with the Edel complete heads valve train...

 

No, they'd actually lower it a little. You should look at some 1.776" compression height flat tops. Then use either the 941 (for more low end torque) or the 801 (for more top end hp).

 

Sorry I have been hiding guys.. Going through a divorce right now. Busy, busy busy.. You can hear and see my truck run on my webpage. I think the 801 cam has a very flat torque curve and I get the best times shifting at about 5750 or so. I do not think this cam is the right choice with edelbrock heads. It runs good but all that extra exhaust duration is not needed. I would shoot for a single pattern (or cose to it) with the edel heads.

The 801 has a 114LCA which makes less peak torque than a similar cam with a 108LCA but the power band is wider. I think for what I am doing (launching at 3,800rpm) it does not benefit me to have this small of a cam. A 108 LCA would help me out a lot too.

 

Sorry to hear about your reason for being MIA. I have seen others go through it and I know it takes a lot of time and it is no fun. Hurry back, we miss your knowledge and advice.

 

Hey Sean, welcome back! hang in there and get through your issues, things will be better down the road (been there done that)

--Mike

 

Highboy, I have the '801 cam and like it a bunch. Its in a 390 2wd, with 8 to 1 compression ( ugh ! ) automatic tranny (more ugh !) and factory cast exhaust ( the MOST ugh ! ). I had already spent all of my money on my 421 in my 71 4WD. So the 2wd got put togther with whatever was laying around, or could be gotten for cheap. It has a big Motorcraft 4 barrel on top of a 428CJ intake. The heads are ported D2's, but still with the stock valve sizes. I bought new valve springs, whatever crane said went with the 801. I even picked out the nicest looking bearings from 3 sets from junked or taken apart FEs. I would like to have done a better job on it, but when my factory employment of 15 yrs was terminated, my finances took a real beating. Having a freinds leftover CJ pieces to pick through helped a bunch- some guys have had rockershaft breakage with this cam, but I have been lucky. I used his aluminum stands, after honing them out and cutting them so the stand can clamp on the shaft. The shafts are .003 oversized, from sealed power, I believe. We picked through the same 3 engines worth of parts to get rockers. I picked the ones that fit best on my oversized shaft, some were loose ( worn more than .0035 ) some wouldn't go on the big shaft at all. I also used a set of Rhoads lifters in the engine. I like to think that thats what helps this particular 390, cause the compression is less than ideal for the 801 cam. The bleeder lifters do exactly what they advertize, give more low speed power and help at idle. I can idle at 600 with no trouble at all. But DAMN are those Rhoads noisy ! louder than a solid with too much lash. Part of what convinces me they ( the lifters ) are doing their thing is how the truck doesn't want to idle when the oil is still cold ( 15 or 20-50 ). The thicker cold oil doesn't let the lifters bleed and the idle is raspy, but the lifters are quiet. As things heat up, the idle gets smoother, and the lifters get louder. The 2wd has 3.5 gears and 31 inch tall tires right now, and does just fine for commuting and trailer pulling or whatever you ask of it. In your truck, with a 4 spd, it would do even better. The only hesitation might be what kind of off roading did you have in mind ? If you are idling up and down over big rocks and such, the 801 might well be too big. Here in Michigan, off roading is over sanddunes or through mud holes in the woods, there is plenty of rpms to get the cam happy. I wouldn't buy the Edel heads however. There isn't anything wrong with them really, but your money might be better spent on headers and a Blue Thunder Intake. DF