Well im rebuilding a 400 for my bronco and a got a quck question for you guys. Im going with the Badger pistons and milling the heads to get to 9.5to1 compression (or ACAP). I talked to the owner of extreme4x4worksinc. which sells these pistons, seems to deal alote with these motors and i asked what he recommended for a cam for my application. He recommended the Comp. Magnum 270H which is 224 224 at .50 and 519 519 on a 110. Has anyone on here ran this cam or have a recommendations on a cam for me other than roller. I have a Comp. extreme energy in it now which im not happy with at all. Plus is the weiand action plus intake that much better than the performer 400 intake which a have now. Thanks in advance.

 

Follow this thread for answers to most of your questions.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=329627

 

The only thing with that is that its not telling me how some cam will react to a heavy truck with big tires. Ya that motor makes good hp and tq on the dyno but its making its peak hp at 5k up. So that would not work very well in my application. So let me refrase my question. Has anyone here actually built a 400 for a heavy truck with big tires and four wheeled with it. If anyone has what cam was in it and how did it work.

 

Flexy,

So you would place more value on someone's opinion than on actual dyno numbers?

I've been reading peoples opinions for years and 90% aren't worth the time it takes to read them. When someone has invested a lot of money into an engine they have a vested interest in believing it was a good investment. It's hardly an objective opinion.

Call Tim........I'm sure he can recommend a build that would suit your application.

 

Flexy,

Your application requires a lot of Torque at low RPM. The Comp Cams 270H is not a bad choice, but a 265DEH will produce more low end torque and more peak HP as well. The cam in Tim Meyer's motor may give up a little low end torque for more peak HP, but it is only a few ft-lbs. For maximum low end torque you need a 255DEH, but your peak power will suffer unless you get a good porting job done on your heads.

The last word on a question like this should be a technical person at Comp Cams. They can give you a custom grind to suit your requirements.

Also check out the new Dyno charts on Tim's thread.

 

Not to start any thing by meanse here. But i have seen many motors built by different mags,shows,and other things (not to say this one in question is bad it makes very respectable numbers and im sure it would work fine) make good power on the dyno but if it were to be put into a vehicale that it wasnt designed for it would not work very well. So yes i would like to get some feed back from people so i know that if i put a certain cam in my vehicale its not going to fall on its face like it does now.

 

Thanks for the advice here. That thread on tims motor is very interesting. Not to many people actually take the time to reseach a motor that has so few options as far as power like the 351m and 400. Especially compared to any chevy or ford small block.

 

The Ford 335 series motors have a big advantage over small block Ford and Chevy motors. That is better heads. The limitations are choice of pistons, intake manifolds, and other performance parts. Many performance parts made for the 351C motor will fit or can be adapted to fit a 351m/400 motor. The 400 motor is a great motor for a heavy vehicle, due to its long stroke. It takes some experience with this motor to select the right components to obtain the best combination of Horsepower and Torque for a particular application. The cam is only one of those components. What Tim Meyer is doing is demonstrating the results from one set of components. You can order a LT1 crate motor from GM with a good idea about what performance to expect. With a 335 series motor, you are forced to select from a chinese menu of components in some cases borrowed from other motors in hope of achieving your goal. Now we have a true benchmark to use. We should call it TM1.

 

flexybronco-
What is the current comp cams extreme energy cam you are running? Why are you unhappy with it? I am building a 400 right now and have selected a comp cams XE256 cam. I have similar performance needs as yours. I hope it is a prudent choice.

 

I have the xe262h in mine. But you also have to look at what i have this motor in. It is in a bronco that weights 5200 lbs with 3.50 gears and 36" tall super swampers. Also this is in a 351 with stock compression. With the longer strock of the 400 and more compression this cam may work in my application but im not going to risk it. So i dont know what you are putting this motor in but if it is much lighter with higher compression ( more than 7.9to1 stock) it may work extremely well. Just in my case i need a cam that has the best of both worlds or at least as close as possible. I really need to take advantage of the 400's long stroke and torque possibilitles. But be able to rev it good enough to get out of deep mud. Hope this helps.

 

Dan- Your making me Blush.

flexybronc- Here's my question for you. You have given us your tire size and rear end ratio, but what I want to know is " What is your realistic RPM range"
What do you cruise at(RPM). Do you have certain shift points? When you have determined that, then you can study a dyno sheet and see how your operating RPM compares.

This cam we used barely peaks the HP over 5000RPM. In what you are doing, I would want a nice flat torque curve. Yet you want to rev it good enough to get out of the deep mud. Well that's where the HP part of the graph comes in. Are you coming out of the mud at 3500-4500, or are you going higher. If that's the case then that's where you will want the HP to peak near.

We build this engine with the idea that somone would use it in a truck. I normally like short duration cams, but I also wanted to see how the "quench" in the combustion chambers would help. This engine is dyno'd on 87 gas, timing is close to 32 degrees. And idles at 40# oil pressure hot. Now it will be interesting how the Edelbrock intake will work. Again my opinion, taking your RPM range into consideration, I'm guessing you will want the Weiand intake. I think the Edelbrock will give some nice low end torque but it will not be able to breath like the rest. I may change my mind after dynoing it.

I think you will have to figure your carb in this also.

I'm guessing you want something that revs at least a little.

Just my opinion

 

36's with 350 gears there is the problem. The 36's will do better with 411's. I have 33's and 389's pulls good, I can spin the mud out of the tires, not to bad on gas ether, when I drive it right.

 

flexybronco,
Thanks for your reply. I am building my 400 for my 79 F250 (about 5600lbs). I have 35" tires with 4:10 gears. My compression will be between 9.3 and 9.5. I will be doing some towing with it and want good power at highway speeds. Basically, I'm looking for the best mix of torque and horespower at a rmp range of 1000-4500. I want to take advantage of the long stroke and torque of the 400, but want good midrange power as well. Is the XE256 cam the proper cam for my build, or do I need something more aggressive? Any help would be appreciated.

 

Well as for my rpm points i would say 1200 to 5000 or so. But I would rather have something peak under that point for hp but not fall off right afterl. My ideal would be have most of the torque coming in around 1800 to 2000 or is that to much to ask for in this motor. The only thing i see wrong (maybe im wrong though) with the peak power at 5000 is that torque is going to be hurt below 2500.
I cruise at 60 at about 1900 but im also putting 4.56 gears in it in the next 2 months or so. So that will all change.
I am running a 600cfm edelbrock right now but i might be putting either a 600cfm double pumper on it or if i can afford it a 670cfm truck avenger. The edelbrock cost me the side of my truck on a step hill climb from stalling out at full throttle so either way it is coming off.
So i guess with that info what do you think i should run for a cam and should i maybe look into a stall converter. I was thinking of putting a 1600 to a 1800 stall in it. Any other info would be appreciated.

 

I'm rebuliding my 400 to use (as well as on the road some) for some towing and hauling in the hills. So far I've gotten a 600cfm Holley, Edelbrock dual plane intake, and some dynomax headers. Seriously thinking of getting a pair of Aussie heads. Would I need to change the pistons? What cam would you recommend? Also,should I consider changing differential gears?