cam selection

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Joined
Aug 13, 2010
Messages
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Location
Conway, S.C.
My Car
1972 MACH 1
2019 F150
Hi DOC and members, I liked the spec's on the cam DOC recommended, and also sent info to comp cams for recommendations. Andrew would only go to a 32-241-4 without knowing my compression. I'm not sure what mine has because I have heads #'s for a 71 CJ and a 72 block 8.6, 9.0 or 10.1-1.:dodgy:


found old cam spec's.. Erson E220421. 541lift 298 duration. Also said needs headers.. (had been removed), compression (which I don't know) and gears (which not sure)...:huh:

 
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Open chamber heads or closed chamber?

Do pistons have a dish or are they flat? If flat how much deck clearance?

I can throw out a gusess but you can also assemble/mock up the shorblock and take some measurements

 
Those are actually "open" chamber heads.

If the casting number is D1ZE-DA OR D1ZE-GA, they have the 75.4 combustion chambers which equates to an advertised compression ratio of 9.0 with the stock pistons.

Other than four bolt mains or two bolt mains, the blocks and stock pistons are essentially the same and have no difference in the compression ratio of the '71CJ and the '72 4Vs.

Hope this helps.

BT

 
Hi DOC and members, I liked the spec's on the cam DOC recommended, and also sent info to comp cams for recommendations. Andrew would only go to a 32-241-4 without knowing my compression. I'm not sure what mine has because I have heads #'s for a 71 CJ and a 72 block 8.6, 9.0 or 10.1-1.:dodgy:


found old cam spec's.. Erson E220421. 541lift 298 duration. Also said needs headers.. (had been removed), compression (which I don't know) and gears (which not sure)...:huh:
Hey Alan -

There's only a slight difference between the 241-4 and the 242-4. The 242-4 has a 218/224 duration at .050 and a .513/.520 lift. The 241-4 is slightly more tame with a 212/218 duration and a .487/.493 lift. Sounds like the cam that was in there was pretty radical. Remind me again - yours is a 351C-2V, right?

Doc

 
As Cobra said get the numbers off of them and I have a really good reference source for all ford part numbers. I will be happy to look up what they started out life as anyways. Can also look up the block number also and if you can get me a part number from your pistons will look that up as well.

 
Hi DOC and members, I liked the spec's on the cam DOC recommended, and also sent info to comp cams for recommendations. Andrew would only go to a 32-241-4 without knowing my compression. I'm not sure what mine has because I have heads #'s for a 71 CJ and a 72 block 8.6, 9.0 or 10.1-1.:dodgy:


found old cam spec's.. Erson E220421. 541lift 298 duration. Also said needs headers.. (had been removed), compression (which I don't know) and gears (which not sure)...:huh:
Hey Alan -

There's only a slight difference between the 241-4 and the 242-4. The 242-4 has a 218/224 duration at .050 and a .513/.520 lift. The 241-4 is slightly more tame with a 212/218 duration and a .487/.493 lift. Sounds like the cam that was in there was pretty radical. Remind me again - yours is a 351C-2V, right?

Doc
Thanks for the comback DOC. Mine is a 351C-4V


Agains thanks to everyone, and here are some #'s Heads are D1ZE-DA

and Pistons are L2379 .030. Block is D2AE-CA

 
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The number on the piston appears to be from TRW which is now Speed Pro. That piston was supposedly designed as a direct replacement for the stock piston in Super Stock racing. The advantage is that it is of the forged variety.

As previously noted, with your open chamber heads the compression ratio should be around 9.0.

Hope this helps.

BT

 
D1ZE-DA

71-72 351CJ

71 351C

Valves 2.19, 1.71

73-76cc (Open chamber)

In port 2.50 x 1.75

Ex port 2.00 x 1.74

Pistons

L2379F 30 pistons have a volume of -1.5cc. With 63cc heads the compression is 10.22 to 1 but only 8.9 to 1 with 76.2 cc heads

 
As previously inferred, since that piston is a Super Stock replacement, I am pretty sure that it mirrors the compression ratio of your stock piston which would be 9.0 with the 75.4 cc head.

As to rear end ratio, there are simple means to determine the ratio both with the pumpkin "in" and "out" of the car.

1. If the rear end is still in the car, you will need to jack up the rear, maybe by using jack stands. Mark one of the rear tires with a piece of chalk at the 12 o'clock position. You will also need to put a horizontal line on the drive shaft. Rotate the tire one full revolution while watching how many times the drive shaft goes around. If it goes around 3 1/2 times (and you have a posi in the rear), that would denote a 3.50:1 gear. If it goes around 3 3/4 times (again with a posi), you probably have something like a 3.73:1 gear.

If you do not have a posi, all you have to do is multiply the revolutions by 2. For example, if the driveshaft rotates 1 1/2 times when you you make one revolution with the tire, you multiply that by 2 which will yield a 3.00:1 open rear gear.

2. If the rear end is out of the car, you simply have to count the teeth on the ring gear and the pinion gear and divide the pinion gear number into the ring gear number.

For example, if your ring gear has 37 teeth and your pinion gear has 9 teeth, the result would be a 4.11:1 gear ratio.

If the gears are still in the housing, you can usually count the respective teeth by placing a horizontal chalk mark on the ring gear and rotating the gear to determine the number. You would do the same thing on the pinion gear. Then do the division math as cited above.

Hope this helps!

BT

 
Me, too. Thanks, BT. I'll be heading down the gear ratio road in the near future.

To Alan - Now that I knw that you have a 4V, I would be very hesitant to follow ANY of the cam recommendations that I described related to my 2V for your 351C -4V. Sorry about that. Based on my (AGAIN) limited experience, the 4V head design lends itself to thriving in the high RPM range, be it strip or street, and enjoys the zoom from 4K to 5600+ especially. My 2V loves the high torque jumping off the line (maybe 1200 - 4500 or so), and the cam I described is designed for that type of driving. I would therefore defer to the recommendations from the Comp Cams tech, and follow that. Since neither of us is trying to make a living winning races, I thinks it's a safe bet to follow them. The higher compression of the 4V comes into play as well.

Still, let's keep comparing notes, although I've got a big "what if" to post as soon as I get my thoughts together. As always, best of luck and keep us in the loop with pics as often as possible.

Thanks!

Doc

 
Those heads are going to like to rev to make power, make sure you replace the original 2 piece ford valves with one piece ss valves and matching retainers and locks. The ford valves had the heads welded on the stem and are very likely to come apart at any moment.

I used some from ebay on my prior motor from a vendor called Alex's parts and they were very good quality for $108 a set.

Once you determine the cars use and the final gear ratio and stall converter that you will use then you can start selecting a cam to match.

Are you going to modify the heads for adjustable rockers?

This will allow you to get more cam choices but it will drive up the costs substantially.

You will need to add guide plates, hardened pushrods, roller rockers, studs and the machine work. this adds up to over $500 by itself.

If staying with stock heads, make sure your rocker arms have steel pedestals not aluminum. Or use roller rockers that bolt on to the pedestal for better strength

 
not2old

Just remember back to the original posts.......Decide how you are going to drive the car and get a PLAN first. Because things will quickly spiral out of contol. See below for proof

1014001900.JPG

 
Good day to all. By communicating with DOC and COMP CAM'S techline, I'm looking to buy the cam Doc mentioned to me earlier.(32-242-4) full kit. Now need to find best price. Comp Cam tech upped his recommendation after I gave him additional spec's. Also need a Crank Kit.

Thanks for everyone imput :p

Alan

 
Good day to all. By communicating with DOC and COMP CAM'S techline, I'm looking to buy the cam Doc mentioned to me earlier.(32-242-4) full kit. Now need to find best price. Comp Cam tech upped his recommendation after I gave him additional spec's. Also need a Crank Kit.

Thanks for everyone imput :p

Alan
Hi Alan -

Glad to hear that you've got a grip on the cam you want. Please let me know if you find the cam kit for under $359, 'cause I need to buy one, too. Also, as you begin selecting intake manifold and carburetor combinations please share your thoughts and ideas that influence your decision.

Thanks!

Doc

 
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