Hey guys im new here and had a quick question. I have a 72 f250 4x4 with a 4 speed, 4.10 gears and a 390 that is stock other than a holley 600 and headers. I am planning on changing over to electronic ignition and putting in a cam. I know a guy that has a Lunati cam and lifter set brand new for $100 . Part # is 00053LK it is called the bracket master and says it makes good low and mid range power from 1500 - 5500 . By looking at the specs though this seems like a fairly large cam maybe too much ? Any body have any experience or suggestions about this cam ?

 

The only cautions I see with this cam is that it is not for a solid lifter engine. You may also have to upgrade your springs as well depending on the stock soring specs. The RPM range is nothing to be concerned with on an otherwise stock engine. Here's where I got my info from... http://store.summitracing.com/partde...w=1&N=700+150+

 

Solid lifter? For a stock '72, it won't be a solid lifter engine anyway.

The "advertised" numbers are pretty big, but the ".05" numbers make it pretty mild. I would recommend a set of springs rated for the lift as the stockers might be a bit weak or close to coil bind(depending on if they are originals or been replaced sometime).

 

So the savings in the cam kit might not be worth it then as I see Lunati's springs are $80. I have never changed springs before, would I have to run their locks and retainers ?Those are another $90 for a total of $170 . Would all this effort be worth it or would i be better off finding another cam with less lift ?

 

Any modifications you do to your engine will require 2 things: time & money The best bet is to come up with a plan for what you want your truck to do. Look at costs of all the parts required and be honest with what you can physically do. Everything else will need to be farmed out to those that can do it. Think of your engine like a great meal, you wouldn't make Thanksgiving Dinner with missing ingrediants would you? I always tell poeple to look at the overall picture for what they want. If you want a 450HP engine your going to add $$$$ to get it there.

Depending on the milage of your engine it may require more then a cam swap to get more out of it. The bigger cam wont do squat if the rings or valves are worn out. If anything look at buying another engine that you can build up a little at a time. It normally takes a year to build an engine on a budget. I did that with my 460. I didn't buy a donor car until I had a plan of action and what I wanted it to do. $5000 later I have the moster I do now. I picked up a second part-time job to pay for the machine work and parts. Why mess with something that works now?

 

Pretty much what he said.

You "could" just slide that cam in and see how it fits? See if the springs bind? etc..... and if it runs okay? Plenty of people do just that, but if you want it to run RIGHT, right from the start you definitely need to do the whole package.

How many miles on your engine? Done a compression check on it lately? Oil pressure? If it's a sound starting point then work on the cam project. I don't think you're gunno get much cheaper kit then $100?(cam and lifters...that's pretty cheap). Throw in some gaskets and you'll be about $300 for the whole deal.

Next to think about is timing chain? Stock nylon or all steel? I'd make sure it's the all steel version before putting a cam in it. Just another ~$50.

 

The engine is good and solid, uniform compression on all cylinders and no smoke . Seems to carry good oil pressure and is overall pretty solid. I'm not looking to make a race truck here just lookin for a little more from it thats all. I don't mind spending the extra time and money for all the parts to do the job right. My question was would I be better off finding a cam with lower lift that would do the same thing without replacing the valve springs and such. I was planning on replacing the timing set as well while I was in there . What timing set do you recomend ? I remember reading a post that said the factory cams were extremely retarded.

 

I run standard off the shelf Seal Power pieces in all my stuff. Nothing fancy or high priced. I know alot of guys like that Rollermaster timing chain with like 150 different keyslots to adjust things, but I don't see the use(or the money). You could get away with a silent/stock type set up as long as it's not a nylon cam gear type if you wanted to really save money.

I'm not sure what the specs are on stock springs? Lift and coil bind? They might do you okay initially, but wouldn't hurt to upgrade if you plan on running it higher in the rpm band. With your 4.10 gears, its' gunno be buz'n more than it would be if it was 3.25 gears(especially if on highway alot).

You could pull one spring off, take it to machine shop and have them test it to see what it can handle. They can tell you coil bind and spring pressure at that lift. If they are close you could try them, but I'd say they will be just about outta range. Only one way to find out. Run a cylinder to TDC, pop off retainer, remove spring and take it. Bring it back and stick it back on. As long as you don't turn motor over, it will hold the valve up enough to install spring again.

 

Cool thanks for all your help I will give that a try and see what they say.

 

JMO..if you do a cam change..I would not use the old springs.. you dont know how old they are....and street motors, day after day of running them, break them down ..soften them up..

And Larry with all do respect...testing one aint gonna tell ya what the others are like..you know that...Shoot you can buy new and run them thru a spring tester and get all kinds of numbers from brand new springs..

But of course on the other hand ..this aint a hotrod either..I have to take that cap off..LOL

But like Larry said..what ever Cam you decide to go with..get the Manufacture's suggested springs for it... and lifters are cheap as in retainers and locks..and like mentioned..Timing sets can be had for $50...that will work well..

Footnote Larry..LOL..I went with the Rollmaster not as for the timing..but because its the best out there for another $50 and its billit...I'll be running my cam straight up also..

RJ

 

Russ, as I mentioned, I would suggest replacing the springs. But, as a check he could see what they are, compared to what is suppose to be there. They might not hold up to 5000 rpm all day, but if he was set on getting that cam in there now, they "might" do, barely, but some people stretch things thin sometimes(I did when I was young-didn't you? no money and just had to have that big rumpy camshaft). If the machine shop has a listing of stock springs he could save all the work of pulling it down. Yes, old springs will be weaker, especially after 30 yrs.

Billet-smillet..........LOL!! I just can't justify the extra money for that.

CHOICES..........it's what makes the world go 'round.

 

Well after speaking to the machine shop and some debate I am going to go ahead and replace everything with new from the get go so im not doing this again later wishing i had done it earlier. I will already have the engine out so I may as well do everything right while its out instead of trying to work on it in the truck later. Thanks for everybodys input and info as you can tell im kinda new to these I always had suzuki 4 cylinders before .

 

Glad to hear it.

Good luck with it.

 

Aww Larry..I was just giving you a hard time..being how you mentioned ROLLERMASTER... LMAO!! and not RollMaster... I wont get into a pissing contest with you..Your hotrods run and Mine dont yet..LOL...

And your right alot of guys slap something together and it runs forever..lol..I have never had that kind of luck...

i just have too get out of the Hotrod mode when answering some of these guys....and realize what I tried to make work 35 years ago...

Hell I remember back in 74 I had a Kawi kz1000..and put a hair dryer on it.. And damn was I impressed...until I ripped the spokes out of the hub at 10,000 and 3rd gear at 100+ mph...and had to slide the bike along the curb to stop it..you talk about instant LowRider!! LOL..

But those were the good ole days.. and I probably be just a stupid again!! Its just in the blood...

RJ

 

No pissin' here! Just makin' sure that I wasn't making it sound like I was just halfazz'n it.