Re: L88 cam in L78?
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Do you think I will see any power gains from this cam change, since I am running cast iron exhaust manifolds?
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I know most people won't believe this, but you'll actually be HURTING power by running the L-88 cam. The L-78/L-72 cam is a pretty healthy cam in it's own right, and is the ONLY way to go with manifolds. Don't believe me, call Crane Cams. Pete preached and preached at me about how good of a unit the "143" cam was, but I had to see for myself. One call to Crane changed my mind.
It's got plenty of duration and lift to work with manifolds. Here's a tip that most people overlook: if you do a true blueprint and cc the heads to where they need to be (106cc) and get a set of pistons with the correct dome (read: not TRW replacements), and you get some compression in that puppy, then RETARD THE CAM 6 degrees. Do a search for "compression mapping" on this forum and you'll see why. Plus, it's ground 6 degrees advanced from the factory, so you're basically putting it back to straight up.
Anyway, I've run across a lot of articles in SS&DI and old racer mags where several of the L-88 guys ran the L-72 cam. In Pete's Pure Stock ZL-1 (same cam?) he has to run a HUGE amount of lash (around .035") to get any kind of vacuum (like 5") and he still has to do a little dance to get staged.
Pick up the phone, call your local Chevy dealer, order it, and pick it up the next day. A cam/lifter kit is around $130 if you get it at cost, but retails around $150. Break it in on the outer springs and then you're good to go.
Pete and Lerum, please feel free to chime in and confirm/deny anything I've posted...
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