[old5.0]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Chevy454</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The cam isn't the problem, ask any cam company (I've talked to no less than 3 about this very subject), the 143 cam is a pretty darn good piece. the problem (imo) is the huge tolerances from the factory...chambers 10cc+ too big, dome 6cc+ too short, deck clearance all of the place, etc, etc. As i said above, we did an L72 as close to factory as we could get it and it came in at 10.2:1...Scott Tiemann tore into an original L72 out of a Berger copo and it was a scant 9.8:1! </div></div>

Oh yeah, I don't doubt that at all. I know some NMRA Factory Stock class racers that have gone through hundreds of factory E7TE castings before finding a matched set with similar flow numbers and chamber volumes in the same neighborhood as the factory specs. But with the cam, I have to think there's power hiding there.

Look at this way. If you call Comp, for example, and order a custom grind, they'll be happy to sell it to you, but it's still based on lobe profiles already in their inventory. They may be willing to tweek the duration here or the lift there, but it isn't a true &quot;custom&quot; grind. It may be an improvement over an OTS cam, but you're still leaving power on the table. And it may genuinely not be much of an improvement over the factory 143 cam. A true, from the ground up custom is a whole different animal.

A little off topic, and I apologize, but I know of a 347 stroker small block Ford with a set of inline valve Canfield heads, stock 20* valve angle, Super Victor intake, Pro Systems prepped Holley, and a true custom cam that's making close to 700 horsepower at the flywheel. And it's only 10.5:1 compression, totally streetable, and makes a ton of torque, despite the big single plane and small displacement. The key to the whole thing is the camshaft.

I dunno, I'd like to see what an otherwise stock 396, or 427, could do with a true custom designed around the entire car.