Re: L88 cam in L78?
Not to be argumentative, but...
I had this very discussion with both Crane and Comp. Know what they told me? Stick with the "143". The guy at Comp told me he *might* up the lift to around .530", but that it had plenty of duration. This was after I filled out both companies' forms for a blueprinted L-72 running through manifolds and faxed them back. They both said it had PLENTY of duration (.316"/.302" advertised, and .240"/.240" @ .050"), and Comp said the only thing they *might* do is bump the lift to .530". Comp's "Magnum Muscle" cams have almost the exact same duration (242/250), but have quite a bit more lift and a tighter LSA (110 vs. 114), which is gonna bring a pretty hefty lope with it. Any more duration/lift gets into their "drag race" section of cams, with power bands starting at 3500, and you know what that's gonna do to your drivability.
You have to remember, though, that the exhaust manifolds change the entire equation, and require a little different mode of thinking. They will only flow so much. And, like I said above, I'm not being argumentative, just passing on what I've had to learn the hard way (but I'm not alone!). Like Steve said, all of the cam manufacturers can offer you a respectible cam, but I'd just about bet that when it gets down to "brass tacks" that you'll be back where you started: good 'ole "143".
In a slight bit of irony, I was reading the tech section of SS&DI and someone asked about changing cams in a '66 L-72, and the reply was to stick with the "143" cam. They also ended with these words of wisdom: "an engine will run better with too little a cam than it will with too much". Just curious...what kind of power you looking to get out of this L-78?
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