Hey guys I need some help with a couple possible combinations. Im working on that engine I got from my father in law. Its supposed to be 10:1 but I havent verified that yet. I got the cam out and I found out its a crower with 222/228 @ .050 duration and .538/.552 lift. When i got the engine my father in law had a edelbrock streetmaster single plane on it. I have a performer cam (194/204 @.050 .460/.480 lift) and intake. which cam and intake do you guys think would run the best in a 65 shortbed with a 3 on the tree and 3.91's? I believe the crower cam and performer intake would run the best but maybe somebody else may have a better idea. please help me out. id really appreciate it. i have to keep the c**** and d**** boys off me. Thanks Don

 

That's a pretty big difference in cams. I'd run the Crower and do the port matching and plenum opening to the Streetmaster so that it matches better to the cam.

When you look down the carb base, you should remove all the protrusions into the plenum. Each corner has a bump that should be ground down and each runner should require a bit of work to match up properly.

The other cam seems really mild.

 

karl from what ive found out so far the intakes operate in almost the same range and so do the cams. I was just wondering if the performer being a slightly newer design if i would get better performance out of it? just an idea give me some feedback please thanks Don.

 

What size is the engine? Bigger engines can use bigger cams.

Bob
'66 7 Litre, top loader, 3.25 Traction-lock, Sidewinder Intake, SCJ Exhaust
'88 F150 LWB 4x2, XLT Lariat, 302, 5 speed, 3.08
'99 Ranger, 4x2, 3.0, 5 speed, 3.73 posi

 

its a .030 over 390. the heads dont seem to have been ported. when i check the websites for crower and edelbrock they are telling me these cams operate in about the same rpm range. the crower is 1800 to 4500 with a redline of 6000+. the performer kits are good from idle to 5500. its going to be a street pickup with maybe once a year to the strip for the heck of it. im not gonna turn it 6000 rpm with 30 year old rocker shafts. i just wonder how that crower will sound. please more feedback i need help guys before i say forget it and go buy a comp 268. thanks Don

 

I've always heard that the original Performer intake is nothing more than an alum version of the old stock Ford intake. If you want modern technology, you'll need to get the Performer RPM intake. The bigger cam will allow more fuel and air to enter/exit the chambers, hence you'll probably need a larger carb than if you use the smaller Edelbrock cam. You'll definitely need new valve springs and retainers with the Crowler. It all depends on how fast you want to go.

 

would i be better off to use the streetmaster i have or the performer? i know improbably going to wind up trying them both and see how they run with the crower cam as the engine has the springs for the crower already installed. i was just wondering if anyone has any experience with a similar combo. i have a 351w in my 72 with a 280 .484 lift crane and i cant tell any difference between the performer and the factory intake i have. ive tried both intakes with different spacers and differnt carbs and to my seat of the pants it runs identical. ive never even had to tweak the carb when i swapped intakes. more info please i need all i can get .

 

Don, the single plane you don't need, and the performer is a waste of money. Get yourself a performer RPM, or better yet, a blue thunder 4267-B, and run the big crower cam. I have the blue thunder on one of mine with a cam just a little bigger than yours. The 3.78 stroke of the 390 gives plenty of low speed power and the pull this engine has from 2500 to 6K is incredible. Remember this is a big block, don't think small. DF

 

I just upgraded my 390 to a very similar Crower cam , the RPM intake, and a Edelbrock 750 carb. I've barely got things working in sync yet and I can already tell this should be a strong runner. I'm still working on the ignition timing and I'll be installing the MSD 6AL next.

FE Gurus: I did not upgrade the springs and retainers, what symptoms of a mismatch should I be looking for? Is there a decent non-points solution for the FEs?

greg

 

does that mean you are running the stock valve springs? cause if so you really need to get the valve springs that will match the cam

 

If the Crower starts at 1800, I'd port the Streetmaster and run that. Keep in mind that the Streetmaster is an old design that had a bad rep. Most single plane intakes are for high rpm use only, the Streetmaster is different and got it's bad rep for that. It was called 'the single plane that couldn't breath' Edelbrock published info on how to do the mods to make it run better.

In stock form, the streetmaster is from Idle to 4000 or so. You really need to open it up and blend in the area from the carb to the runners so that you'll have a large smooth curves (no sharp edges) Run a 1" open spacer and match the ports to the heads.

Don't worry about the value of the intake, these can be had for < $100 and I see plenty of them around. I did mine with the thought that if it doesn't work the way I want, then it really has no value. I removed a TON of material from the under carb area to get large curves and a smooth flow.

These mods should but the intake right there with the Crower cam. If you don't want to do the mods to the Streetmaster, the get the Performer RPM, it has nearly the same RPM range as the cam and is of great design for that RPM range.

As for the non-rpm performer, unless you can open that thing up to breath better (I don't think you can) then forget it. It's an idle~4000 intake and that's that.

Port the streetmaster, run it with the 1" open spacer and the Crower cam, if you don't like it you're only out the 5 hours of grinding time, but I think you'll like it.

I also notice that you mentioned no port work on the head, I'd take a bit of time and blend the bowls and grind out the hump in the roof the the exhaust ports, it'll match the rpm range of the cam better. Stock FE heads are good, but they respond VERY well to a little port work.


As for the non-points upgrade, the Pertronix is the way to go, cheap and VERY effective.