how munch horsepower will a roller cam gain.are they hard to set up? thanks.

 

about 25-30 horse over an equal flat tappet cam, but you cant get a totally equal flat tappet cam... a roller can open and close faster than a flat tappet... theyre easier to set up and dont require break-in... but you have to get custom pushrods and alot stiffer springs and different retainers and locks... so if youre willing to spend the extra money theyre well worth it

 

I've been looking at the Comp Cams kits for my 557. They include springs, locks, timing chain, etc. Does anybody have any luck with this or similar kits? Here's a look...

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...9&autoview=sku

 

so you are going to get upwards of a thousand horse with a 236 deg @.050 single pattern roller?i don't think so unless you are putting two big turbos on it.

generally you will want between 6-10 degrees more exhaust duration.what heads are you running?

 

similar cam but will work a lot better on a Ford big block motor

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...9&autoview=sku

 

Not trying to "poke a bear" here, but you honestly don't think a 557 is capable of 1000 hp without forced induction? I'd considered nitrous but was hoping I wouldn't need it. Right now, I'm working on the cam details but the one I'm stuck with isn't even close to where I want to be. I want the big hp but I still want to do the Saturday night rod-runs. Stalling out at a red light because my cam is too lopey wouldn't be a good thing even if I can run 9's in the quarter. The cam I listed isn't necessarily the one I'm going with which is part of the reason I'm asking for help. What cam would you run for the most power? So far, most of the build is listed in my gallery with the exception of the particular stroker kit being used. The old stroker kit (now for sale) is a 545 kit but the new kit is a 557. The engine has gone through a lot of changes without being "finished". Here's a more accurate (and more current)assessment of the build:

D1VE 460 block w/.080 overbore decked to 10.30
Hawk's Racing 557 FORGED Stroker kit (4.44 bore x 4.5 stroke w/6.8" rods)
Forged TRW Speed Pro 18.5cc dish pistons
C9VE heads/p&p, 3 angle valve job, 7/16 studs, SCJ valves, and built to flow better than the aluminum cobra jet heads available from Ford Performance
Crane hydraulic street/strip cam....for now
Crane gold roller rockers
3/8" hardened pushrods
MSD ignition
Ford Racing 9mm wires
Weiand 1993 tunnel ram
Twin Speed Demon 650 mech. sec. carbs
HPC coated Hedman headers
RCI 20 gallon fuel cell
Holley mech. fuel pump
-8AN braided fuel lines
Currie 9" narrowed/trussed rear
Nodular iron center section
Daytona pinion support
Moser 33 spline axles
Mark Williams steel spool
Pro Gear 5.14 gears
Competition Enginieering ladder bars
AVO coil-overs
15x15 rear Draglites 33x21.5 Mickey Thompson Sportsmans
15x5 front Draglites w/28x7.5 M/T's
lightened Flareside bed
RCI seating/harnesses
Speedway "Shotgun Bill" scoop
C6 Tranny w/manual valve body
2600 stahl TCI converter
Lokar 23" shifter
FoMoCo four row radiator
Weiand aluminum water pump
Twin Zirgo 3300 cfm fans
March aluminum underdrive pulleys
Battery re-located to the bed
A/C Deleted
Overall weight down to 3800 pounds from 4600

 

Thanks, Monsterbaby. That's actually a lot closer to what I think I want. The cam I posted is pretty mild but I'm still trying to figure out which one's the perfect cam. How streetable would the cam you listed be? I want it to KILL on the track but still be able to make it to a rod-run on the weekends.

 

Well in response to your first question, can a 557 be capable of 1000 without forced induction...sure but it won't be streetable trust me. Thats 1.8hp per cid, I have seen a 557 that dyno's at 985hp runs on alky idles at 1200rpm and launches at over 4000rpm. I run a little over 900hp out of a 528, run a cam with .808 lift duration at .050 is 278/291, idles at around 1300 and I leave the line at 5500rpm, also both of those engines are running over 13:1 compression, both are Running A460 heads, both engines are making the hp at over 7000rpms and I run 112 octane racing fuel only.
Now the best your going to do with the C9VE heads you listed is going to be about 750hp (even the best iron head porter I know can only support about that number even on a race gas only engine)

Now you mentioned the Hawks kit, I assume your talking about the cast crank which will live at the 700-750hp level but they don't survive for ever at 900+hp, yes I run a cast crank but I am also very aware of the fact that it will break eventually, some guys replace them around 200-250 passes which seems to be the life limit at that hp level. So something to think about.

And that cam I sent you will be streetable in a 557, it's still a pretty mild cam for that big of a motor but will make an honest 600+ hp which is pretty respectable for a iron headed engine and a lot more than you think it is. You really don't want (even though you think you do) a 1000hp engine on the street they don't work good at all.

 

Thanks again, Monsterbaby. I keep hearing those exact words from my brother who built a blown 1200 hp camaro he can't drive anywhere but on the track. The crank I went with is the forged steel crank, internally balanced, and rated up to 1500hp. The heads, as much as I like them, look like they're going to be replaced with aluminum. I've been looking at some of the Edelbrock Performer RPM heads but I keep hearing my C9's will do the same numbers as any aftermarket head. The smartest thing for me to do is just run them and go from there. I'd like to drop the 80+ pounds by swapping to aluminum but I really like the durability of iron heads. In the end, as long as I can crush the local mustangs and hit the cruise nights, I'm happy. The backup plan involves selling the truck minus the engine and starting my T-bucket project that's been in the back of my mind for so long.

 

yes a 557 can make that much hp.i wasn't trying to dog ya,just didn't think it was a realistic goal with that cam.

if it was me starting with a clean sheet of paper build,i would get a ported set of A's and you would be miles ahead ,pun intended,of the cast heads.

as far as aluminum head durability,i have ran a set of a429 trickflow cj style heads for about 8 years now with no problems.

my current cam is 268/278 @ .050 .767/.770 lift.i run a dominator and have no drivability problems on the road,doesn't load up and is streetable.just need a fairly loose converter.

 

i wouldnt bother with the edelbrock heads, they arent much better than stock for flow out of the box, and even ported arent much better than ported iron. if you already have those pistons youre a bit limited on head selection, but with stock valve relief placement youd be best off with trick flow streets or blue thunders. you could get your existing pistons notched for scj valves and run the a-460 heads or p51s, but you have to have someone that really knows what theyre doing to flycut them.

 

bronco521,

Is that a roller cam? I can't even find a cam with those numbers but I wish I could! One thing I probably failed to mention is that I'm currently (and for the last five months today) deployed. I'm buying parts and shipping them home for the build but it's hard building an engine I can't touch with my hands. I have a HUGE grocery list of parts I'm buying that'll keep me busy in my down time. SO...If new aluminum heads are EVER going to make it on the engine, it'll have to happen while I'm making a little extra money from the deployment. I've already figured in about a thousand for the roller cam kit and there's enough left over for some good heads. I figure there's no such thing as too many spare parts so I'll start hunting for the best streetable aluminum heads and sell the iron C8's I've already got. Does everybody agree (doubtfull EVERYBODY will agree on this) on Trick Flow heads? Will they work with my Weiand 1993 tunnel ram? THANKS AGAIN, everybody.

 

for most times I recommend the trickflow street heads but hose are a standard port configuration, since you are running that tunnel ram and it's based on the CJ ports I would really recommend looking into Kaase's new P51 heads, they are based on the SCJ alum heads from ford (which he also designed) but have better out of the box flow than ANY ported iron head out there. The thing with those is they do require a different valve relief so you either have to cut new ones or if your building the engine from scratch order the pistons with them in there. Kaase took a ford 514 crate engine, bolted on a set of those heads, but in a comp 292R roller cam and made 700hp with a single carb and no porting on the heads just the way they came out of the box.

 

Niiiiice. Thanks, Monsterbaby!