What's the best street cam for my 292?   '55 TBird. Stock 1955 292 short block, "G" heads and rockers, iron '57 Manifold, 465 cfm Holley, '57 distributor, 57 exhaust manifolds, 3 speed manual, 389 gears.

That's subjective as it largely depends on your desires and tolerance abilities.

In general, something with 210s @ .050" will have a smooth, yet more performance sounding idle.  220s @ .050 will start to have a lope, but will still be quite streetable.  230s @ .050" will have a lope and is probably about the borderline for streetable for most people.  240s or higher @ .050 is usually race only, but there are still people who like it on the street.  220s and up, expect a loss of low end, and possibly a required rear end ratio change.

The best thing you can do is to talk to your favorite cam manufacturer, answer any questions they have honestly and take what they suggest.


Lawrenceville, GA

Florida_Phil;    This is the Cam that I used in my 55 -t-bird  It is from the Melling tool company.
It is listed as  RYB-1  It is a very good performance cam. Here are the listing for it.
Intake Info .290 Cam Rise, .400 Valve Lift .015 Clearance with 276 intake duration.

Exhaust info.294 Cam Rise,  .397 Valve Lift,. .024 Clearance  with 276 Exhaust Duration

They also recommend that you use there lifters Listed as ( J-892-16   Hard enable  Mechanical  Lifters.
This is in a 1957 312 with G heads the car has a three speed with O/D.
I like it for the street and going thru the gears. It is great for town driving, and has the cam lope to it also. Hope this helps. Bob 

Thanks for the info.  I built a 312 years ago with an Isky cam.  Don't remember the specs, but it was pretty mild.  I'm not into cams that sound good, but kill all the low and mid range.  I doubt my motor will ever see anything above 5,500 rpm.

I have the mummert/clay smith 270S cam in my similar motor and it works great, set 4* advance, tons of low end, lifted front tires with drag radials and 4.56 full spool in a 55 victoria.

55 Vicky & customline

58 Rack Dump, 55 F350 yard truck, 57 F100

59 & 61 P 400's, 58 F100 custom cab, 69 F100, 79 F150, 82 F600 ramp truck, 90 mustang conv 7 up, 94 Mustang, Should I continue?

Something between 260-270.


Hyvinkää, FI

Florida_Phil.  No argument with Billy's experience, but his rear end gearing (4.56:1) with a standard transmission may be game changers for what he is experiencing for low end performance and drive-ability.

For your '55 with 3.89 rear gearing and a standard transmission consider using John Mummert's Y-265-S  . . .
Duration 265°@.020"    Duration 224°@.050"    45° valve overlap    110° Lobe Separation    Valve Lift  .435"    Valve Lash .018"

Mummert Y-270-S camshaft has . . .
Duration 272°@ .020"    Duration 224°@.050"    56° valve overlap    108° Lobe Separation    Valve Lift  .440"    Valve Lash .018"

My thinking is that the increase in valve overlap with the 108 lobe separation will not give you the low speed drive-ability that Billy is experiencing with his engine speed being raised by his using the 4.56:1 rear end gearing.

Food for thought.  


NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

@ .running duration 270 - 224 @ .050 with a 110 lobe sep should do you just fine, also this cam can still be used with a stock converter for an automatic tranny. I put a 220 @ .050 in my 56 sunliner and it is a little small for what I really wanted. It runs good but I think I would have liked the 224 @ .050 much better.


-Gary Burnette-

In a stock 292 y-block used for stop-and-go city driving, I can't envision a camshaft with 56 degrees of valve overlap and a 108 degree LCA having decent low speed performance (throttle response and drive-ability) UNLESS you're running a 4.56:1 rear end like Billy has reported he has in his '55.

Ted Eaton has used an interesting camshaft he's ordered from ISKY in several engine builds that he has done for street and highway use.  Ted reported on it when he was doing the engine rebuild for Karol Miller and later posted the Isky timing card for it here on the Forum.  The cam specs are as follows:

Isky 301 grind w/ Dual Pattern Camshaft Timing Event ;  Isky #s   S-66-IN   S-598-EX   
Intake Duration:     264°@.020"     Duration 228°@.050"     48°valve overlap    110° Lobe Separation    Valve Lift  .448"
Exhaust Duration:   272°@.020"     Duration 238°@.050"      "     "       "            "       "          "             Valve Lift .480"
Valve Lash Intake & Exhaust .020"  Rocker arms used 1.5:1


NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York